WWE Hall of Famer JBL appeared on Something To Wrestle With, where he talked about a number of topics including seeing potential in a young John Cena.
JBL said, “I remember the exact conversation, absolutely. You know, Vince pulled me aside and asked me if he’s the guy. Literally asked me that, ‘Is he the guy?’ And I said, ‘Unequivocally, 100% yes.’ And he was shocked by how emphatic I was about it, not that Vince didn’t believe it also. Vince followed up with, ‘He’s not just a bodybuilder.’ And I don’t mean that in any disrespect. I don’t want somebody to clip that out and put it on the internet, because Vince wasn’t saying it in a disparaging way. That was the knock. And I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ I said, ‘This kid can go. Vince, he’s your guy.’ I said, ‘There’s not a doubt in my mind.’ Now, I never dreamed he’d be a 16-time world champion, go off into Hollywood and do all the things he’s done, and be considered by a lot to be the GOAT. I never dreamed of that. But — I didn’t rule it out, by the way, but I knew he was the guy.”
On his WrestleMania 21 match with Cena:
“They spun it that we’re both main events. You know, I wish we could have gone on last. I think in hindsight, you know, maybe Cena should have. Talking about Cena, not about me. But Batista was a great star, and Triple H is great star as well. I mean, I’m talking about — when you talk about Mount Rushmore, I mean, these guys are in there in a consideration for that. I’m talking about the Triple H and Batista, these guys were awesome. So you know, it’d have been great to close it, but it didn’t happen. And at that point, we knew what we’re doing the next pay-per-view, and so I knew that was the time to shine. And they knew that they gave us that as a gift, kind of as a carrot because we weren’t going on last at WrestleMania. So you know, it is what it is. I had no hard feelings about any of it. I’m glad I got to headline WrestleMania because they say both were main events. So you know, that’s what I’ll go with. Batista and Hunter had a terrific angle as well, and both these guys are getting the big pushes. I was just glad to be there.”
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(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
