5 WWE Superstars who convinced Vince McMahon to change his decisions

#3 Stephanie McMahon saves the career of John Cena

Today, John Cena is regarded as one of the greatest Superstars to ever step foot in a WWE ring. Back in 2002, when Cena was a rookie on SmackDown, the future megastar was on the verge of getting released from the company. It would've happened as well if it hadn't been for Stephanie McMahon, who convinced Vince McMahon to let Cena stay. Dave Meltzer opened up on how Cena was very close to getting fired.

If it wasn’t for Stephanie McMahon taking a liking to him after they’d just about decided to let him go, he could’ve been gone. Imagine that. Imagine this business in the last 11 years with John Cena as the top guy and John being out of the picture.

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Thankfully, Vince McMahon changed his mind and Cena wasn't let go. In a matter of months, he had become one of the most popular acts in WWE, thanks to his rapper gimmick. Cena went on to become the biggest Superstar of the era and won a total of 16 World titles under the WWE umbrella. Vince McMahon's perception of Cena has certainly changed a lot over the years as well.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Kaushik Das