"I remember waiting for 3 hours just to talk" – Rising WWE star recalls meeting John Cena for the first time

Since his days in Evolve, WWE Superstar Austin Theory has idolized John Cena, and, recently, he shared a story about meeting with the 16-time world champion in the WWE Performance Center.

Lately, Austin Theory has been getting plenty of TV time. He recently main evented RAW. Theory unsuccessfully challenged Big E for the WWE Championship in the biggest match of his career.

Cena was, once the face of WWE's red brand, has always been Theory's idol. While speaking to Corey Graves on the After The Bell podcast, Theory detailed his first-ever interaction with the former WWE Champion:

"When I got signed to WWE, we were at the Performance Center one day; we were leaving and got told we need to stay. There's gonna be a meeting; John Cena is coming in, and I was, like, 'oh wow'. He talked to all of us for probably about an hour and then he specifically said 'hey, I have nothing going on today, so if anybody wants to talk individually and privately, we can.' And I thought that was really cool."

He continued:

"I remember waiting because each person he would talk to for, you know, they were trying to keep it at a certain time. But he talked to everybody for a while, and I just remember waiting for, like, 3 hours just to talk, and there were only a few of us. I was just so nervous, I didn't even really know what to say...and first thing he said to me, 'hey, how are you?' He was, like, 'what can I help you with' and I just remember...I gotta tell this dude that he was such a motivation for me in my life."

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John Cena inspired Austin Theory to become a wrestler

John Cena is one of the most beloved superstars to have ever stepped into the squared circle. The Doctor of Thuganomics has inspired many young talents to pursue pro-wrestling.

Austin Theory recently stated that it was Cena who inspired him to become a wrestler. Theory praised Cena for his contribution to pro-wrestling many times in the past.

In 2018, Cena even posted a picture of Austin back from his Evolve Wrestling days.

Austin Theory is a talented guy with an excellent physique, and has started as an entertaining heel with a comedic side to him. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? He'll be hoping to walk in John Cena's shoes someday the face of the company.