What’s the story? The WWE.com just posted an interview with veteran WWE referee Charles Robinson. In the chat, Charles Robinson revealed the special conversation he had with John Cena after the historic match at the Royal Rumble.
In case you didn’t know...John Cena tied Ric Flair’s record for World Championships won when he defeated AJ Styles at the 2017 Royal Rumble, solidifying himself as a sixteen-time World Champion.The heart of the matterWWE official Charles Robinson – better known to some as, “Little Naitch” – is a longtime fan and friend of, “The Nature Boy,” Ric Flair. He was also the man in stripes for the epic clash between John Cena and AJ Styles this past Sunday at the Royal Rumble. Cena and Robinson looked to be having a genuine moment with their conversation as Robinson handed Cena his sixteenth World Championship.
WWE.com interviewed the veteran official about the very special night. They asked him about the conversation he had with Cena and we’re bringing you the excerpts of what he had to say.
“We were just talking about how cool it was that I’ve reffed for Ric Flair so many times and now I’m refereeing his 16th title and tying [it] up with Ric. He thought that was pretty freaking cool,” said Robinson.
“Little Naitch,” also talked about what it meant to him to referee that match, stating that it was probably one of the top honors that he’s ever had. He believes that John Cena is up there with the greatest of all time, in his opinion. He said that he doesn’t care what any of the fans say, or how they boo, or whatever — to Robinson, now, Cena is the man. He even went so far as to text John after the show and said, “You are the man.”
Robinson felt that it was just an honour to be in the ring with him and hand him the title. Robinson gave his opinion of the match, saying that AJ Styles and John Cena give their 100 percent every time they’re in the ring and that nobody that saw the match was disappointed.
Charles Robinson would also tell the story of how he injured his foot in the match, stating that he tore his plantar fasciitis about seven minutes into the match.
He also put the historic significance of the match into perspective and felt that it was nice to be part of making history in the business that he’s watched since he was six years old. He’s been in sports-entertainment for twenty years and this is definitely one of his top moments, besides retiring Ric Flair, which he stated was pretty awesome too.
He was also the referee for the match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 26, that ended up being the end of the Heartbreak Kid’s in-ring career. He stated that refereeing the match at the Royal Rumble was in his top three matches that he’s officiated
What’s next? Charles Robinson is currently recovering from the foot injury he suffered during the match. He is hoping to be back to refereeing duty at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, where John Cena will defend the WWE Championship against The Miz, Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, Baron Corbin and Bray Wyatt .
Sportskeeda’s TakeCena equalling Ric Flair’s record for World Championships always seemed inevitable once he had his tenth reign. The next big moment for Cena’s career will be his seventeenth, record-breaking Championship. Knowing Cena, that’ll happen sooner than later.
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