Undisputed WWE Champion “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes participated in the post-WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event show, where he talked about various topics, including his thoughts on John Cena’s final match of his wrestling career.
Rhodes said, “It is really hard to describe in a sense of all the positives that he brought to our industry, and leaving it better than he found it. And ah, wrestling is — there is a way it ends, you know? And he did everything right, by the book. It’s still, like — when it’s that good, you don’t want it to end. I know that is vague, but he did every thing by the book and taught so many people, and set such a high standard, such a high bar. I’m not trying to get emotional on his night. But more than anything, just taking a moment and think about those sneakers, and the pump-ups before that. And the man who filled those and what he was able to do. Through good times, through bad times. ‘Tonight, everyone is chanting ‘Let’s go Cena.’ Not ‘Let’s go Cena’ and ‘Cena sucks.’ Just ‘Let’s go Cena.’ It’s everything. I am so happy it happened. It’s a great, great arena with great wrestling history, and I am so sad it happened, too.”
On being part of the show:
“Triple H called me and asked me if I would be part of Saturday Night’s Main Event. And always, wrestlers act like, ‘Oh, that’s such a big ask.’ Are you kidding? To be part of John Cena’s final show, to be able to bask in this glory, in this house? There’s a number, I’m sure Triple H is reading it right now. The amount of sellouts, the amount of things John did. And I know that sounds really material, but John led with his heart and also with his mind. He was a businessman and he was trained by businessmen, and he trained us to be businessmen. So to go out here where you have 19,000 people, whatever it was, and not a soul leaves until he leaves? That is the sign of — not a good career, a great career. And we can only hope to have something like that. Really, hats off to the greatest of all time.”
On Cena going out the way he wanted:
“I heard CM Punk say that earlier, ‘We don’t get to choose.’ Sinatra said it best, ‘My Way.’ There was no one who did it more their way than John. To be able to come in and do this, and do it on the way out and do the honors — there will never be another like John Cena. You hear a lot of people like, ‘This is the next John Cena, This is the next Brock Lesnar, the next Kurt Angle, the next Triple H. There’s never a ‘next anybody.’ Everyone is unique when they make it, and when they can truly get over like John did, where he couldn’t leave the house without people wanting to touch him, and know him and be part of what John was doing. It is just a moment to take a look at — that’s a high bar but that is what we are supposed to shoot for. And to John, he would say the same think, that’s what we are supposed to shoot beyond. I’m really honored I could be here. And the good thing about WWE is, we go right back to work Monday. And it’s WWE without John Cena; what does that look like? Who steps up, I mean it’s right there. Who steps up and fills those shoes? And I have a feeling it’s more than one person.”
You can check out Rhodes’ comments in the video below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
