At WrestleMania XX, John Cena won his first WrestleMania match against Paul Wight, and the victory effectively propelled Cena to superstardom. Cena made another famous moment five years later at WrestleMania 25 when he carried both Wight and Edge onto his shoulders before delivering a couple of Attitude Adjustments to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
Cena was asked to choose his best experience of working with Wight when addressing fan questions at a recent “92NY” event. Cena was inspired by the question to credit the former Big Show with helping him rise to the top of the pro wrestling food chain.
“Just the moments that he would open up as a human being,”
John Cena on Paul Wight
“He is a kind and gentle giant, a giving giant. He was very much responsible, he was one of the few supporters of me when no one else would bet on me. We’ve had great conversations over the years, and those are some of my favorite moments — when you get to talk to Paul”
John Cena on Paul Wight
Cena alluded to reports that Vince McMahon was not sold on him as a top-tier performer two decades ago, a narrative that has been confirmed by Jim Ross and Bruce Prichard. Indeed, Ross reportedly stated that McMahon believed he was “delirious” when he named Cena as a possible WrestleMania main eventer in 2001. To summarize, Ross and Wight were correct in their predictions concerning Cena.
h/t Wrestling Inc
Follow Mark T Cyrus at @_MarkCyrus on Twitter
If you enjoy Bodyslam’s content, you can help donate to the site here. You can also visit our PWTees store and buy Bodyslam official merchandise here. You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel, or any of your favorite podcast platforms
