Nearly two months ago, the wrestling world said goodbye to the in-ring career of John Cena, a record-holding 17-time world champion in WWE. Along with the farewells also came an abundance of praise for Cena, with long-time peers such as Randy Orton and Adam “Edge” Copeland paying tribute. Elsewhere, fellow former World Heavyweight Champion Nic Nemeth has echoed sentiments about Cena being WWE’s “G.O.A.T.”
“I think a few years ago they started calling him the greatest of all time, and you got to go with it because he’s done so much, given back to so many different people, but what he stands for is something,” Nemeth, formerly known to WWE fans as Dolph Ziggler, told “KVIA-TV.” “There was this Attitude Era and then almost nobody came out of it. We had John, and we had to lean on John for so many different things for 15, 20 years. Having him go above and beyond, become an even bigger star to the world. But the best part, to me, is when he grants those wishes, when he comes back to WWE and gives back, or when he’s given somebody advice behind the scenes.”
Back in 2022, Guinness World Records officially recognized Cena for granting the most wishes for children battling critical illnesses through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, with 650 under his belt as of that point. The wrestler-turned-actor has gone on to fulfill much more since then.
As Nemeth mentioned, in between his busy schedule, Cena has continued to uplift his fellow wrestlers, including WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion, Becky Lynch, as well. Ahead of his retirement match, Cena even took the time to guide up-and-coming independent performers at a training run by WWE star Bayley.
Nemeth Recalls Expensive Cage Match With Cena In MSG
While reminiscing on his personal memories with Cena, Nemeth pulled back the curtain on a live event match they had in New York City’s Madison Square Garden back in December 2012.
“One of my absolute favorite matches I’ve ever had with him was at Madison Square Garden in a steel cage, not televised,” Nemeth said. “Here’s the best part. There is a curfew with MSG, and if you don’t hit that curfew, the bill becomes a half-a-million dollars more.Â
“Everybody at MSG gets excited because they’re excited to be there. We’re down in the main event in a steel cage. We’re about to go out and there’s eight minutes until hey, after this, it’s a half million dollars on Vince [McMahon]’s tab. I’m like, ‘What are we doing? We can’t short change these guys.’ [Cena] goes, ‘Absolutely not.’ We’re going to talk to the boss. The boss goes, ‘Give them their money’s worth.’ We went out there for 30 minutes.”
The result of this cage match saw Cena emerge victorious, while Nemeth left with his front teeth knocked out and his face covered in blood. Still, Nemeth said the most important thing was giving back to the fans by creating that special, extended memory.
At the time, Nemeth and AJ Lee were freshly immersed in a romantic storyline on television, which stemmed from the latter turning on Cena just days earlier at WWE TLC. Outside of that, Nemeth also proudly owned the Money in the Bank briefcase.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “KVIA-TV” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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