John Cena appeared on today’s episode of WWE’s The Bump to discuss a wide range of topics ahead of his tag team match at Saturday’s WWE Fastlane, where he will team with LA Knight against Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa. Here are the highlights.
On endorsing LA Knight at Payback:
“It felt great, only because it reminds me of when I started to gain a little bit of notoriety and relevance in the WWE. LA Knight and my story run a little bit of parallel. He kind of just refused to give up, never give up and has done it his own way, even in a lot of times being an underdog and being forgotten by people in the the bowels of the arena, but not forgotten by people in the arena cheering him on. And I think what he’s done is incredible. We worked so hard to get where we’re at, and this is a job that shouldn’t exist. I sit in a director’s type chair in wristbands and t-shirts, ball cap. This shouldn’t be a thing. So when you get a level of consistency and you get to a certain level of relevancy, you don’t want it ever to go away. And I totally respect that.”
On teaming with LA Knight:
“It was a brief interaction, so I can’t say that we became best buds and went to the garage to do karate together. And we are not going to be the world’s most fluid team, but I think we’re on the same page and although we may have different perspectives, we have a common rival, a common enemy. So that also helps people come together. Real quick.”
On fans getting behind LA Knight:
“I could waste all your time talking about how I love WWE because of moments like this. No one knows what’s going to happen next and no one can control the narrative. And a lot of times, the audience can tell if they’re trying to be controlled or pushed in a certain direction and they rebel against it. And I think that’s wonderful because, as performers, it allows us to listen to the most important superstar out there, and that’s the WWE Universe.”
On The Bloodline’s actions against him:
“The Bloodline has a great thing going and it’s also very frail at the same time. And I think people can sense the frailty. The house of cards is blowing in the wind. And that’s when everybody’s like, Yo, I can step up and do this. I don’t blame them for doing everything they can to try to solidify their position at the top. And I just don’t know, I guess I’m the guy foolish enough to step up anyway, regardless. So we’ll see.”
On Jimmy Uso’s actions as of late:
“So Jimmy and I actually go way back. I remember the first time he and his brother had matches in the WWE. I was there. I remember encouraging them to honor their Samoan heritage before the matches. I don’t blame the drastic measures. I don’t blame the brash personality. I endorse it. I mean, the way I initially connected with the audience was by being very brash and by taking crazy risks and not necessarily by being virtuous.”
On Solo Sikoa:
“The striking parallel he runs to Umaga Wow. And in every facet and to be put in that conversation is rarefied airSolo is a bit of a conundrum. But when I see him, and I see him perform, I think of the hard-fought battles I had against Umaga. And he they run a lot of parallels.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit WWE’s The Bump with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
