The WWE Universe has asked who John Cena should eventually pass the torch to as the Face of the WWE. It has been over a decade since Cena took over as the Face of the WWE from names like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, and the next wrestlers to lead the WWE might already be set in place. In an interview with WSVN-TV on Friday ( via 411mania.com ), John Cena said that he believes the torch was passed without him.
While John Cena never mentioned anyone by name, it is clear that he is probably talking about Roman Reigns, and to a lesser extent AJ Styles. With Styles, the torch was clearly passed by John Cena, who put Styles over cleanly constantly in 2016 before finally winning a match against him this year at The Royal Rumble .
However, Roman Reigns made it to the top without fighting John Cena to achieve the feat. Instead, Roman beat guys like Triple H and The Undertaker to prove that he was the “Top Dog” in the WWE. Between Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, and wrestlers like Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, and more, there are a lot of major stars in the WWE now.
“I think it’s been passed without me. There’s a lot of folks who are currently doing a lot of damage on the roster. The show is thriving in my absence. I think it’s extremely competitive.”
Despite the fact that John Cena is no longer the focus of the WWE, he said that the company has moved on well and there doesn’t need to be a “formal anointment” because things are progressing well while he has been away.
However, don’t think that John Cena is stepping aside anytime soon when it comes to his time to shine in the company. This year, Cena beat AJ Styles for his 16th WWE world championship and is now tied with “Nature Boy” Ric Flair for the most recognized world titles in professional wrestling history.
John Cena still feels that he has more left in the tank and one more WWE world title win would break the record he now holds with Ric Flair. John Cena called Flair a “mentor” and said that they have a longstanding friendship and it was important for him to be there the night he tied the record.
When it comes to breaking the WWE world title record , John Cena said that he doesn’t look at the record and instead looks at his own performance inside a WWE ring and what he can do at the age of 40. John points out that 15 years of his life has been in the WWE and he still wants to prove he can stand with the younger wrestlers.
“I just want to be able to be able to perform at an elite level. I know that at 40 years old and 15 years in the WWE now it’s been a long journey, longer than most. I have to find my grit every day to keep working hard to keep up with all of these young, strong guys. It truly is a young man’s game but I feel really good.”
John Cena has been away from the WWE making movies and TV shows. For WWE fans who missed him, Cena will make his return to SmackDown Live on July 4. There is no word on what John will do or who he plans to set his eyes on but coming back on the Fourth of July hints that John will possibly focus his attention on Jinder Mahal, the current WWE world heavyweight champion.
There is also the fact that the last time John Cena was seen was WrestleMania 33 where he proposed to Nikki Bella . The rumors indicate that Cena and Bella will marry on television and there might be an announcement soon on whether that is on WWE television or on Total Bellas .
[Featured Image by WWE]