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John Cena Sr. believes WWE is wasting Riddle’s talent by booking him as a comedy character.
Being one of the few WWE Superstars who fought in the UFC, Riddle ended his MMA career in 2014 and became a professional wrestler. The 35-year-old star’s WWE character often rides around arenas on scooters and shares jokes with other superstars.
John Cena’s father discussed various WWE topics with Boston Wrestling MWF’s Dan Mirade. Regarding Riddle, he gave his opinion that the former UFC star should be taken more seriously.
“That would be like taking Brock Lesnar and putting him in that position, or [Bobby] Lashley or [Drew] McIntyre," said Cena Sr. "It doesn’t make sense. You’re wasting talent, in my opinion. That’s all you have to say. You know, he could’ve beat the s*** out of Sheamus [at WrestleMania 37].”
Riddle held the United States Championship for 49 days before losing it to Sheamus at WrestleMania 37. He bounced back from the loss by defeating Randy Orton on the latest episode of WWE RAW.
John Cena Sr. thinks Riddle needs a character change
Riddle has portrayed a babyface character since he debuted on WWE television as a member of the NXT roster in 2018.
John Cena Sr. believes the RAW Superstar should stop playing a “fool” and an “imbecile” if he wants to progress in WWE.
“They can do that [character change] very easily," Cena Sr. added. "You can turn him very quickly, where he begins to realize that he’s not the fool, that he’s not the imbecile, that he is the professional, and now we have all hell break loose, and we have this new emergence of this Matt Riddle, the person who knows who he is, not who they [WWE] think he was or is.”
John Cena Sr. added that Riddle could become “another Nick Dinsmore” if he continues to perform as a comedy character. Although Dinsmore is known to be a talented wrestler, he is mostly remembered for his portrayal of Eugene in WWE from 2004 to 2007.
Eugene, a character with learning difficulties, was mostly a babyface during his three years on WWE television. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon wasn't onboard with Dunsmore's full-fledged run as a bad guy because he thought fans would question the believability of future WWE gimmicks.
Please credit Boston Wrestling MWF and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
