Paul Heyman considered a young John Cena to be the “next Sting” when he was running the SmackDown creative team.
Cena debuted on WWE’s main roster in 2022, answering the open challenge of Kurt Angle and ushering in an era of ‘ruthless aggression.’
Dave Meltzer reports that Heyman immediately saw the potential of Cena to be one of the biggest names in wrestling.
“Paul Heyman plucked him from OVW when he was in control of SmackDown because he saw the same future superstar and ‘next Sting’ label that some, including us, had given him. It probably was a little early in the sense, while Heyman debuted him with Kurt Angle in a now-famous television debut segment.”
After a rocky start in WWE, which nearly saw Cena being released, John’s Doctor of Thuganomics character would win over fans.
In 2005, Cena would capture his first of 16 WWE World Championships and will return on next week’s episode of SmackDown to team with Kevin Owens against the Bloodline.
