Randy Orton Recalls Realizing John Cena Was Special During Their WWE Developmental Days

– ESPN recently profiled John Cena and his most memorable WrestleMania matches ahead of WrestleMania 41. Longtime WWE colleague Randy Orton spoke about when he realized that John Cena was such a special talent during their days in the WWE developmental system.. He stated the following on Cena:

“In WWE developmental, there was this guy named BJ Payne. Jim Cornette wanted BJ to cut a promo on the spot, in front of everybody. BJ, bless his heart, kind of just stood there for a second — cat had his tongue. And right then and there, Cena stood up and just cut a promo. It was storytelling 101. We were on the edge of our seat like, ‘Oh, this guy is really f—ing special.’ That was the first time I realized, ‘Oh man, I’m going to know this guy for the rest of my life.'”

WWE Superstar The Miz also recalled his match with Cena at WrestleMania 27:

“I’m very thankful that I was in that match with John Cena as well as Mike Chioda — the referee — as well as The Rock. They took care of me. I don’t know what would have happened if I go down and they just stop the entire match. That would have been the biggest regret of my life. I was safe and I was able to finish what needed to be done for this main event of WrestleMania. I’m forever thankful.”