John Cena is one of the greatest modern stars of WWE, but that’s partly thanks to the work of icons before him who helped clear his path to superstardom. A name like Shawn Michaels may not mean much to the mainstream not familiar with wrestling, but for WWE fans, he’s widely considered one of the greatest wrestlers ever to grace the company. Cena himself recently acknowledged that and had only good things to say about his former co-worker and fellow WWE icon.
Shawn Michaels recently got his own episode as part of Peacock’s series WWE Ruthless Aggression, and John Cena appeared to talk about his relationship with Michaels and experience working with him in the WWE. As previously mentioned, Cena had nothing but positive things to say and specifically highlighted just what a talent Michaels is to work with in the ring. In his words:
I can’t put into context how easy it is to work with Shawn Michaels. His timing is better than perfect. He is confident in the things that he can do well, and he studies who he’s working with and showcases the things that they can do well. You can perform with him forever.
Shawn Michaels played a big part in John Cena’s rise to stardom in the WWE, as the two worked a notable feud in 2007, which led to a match at WrestleMania 23 that’s considered to be a top event in the show’s history. The moment, in hindsight, helped cement Cena’s legacy as one of the notable names in WWE history and proved he had what it took to hang with the best in the industry, even after taking some sweet chin music to the face.
John Cena briefly spoke about their match during the episode and what it was like working in WWE with someone who was much more established at that point than he was as a professional wrestler. Cena explained that he learned from the experience and passed on a valuable bit of information that future Superstars, or anyone in general, could benefit from hearing:
What was magical about that was: be humble enough to be led, never feel ashamed that you’re in the ring with a more experienced performer, and trust the process.
These days, John Cena is just as big of a name, if not bigger, because of his jump to Hollywood and successful career. As for Shawn Michaels, he’s still a big favorite amongst fans and recently gained recognition from WWE’s Executive Vice President and Superstar Triple H for helming an NXT taping in his absence. Michaels will always be someone notable to the success of the WWE and most likely an inspiration to many other wrestlers beyond John Cena.
WWE Ruthless Aggression is available to stream on Peacock right now. Check out that as well as a slew of content that features past pay-per-views, episodes of SmackDown and Monday Night Raw, among many other things that may feature Shawn Michaels doing some of the best wrestling audiences ever seen.
