"Thank god" - John Cena was supposed to defeat former WWE star 8 months before he actually did

John Cena remains one of WWE's biggest stars for over 15 years. He has heroically conquered many opponents over the years, with one of them being three-time United States Champion Rusev.

Now known as Miro in All Elite Wrestling, the Bulgarian was undefeated for the entirety of his first year in WWE before John Cena defeated him at WrestleMania 31. However, as revealed by Lana, also known as CJ Perry, the former WWE star was supposed to face Cena much earlier than he did.

Congratulations to @JohnCena, your NEWWWW United States Champion, def. @RusevBUL at @WrestleMania! @LanaWWE #USA pic.twitter.com/mQtFSv71NG

— WWE (@WWE) March 30, 2015

Lana was recently a guest on "Talk is Jericho" where she reflected on her time with WWE, as well as her release, and what Vince McMahon said to her afterward.

'The Ravishing Russian' spoke about how WWE's original plan was for John Cena to take on Rusev three months after his debut in 2014, with the 16-time world champion likely going over.

"We were supposed to work John Cena actually three months in, the original plan. Thank god that didn't happen because he (Rusev) would've lost then, versus over a year he went undefeated and that is what essentially got me over," said Lana. "And the importance of having incredible heels and incredible bad guys, I think Miro is one of the best."

John Cena was supposed to end Rusev's WWE unbeaten streak in the summer of 2014

Not counting his spell in the 2014 Royal Rumble Match, Rusev made his WWE debut on RAW after WrestleMania 30. Had the plan for him to face John Cena three months in gone ahead, they would have likely wrestled each other at Battleground, WWE's July pay-per-view in 2014, and SummerSlam.

Rusev won their first match at Fastlane 2015 before the WWE legend conquered him at WrestleMania 31, so a similar pattern could have ensued. This is merely speculation through connecting the dots, but the plans for Cena to face Rusev in the summer of 2014 might have changed because of Daniel Bryan's heartbreaking injury.

He was supposed to defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, but was forced to relinquish the title due to the injury. As a result, Cena took Bryan's place to face Lesnar in the SummerSlam main event.

#SuplexCity was born when @BrockLesnar and @JohnCena did battle at #SummerSlam 2014! pic.twitter.com/gXj1v4rNBB

— WWE (@WWE) August 17, 2018

Rusev ended up feuding with Jack Swagger and remained undefeated all year. He captured the United States Championship in November and dropped it to John Cena at WrestleMania. Things worked out well for him and Lana, who enjoyed the year as one of the hottest acts in WWE.

Lana also told Chris Jericho about how her victory at Survivor Series 2020 was altered because of Roman Reigns.

Did you enjoy Rusev's undefeated run in WWE? Let us know in the comments below.