WWE legend and 17-time World Champion John Cena appeared on the No-Contest Wrestling podcast to discuss various topics, including feedback from pro wrestling legend William Regal early in his career.
Cena said, “I remember getting an opportunity to do some dark matches at Anaheim and LA runs. And I share this moment with — I call him Commissioner Regal, William Regal. And man, you want to talk about one hell of a callback. We shared the story for each other for years about like — I just had bad matches. I was a blocky — unorthodox, as Michael Cole would call it. I know the man in the mirror. I really idolized William Regal. That European, Fit Finley, catch as catch can style. I loved the kinesthetic awareness of it. I loved how it was just like physical poetry. So he was there and I asked him like, ‘Hey, did you see my match?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘How was it?’ His feedback was, “Lad, if you get yourself a pair of boots, at least you’ll look like a proper wrestler.’”
On his reaction to the feedback:
“And I was like, ‘Yo,’ but here’s the thing. Perception is reality. I was like, ‘All I need is a pair of boots!’ That’s how I took it. But obviously, he was being very polite, but very stiff upper lip. And it was the s**ts, so he was he was honest. But thank goodness he didn’t tell me it was bad, right? Because I was wrestling in bodybuilding Ottomix shoes. And I’m like, ‘Yo, I just got to get boots.’ Invest in yourself, is what I took away from it.
On what Regal told him after his final WWE match:
“In the callback of all callbacks, the night I retired he literally came up to me and said, ‘Even without boots, you’re still a proper wrestler.’ And yo, like I’m getting weird — it was [emotional]. And like, the day was real busy, but all he needed was one sentence. You never know what the effect something like one sentence can have. That was like a 25 year callback. That motherf***er waited on that for 25 years. And every time I would tell the story around him, and he all he would do is just say how bad the match was. He would never give me the nugget. Yeah. And then the last day, in the best way possible, he did… That’s why it landed even harder, because I went out for my last match in sneaks. And he’s like, ‘Even without boots, you’re still a proper wrestler.’”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
