Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: Chris Jericho, John Cena, wrestling, wwe

It Turns Out John Cena Owes All His WWE Success to Chris Jericho

Today, John Cena is a global entertainment superstar, but back in 2002, he was just a guy with some ruthless aggression. And in his first PPV match at WWE Vengeance in 2002, he was initially booked to lose because WWE Chairman Vince McMahon apparently didn't see anything special in him. But one man stepped in to change the course of history: Cena's opponent and current AEW star, Chris Jericho.

For a ten year period from 2005 to 2015, John Cena ruled WWE during a reign of terror, but the LOLCenaWins era almost didn't exist. That would have been a strange alternate history indeed, with WWE allowing wrestlers the fans actually cheered for to win big matches. It would have changed the entire landscape of the WWE, and those changes would still be felt today. Could you imagine a late 20-teens Roman Reigns without John Cena before him?

But thankfully, Le Champion stepped in to save John Cena's career, and, in effect, the wrestling business as we know it.

"I remember calling Vince a night before that show and basically telling him that me winning was the wrong finish," Jericho revealed on his podcast, Saturday Night Special. "I told him clearly that John should go over. But Vince didn't see anything special in Cena."

Thankfully, The Demo God and the Million Viewer Man is known for his powers of persuasion.  "I told Vince, 'I'm telling ya, this guy has something.' Finally, Vince was like, 'fine, put him over if you want.' And that was the beginning of John Cena as we know it."

Thank goodness Chris Jericho had the good sense to do what he did and create one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling history. John Cena thanks him, surely, as does WWE. But the world thanks Chris Jericho as well.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!