WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson played a pivotal role in the rise of John Cena, after the former World Champion was deemed ‘The Guy’ by Vince McMahon.
Cena was part of the impressive OVW class of 2002 which also included Batista, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, and Shelton Benjamin.
Speaking on the latest edition of his “ARN” podcast, Anderson recalled Vince McMahon narrowing down the pool of possible top guys to Cena, Orton, and Batista before going with John. He said,
“When he decided on John he just said to me one day, ‘Okay Arn, I am giving Cena to you, teach him how to work, teach him the business,’ just like that. From that point on I guess he told whoever assigned the matches, ‘Give Cena to Arn,’ and I started working with him and worked with him the entire time that he was being groomed and what he became.”
Anderson was a smart pick to mold Cena into a top star, as he had played a similar role in WCW, where he worked with Bill Goldberg to make him into a main-event star.
