John Cena Sends Message To Ohio Valley Wrestling After 1400th Episode: ‘I Wouldn’t Have An End To Such A Beautiful Wrestling Journey If I Didn’t Have A Start’

WWE/OVW

WWE legend John Cena has sent a message to Ohio Valley Wrestling after their 1400th episode on Thursday, June 11.

Before making his name with his famous display of “ruthless aggression” against Kurt Angle on the June 27, 2002 episode of WWE SmackDown, John Cena cut his teeth in WWE’s former developmental promotion Ohio Valley Wrestling, with Cena, along with fellow WWE legends Brock Lesnar, Batista and Randy Orton – who were all a part of the same graduating class.

Cena’s career progression since his humble beginnings in OVW is the stuff of legend, with Cena main eventing six WrestleManias, winning 17 world championships and two Royal Rumbles among many, many other accolades.

Despite WWE hailing him as the company’s “Greatest of All Time,” Cena has not forgotten his roots, and opted to send a congratulatory message to OVW after the promotion celebrated its 1400th consecutive episode on Thursday, June 11.

In a video shared by OVW on Twitter, Cena said:

“Greetings Ohio Valley Wrestling fans, professionals, and those behind the scenes. I’m John Cena. And yes my performance time inside a wrestling ring is up, but I wouldn’t have an end to such a beautiful wrestling journey if I didn’t have a start.

“Ohio Valley Wrestling celebrates its 1400th consecutive episode. That is almost three decades of consistent programming. That is a testament to those behind the scenes. A testament to all those who have walked through the hallowed halls, including a wonderful class that I was a part of.

“And most importantly the audience. You the fans of OVW, you keep it alive and breathing and for that I’m grateful becuase without you, this might be a whole different path.

“I value hard work, I value trust, respect and certainly persistence. And at 1400 episodes, Ohio Valley Wrestling has them all. Congratulations and here’s to the road ahead.”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

Cena wasn’t the only notable name to have sent there own messages of congratulations to OVW over the past few days, with WWE NXT General Manager Robert Stone, Shawn Spears, Jonathan Coachman, Billy Gunn, Serena Deeb, Demolition, Tommy Dreamer and Maven among the names to salute the promotion on their achievement.

Along with Cena’s famous OVW class of the early 2000s, many of the most notable names in WWE today also passed through OVW once upon a time, with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, CM Punk and Drew McIntyre also wrestling in the promotion before making it to main roster programming.

WWE ended its relationship with OVW in 2008, bringing an end to its near-decade run as the company’s developmental partner.

15 years later, OVW became the focus of Netflix’s docuseries ‘Wrestlers’, which ran for seven episodes in 2023.

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• wwe
• John Cena
• OVW
• Ohio Valley Wrestling

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