R-Truth Says ‘Ron Cena’ WWE Character Was John Cena’s Idea: ‘You Should Do Everything’

WWE

R-Truth has revealed the origins of his long-running WWE childhood hero storyline with John Cena, as well as his one night only transformation to ‘Ron Cena’ last year.

When looking at the WWE career of R-Truth, there is perhaps nobody more linked to the veteran than 17-time world champion John Cena.

From their 2011 feud over the WWE Championship, which led to the birth of Little Jimmy, to Truth’s run-ins with heel Cena during his WWE farewell tour in 2025 – Truth and Cena have shared many a memorable moment together.

While they engaged in these rivalries, Truth and Cena’s relationship has long been one of a mentor and student, as despite Truth being five years older than John, he has long referred to him as his “childhood hero” – often mimicking his moves and mannerisms during the periods of time when Cena was no longer a regular full-time member of the WWE roster.

During his appearance on Six Feet Under with The Undertaker & Michelle McCool, Truth revealed that Vince McMahon was the one who originally came up with the idea of Cena being Truth’s hero from a young age.

Truth said:

“Vince. That was a Vince write. Vince wrote that. And the first time I did the promo and said I grew up watching Cena, you know, I would sit there and watch him do his Saturday morning challenges and people bought it. They bit hard and they said ‘He grew up watching him. He grew up watching John Cena and John Cena is his childhood hero. They went with it.’

“I called John and asked him if I could use his shorts. John suggested I do the moves. He said, ‘You should do everything.’ The shirt, Ron Cena was John’s idea.

“He said ‘I think you do a shirt the same way I do mine and you put your face there.’ I was like ‘Are you serious?’ He was like ‘Yeah, we’re bothers right?’ I said ‘That is genius.’ He’s so smart. He was smart with the whole thing and I just ran with it. It works right?”

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

Truth was then asked whether he called John Cena to ask permission to use his moves inside the ring, to which Truth revealed that the “Never Seen 17” suggested he use “everything,” with Cena also coming up with Truth’s Ron Cena alter-ego, which he used for their one-man-one match together at the May 2025 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Truth said:

“I called John and asked him if I could use his shorts. John suggested I do the moves. He said, ‘You should do everything.’ The shirt, Ron Cena was John’s idea.

“He said ‘I think you do a shirt the same way I do mine and you put your face there.’ I was like ‘Are you serious?’ He was like ‘Yeah, we’re bothers right?’ I said ‘That is genius.’ He’s so smart. He was smart with the whole thing and I just ran with it. It works right?”

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

Just a week after Truth wrestled Cena at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, he announced his departure from the company after they opted not to renew his contract.

This led to an influx of support from Truth’s fans and peers in WWE, before he was eventually re-signed one week later. During his appearance on Six Feet Under, Truth shared his thoughts on the reaction to his departure – click here for full details.

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• wwe
• John Cena
• R-Truth
• Ron Cena

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