Real Reason John Cena Was Chosen To Be The Face Of WWE

WWE

A long-tenured WWE name has shared the thought process behind choosing John Cena as the next face of the company in the early 2000s.

While the decision seems like it would be an easy one in retrospect given Cena’s astronomical success, it was far from a simple choice given the potential of Cena’s peers in developmental.

The 16-time world champion rose through WWE’s ranks alongside other notable some of the company’s most most successful stars ever, including Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton and Batista.

Speaking on his Something to Wrestle podcast, WWE executive Bruce Prichard reflected on this decision, explaining how WWE eventually landed on Cena, sharing insight on the reasons why Cena was picked to be the company’s top star.

Prichard explained:

“Cena was in that discussion, Batista, Brock (Lesnar) had been in that discussion at one point – there were a lot of guys.

“Dusty (Rhodes) was in love with Randy Orton … that’s the only way to go, third generation wrestler, youth and all this stuff.

“Cena — he’s got the look, he’s got the charisma, he’s got everything and the best attitude out of all of them.

“All of them were fighting hard … being the top talent is a shoot and you’ve got to fight to get there, and if you can’t do that and you aren’t willing to do that, then you’re never gonna make it.”

Despite Cena having all the tools, some early growing pains in his first few months on the WWE roster casted doubt on his future, something Cena himself has reflected on in the past.

This fact was reiterated by Prichard, who shooed away the notion that anyone earmarked for a position is ever handed it, with a considerable amount of work and drive required on the talent’s part.

Prichard continued, while pointing to examples from the past:

“The top guys weren’t people that just got it handed to them.

“Guys like Cena, Austin, Rock, Hunter (Triple H), (Mick) Foley –- those guys all wanted to be the guy, and they wanted everything that came with it… they really wanted to be the best at what they did.

“They were willing to sacrifice and do whatever it took to be the best.”

Cena’s eventual spot amongst the greats is undisputed, with Cena’s first ever WWE opponent Kurt Angle recently hailing Cena as the ‘most successful’ WWE star of all-time.

Transcript courtesy of Wrestling INC

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• bruce prichard
• John Cena
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