John Cena has revealed how a WWE superstar pranked him before his debut match in 2002. The Last Real Champion burst onto the main roster scene during an episode of SmackDown, when he accepted a challenge from Kurt Angle.
Cena slapped the Olympic gold medalist before losing the match in a valiant effort. While his debut is largely remembered for his “ruthless aggression,” there is another story linked to it.
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During a Q&A event in New York City, John Cena talked about his WWE debut in June 2002 and revealed that he was a victim of a prank by Randy Orton. The 17-time WWE World Champion said Orton tied his boots together in a locker where he couldn’t reach them.
“In 2002, I went to Chicago as an extra talent—someone not to be used. I was then told I was going to have a match against an Olympic gold medalist. Randy Orton tied my boots together in a locker where I couldn’t even reach them, so I had to cut the laces and wrestle with half of my laces. I had to go off campus to get one of the worst haircuts that people watching on television had ever seen,” he said.
The Viper had debuted on the main roster a few months earlier than Cena, and both of them were a part of the famed OVW 4, the famed class of WWE’s developmental territory that also included Brock Lesnar and Batista.
Cena said that this was his welcome to WWE and the moment was humbling for him.
“That was my welcome to the WWE, and it was better than I ever could have imagined. A moment that was supposed to be celebratory was also humbling. It was filled with tough love that belongs to our fraternity, and I was grateful to go through that,” he added. [H/T: Undisputed]
John Cena set for WWE return next week on RAW
Since his retirement from WWE last year in December, John Cena has made a few notable appearances for the company.
He hosted WrestleMania 42 and also made an appearance at Backlash. Now, after nearly six months, he will be back on WWE programming.
During this week’s episode of RAW, it was announced that THE GOAT will be on the flagship show next week. This won’t be Cena’s only WWE appearance in the coming days.
On NXT, it was revealed that the Franchise Player will be making a surprise visit to the developmental brand next week.
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Edited by Sherjeel Malik
