In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, former WWE star Alex Riley opened up about backstage heat he had with John Cena during his run:
“I think it came down to, at the end, two men just not liking each other. As sad as that is, it had an impact on my career because he is who he is.”
“I just happened to be in a situation where, right from the start, it was just … he didn’t like me,” Riley added. “I just don’t think he did. I tried to change that the best I could. I worked very hard and tried to do the best I could to grow and learn and fit in in the way a wrestler fits in and he wanted me to fit in. It just kinda got to the point where, a little bit, even some of the other guys would kinda be like, ‘what’s up with that?’ ‘I don’t know.’ So it was a tough situation.”
“There was one mistake that either I made, or he made, where we got really crossed. And we kind of got into a little bit of an argument. And I didn’t think it was going to … I went to him immediately the next day and tried to apologize for whatever had happened. I think he was pretty offended. Again, it was two grown men that just didn’t see eye-to-eye at the time.
I’m not holding any grudges or anything like that. I certainly don’t want it hanging over my neck for the rest of my life.”
