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John Cena is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in the history of WWE. The 16-time World Champion, who has now become a part-timer, has been an integral part of WWE for the last two decades. Being the "face that runs the place", John Cena has always been one of the special men for Vince McMahon who truly understands the value that Cena brings to the company.
John Cena is also one of the most polarizing Superstars in WWE history. While kids love him for his "Super Cena" image, there is a large portion of the WWE Universe who isn't very fond of him. There have been several rumors and accusations of him burying young talents.
In this article, let's take a look at five WWE Superstars who have had backstage issues with John Cena. Be sure to comment down and let us know when do you think will "The Champ" return to WWE.
#5 Mr. Kennedy
Former WWE Superstar and Mr. Money in the Bank 2007 Mr. Kennedy had a decently successful run with the company until his release in 2009. As per him, it was both John Cena and Randy Orton who convinced Vince McMahon to release him. Things were never really great between him and John Cena. Mr. Kennedy used to use John Cena's name to generate boos from the crowd and then say his name to get cheers.
Jim Ross on backstage heat between John Cena and Mr. Kennedy
Earlier this year, Jim Ross revealed on his podcast that John Cena wasn't happy with this schtick of Mr. Kennedy.
“Yeah it did ruffle Cena’s feathers. Cena took it personally and thought, ‘OK, enough is enough.'”
Jim Ross went on to mention how it was not a wise decision from Mr. Kennedy to make the crowd boo the top babyface of the company.
“To encourage the audience by your rhetoric to boo the appointed #1 babyface in the company is not wise. So he was just being a heel, being his excuse, is a weak ass excuse. That’s my take on that deal. You don’t do anything to chip away at the image or the standing of a John Cena in this case, or anyone else in that top babyface role. You just don’t do it. It’s counterproductive. It’s not being cute, it’s not being funny, it’s not just being a heel.” (h/t 411mania.com)
After leaving WWE, Mr. Kennedy worked for TNA and even won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship twice. Currently, he is signed to NWA.
#4 Alex Riley
Former WWE Superstar Alex Riley has been in news for his backstage issues with John Cena. Signing with WWE in 2007, Alex Riley was considered to be an impressive young prospect and started an alliance with The Miz when he came to the main roster from NXT.
He did get a mini-push but that didn't last long. There were several reports of there being backstage issues between him and John Cena that led to his push ending. During a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Alex Riley opened up on his heat with John Cena.
“I think it came down to, at the end, two men just not liking each other. As sad as that is, it had an impact on my career because he is who he is. I just happened to be in a situation where, right from the start, it was just… he didn’t like me. I just don’t think he did, I tried to change that the best I could.”
Arn Anderson on issues with John Cena ending Alex Riley's push
Earlier this year, WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson, who currently works for AEW, confirmed on his podcast that Alex Riley had issues with John Cena.
“I think Alex had a good look. I think his work was ok. He’s seemed to gel well when they put him with The Miz. But there’s a famous story that he was offered some help from John Cena and he seemed less than enthused or interested which would have immediately made it’s way back to the locker room and to the office. I’m sure it was around that time that his water got cut off.” [h/t WrestlingNews.co]
Alex Riley has revealed that he did apologize to John Cena, but he was very offended and the two never saw eye-to-eye.
#3 Chris Masters
Former WWE Superstar Chris Masters is well-known for the storyline around his "Masterlock" which no wrestler was able to break until Bobby Lashley finally did it in 2006. During his first run with WWE as a heel, he had matches against top Superstars like Shawn Michaels and John Cena.
During a recent interview with The Hannibal TV, Chris Masters spoke about his backstage relationship with John Cena. He revealed that John Cena never watched out for him and the two never got along.
"He did not watch out for me. We just never really clicked for whatever reason. It was always odd. I don't know if it's him being...like, me being a west coast guy and him being a north-west type dude. I don't know. He didn't really look out for me I don't think he was ever particularly fond of me. I don't know if he questioned my work ethic or what it was or you know, if there was some kind of issue. We just kind of never got along."
Chris Masters on Shawn Michaels saving him from John Cena
During the interview, Chris Masters revealed that John Cena tried to bury him backstage but Shawn Michaels came to his rescue.
"Shawn even stuck up for me a few times because John Cena would try to bury me and Shawn would be like 'I had no problems working with him' which felt real good for me because when I worked with Cena there was always some kind of issue."
After parting ways with WWE in 2011, Chris Masters went on to work on the independent circuit and TNA/IMPACT Wrestling.
#2 Tyler Reks
Former WWE Superstar Tyler Reks isn't one of the most well-remembered wrestlers. Signing with WWE in 2008, he was with the company for around four years before parting ways. Recently, during an interview with The Hannibal TV, Reks spoke about his issues with John Cena.
Tyles Reks used the Burning Hammer as his finisher, which looked like an inverted Attitude Adjustment, John Cena's finisher. Reks revealed how John Cena was not happy with it and asked him to change his finisher.
”So I’m thinking that he’s joking and given what I said, ‘ hey we’ll get it right tomorrow, we kind of screwed it up, we’ll be better’, knowing that I did it in front of him many many times, he knows exactly what it is, next day we go to the next show and Primo’s like ‘Hey, should we change it?’ and I said ‘John Cena’s saw me do it a million times, I think he was just saying get it right so it doesn’t look like his FU."
Tyler Reks on John Cena yelling at him backstage
Tyles Reks went on to reveal that John Cena lost his cool and yelled at him for using that finisher again.
“So we go out there and I hit it, hit it perfect, like sweet. Crowd goes..wild.. whatever you want to call it. I walk back and he’s there, like second I was back through the curtain. Within earshot of everybody on the roster, he’s like, ‘Hey, come here’ and I go, ‘hey, what’s up,bro?’ and he goes like ‘Didn’t I tell you to change your f**king finisher?’.”
Reks added that John Cena started pointing his finger at him and things got so heated that Cena even threatened to get him fired.
#1 Brock Lesnar
One of the greatest rivals of John Cena during his WWE career has been Brock Lesnar. The two initially feuded on SmackDown during Lesnar's first run with WWE in 2002. It was in 2012 when Brock Lesnar returned and confronted John Cena, now the face of the company, leading to a match between the two at WWE Extreme Rules 2012.
It was reported that Brock Lesnar threw a massive tantrum backstage after John Cena no-sold his beating following their match at the pay-per-view. Reports soon suggested that things weren't well between the two.
Stories from behind the scenes say that Lesnar was not a fan of a young, up and coming Cena. One source actually stated, “Brock absolutely positively hated and detested John Cena!”
Lesnar reportedly bad-mouthed Cena to Vince McMahon many times, especially anytime Cena was doing something being perceived as positive.
John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar - SummerSlam 2014
SummerSlam 2014 was a special night as fans saw John Cena getting destroyed and nearly squashed in a one-sided match for the first time in years. It was Brock Lesnar who came and conquered John Cena, winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from him. This was also the match that started the entire "Suplex City" schtick of Brock Lesnar.
John Cena and Brock Lesnar then had a few more matches against each other. Both of them remain to be two of the biggest draws for WWE. While Cena has now become a part-timer, Brock Lesnar's contract with WWE has reportedly come to an end.
