‘Wonderful Insult’: John Cena Recalls Extreme Hostility of Fans From Early Days of WWE Career
Amidst talks about John Cena’s impending WWE retirement tour, the sixteen-time World Champion recalls the time he faced intense heat from wrestling fans.
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John Cena is regarded as one of the most polarizing stars in WWE. Despite his staunch fan following among the younger demographic, Cena has his detractors who absolutely despised his gimmick. In a recent interview, John Cena recalled his most hostile encounter with wrestling fans.
This dates back to 2006, when ECW invaded WWE, sparking a major feud between WWE stars and ECW originals at the ECW One Night Stand PPV. Then-WWE Champion John Cena was set to defend his title against crowd favorite Rob Van Dam, making Cena the public enemy number 1.
Right from the gate, John Cena experienced an unmatched level of rancor as ECW fans oozed hate and shouted obscenities at the Leader of the Cenation. One of the most unforgettable moments from Cena’s appearance in enemy territory was when his T-shirt was rejected by several fans.
As part of his entrance, John Cena habitually takes off his T-shirt and throws it into the crowd. In some arenas, fans even fight for his T-shirt but ECW fans could care less. As a matter of fact, they threw the shirt back to him. Furthermore, one fan even wiped his rear end with the shirt as if to say, “your shirt is toilet paper.” Speaking of which, even toilet papers were hurled at Cena as he prepared to lock up with RVD.
ECW One Night Stand was, by far, the most hostile crowd toward John Cena throughout his WWE career.
While speaking on Jake’s Takes, John Cena recalled how ECW fans couldn’t stand him at the time. John Cena remembers the moment as his career’s “wonderful insult.”
He stated on Jake’s Takes: “So I basically had to face Rob Van Dam for the WWE Championship that night. But my first match was with my own t-shirt and the ECW crowd. That’s definitely a wonderful insult that I remember, and I mean you don’t realize the weight of that, like, like someone’s saying I don’t want a free shirt with your face on it at an event where we go by shirts.”
A wave of hate chants began as Cena went on with the match. Chants like “F*ck you Cena," “Cena S*cks," “Cena Swallows,” “Die Cena Die,” and many more were at their loudest.
Also Read: Ex-WWE Champion Hopes to Reignite His Iconic 2006 Feud With John Cena Ahead of Retirement Tour
Nonetheless, John Cena embraced the hate from the crowd and even tried using underhanded tactics to win the match, like putting his feet on the rope for leverage during a pin. In addition, Cena also hit the ECW referee.
Ultimately, Edge intervened in the match and delivered a spear to Cena, allowing RVD to capitalize and pick up the win after a massive Frog Splash.
John Cena has been making headlines lately due to his upcoming retirement tour, set to begin in 2025. Recently, Cena revealed the number of dates planned for the final leg of his wrestling career.
Several stars, like Randy Orton, CM Punk, The Miz, Cody Rhodes, and many others, are speculated to lock up with John Cena during his retirement tour.
All in all, fans are stoked to see how WWE plans the sixteen-time World Champion’s retirement.
Read More: John Cena Picks The Best Hollywood Movies Based On Wrestling
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