'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Before making a massive return to Friday Night SmackDown in September 2023, the former WWE Champion had to get special approval.
The name in question is John Cena who is a 16-time World Champion and on his 21st year with the Stamford-based promotion. The Leader of the Cenation was able to make his two-month-long extended run due to the writer's strike in Holywood.
The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), a union representing American actors, had been on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
John Cena stated on the latest episode of After The Bell that before returning to SmackDown, he contacted the appropriate authorities at SAG and obtained formal and legal authorization.
"Then, the labor dispute happens and Screen Actors Guild decides as an entirety to go on strike which either leaves me idle or asking questions of well, what can I do? What is within my control? And I wanted to see if it was okay to come back to tour so, we called the proper people at SAG, we got written, legal okay that it would be okay to come back to WWE," Cena said. [H/T - POST Wrestling]
Listen to the full podcast below:
John Cena on why WWE fans used to boo him
During the same interview, the 16-time World Champion spoke about the time when fans gave him heat years ago.
The reason why Cena had a fallout with the wrestling world was that they were tired of the 46-year-old legend's invincible run. However, the former WWE Champion saw fans' backlash as a learning curve and got them at his fingertips over time.
"I think that is the nature of what we do to be of any merit here, you have to win and you have to win often and you have to win for a long time and fans get sick of that," Cena said.
Cena is set to face Rikishi's son Solo Sikoa at Crown Jewel 2023 in Saudi Arabia and is on a mission to grab his first win in a singles competition since 2018.
Do you think John Cena will emerge victorious at WWE Crown Jewel? Sound off in the comments section below.
