Former WWE star and a former eleven times Tag Team champion in WWE Matt Hardy who is also a former ECW World Champion recently looked back at the debut of WWE legend John Cena during the early stage of the Ruthless Aggression Era in 2002 and talked about it.
John Cena is one of the biggest legends of professional wrestling who made his main roster debut in an episode of Friday Night Smackdown in 2002. Before that he had a short career in the Ohio Valley Wrestling which was the development Territory of WWE back in the time. Cena was famously known as the prototype in the OVW.
Matt Hardy Remembers The Debut Of John Cena
In 2002 he made his main roster debut against Kurt Angle who was one of the biggest names of WWE back in the time. In spite of losing the match to Angle, Cena was vastly praised by the fans, critics and his fellow WWE stars. It was quite clear that he is destined for something really big.
He actually became one of the biggest names not only in WWE but in the world of professional wrestling. In 2005 he won his first World Championship in WWE, the venue was WrestleMania 21. It was just the beginning of his ultimate success. He won a total of 16 World Championships in his WWE career which is the record.
He has been the face of WWE for a really long time. He was the face of WWE throughout the Ruthless Aggression era and there was a time when he carried the whole promotion on his shoulder. Currently he is focused on making a career in Hollywood. He still makes sporadic appearances in WWE.
Matt Hardy who is also a former ECW World Champion recently spoke on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy Podcast where he looked back at the debut of WWE legend John Cena during the early stage of the Ruthless Aggression Era in 2002 and talked about it. He said;
“There was a lot of buzz and it really stood out that John could be something special. Just considering the situation, you’re thrust right into the main event mix, you’re working against Kurt Angle, you have a ton of pressure on your right from the jump and he went out and killed it. It was a great introduction.
“There were times during that period, during that era where, you know, whenever they made it into The Ruthless Aggression Era, so to say. Vince was looking for someone to like to step up and step on people and he wanted someone to become the top guy and be the person that sells tickets and be the person who’s the world champion.
“He was looking for another new hot attraction and act. You could tell that he (John) was very special, you know, you’d never necessarily know off one performance how someone’s going to end up or how they’re going to do in the big scheme of things, but he definitely seemed like he had the potential to be a top star because he went out and like I said, being thrust into a match with Kurt Angle right out of the jump, he went out, held his own, did a hell of a job, did a hell of a promo and it was a great foundation to start your career.”
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