5 WWE backstage stories we learned this week: Jinder Mahal, Paige, John Cena, more

#1 Ruby Riott’s tearful first meeting with John Cena

Ruby Riott discussed her journey to WWE and her wrestling career so far in a rare interview on Vickie Guerrero’s Excuse Me podcast this week.

Before joining NXT and becoming the leader of The Riott Squad, Riott appeared as one of Adam Rose’s Rosebuds in 2014-15, while she also worked in roles as an extra.

She revealed to Guerrero that she was due to arrive early at the building before an episode of SmackDown in Cleveland for her first day as an extra. However, she turned up 30 minutes late and became emotional because she feared that her dream of working for WWE was already going to be over.

After being shown the quickest way to the Talent Relations department by a security guard, Riott then stumbled across the biggest name in WWE at the time: John Cena.

“They [security] find me an elevator, there’s tears running down my face, I’ve got my gear bag in my hand. The door opens and the only person I see sitting at a table in front of me – I’ll never forget this – is John Cena. He can see I’m upset and I’m running to Talent Relations. He’s very kind. He just says, ‘It’s alright, you’re okay.’ I thought, ‘There’s no way I’m ever going to get a job here!’”

Fortunately for Riott, she ended up speaking to Road Dogg before SmackDown went on the air and she even took part in a tryout match.

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