Former star reveals how John Cena was instrumental in his hiring; calls it a "very unique experience" working with WWE legend

John Cena has helped many former and current WWE stars get a push in the company over the years. One such star who benefited from Cena's presence is former WWE talent PJ Black (Justin Gabriel).

Black joined WWE in 2008 and had a seven-year run with the company. He had some excellent matches and rivalries before the promotion gave him a push by making him part of the Nexus faction.

In kayfabe, Nexus' main enemy was none other than John Cena. However, behind the scenes, the 16-time world champion was helping its members get noticed by the management.

In an interview with PWMania.com's Ari Barkan, Black talked about how William Regal was one of his favorite wrestlers. He watched and learned from the WWE legend's skills, shaping his fighting technique around him. He combined different wrestling styles from all around the world, as South Africa did not have its own wrestling methodology.

"I’ve been a fan of [Regal] ever since I can remember," Black said. "So I kind of combined all these styles from around the world, and funny enough, William Regal was one of the characters I watched that I studied, and I still use a lot of the moves and techniques."

PJ Black added that some moves were banned at the time. He was great at hitting 450 splashes, but William Regal did not think it was a good idea. However, John Cena showed Regal how good Black was in the ring, leading to his hiring.

"I remember at that time, certain moves were banned; a lot of (...) high-risk moves were banned. And I remember Cena saying to [Regal], “This guy hits a really good 450." And Regal was like, “Nah, I’ve had, I’ve had too many knees in my face and elbows in my face, there’s no way that anyone can do that move safely."

Black added that they put a dummy in the ring, and John Cena kept moving it in different places, and he kept on nailing the move every time.

"And he put a crash pad in the middle of the ring, and we put a dummy. And he put it in different angles in different places in the ring, and I hit it perfectly every time." He’s like, “Okay, I’ll take that.” So that was kind of like the start for me. So it was a very unique experience that I’ll treasure forever."

John Cena helped Black get into WWE. However, that wasn't the only time the 16-time world champion played a significant role in the former WWE star's career. The two went on to lock horns a few times in the ring.

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PJ Black pinned John Cena many times in WWE

Not many superstars have had the honor of pinning John Cena clean in WWE. However, PJ Black was given that opportunity more than once by the company.

As part of Nexus, Black got to face Cena in televised matches and during live events. In his interview with PWMania.com's Ari Barkan, the former superstar talked about the experience of pinning John Cena on multiple occasions.

"Oh, that was pretty cool. I think I believe that happened more than once. Especially at live events, that happened for like six months straight up. You know, regardless of what people say about him, he is a master at his craft. He knows this business inside and out. I learned so much from him. And it was an honor to be there with him," Black mentioned.

The three-time tag team champion had a decent run in WWE before he was released in 2015. He has worked on different promotions ever since and could return to the company for a final run before eventually hanging up his boots.

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