MLW World Champion Hammerstone Thanks John Cena For Getting Him Back Into Wrestling

MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone has said that it was the Attitude Era that first caught his attention and that he fell in love with pro wrestling again through John Cena.

"I started watching 'Sunday Night Heat' or 'Shotgun Saturday Night' or whatever was on late on public television because we didn't have cable TV," Hammerstone told "Squared Circle Pit." The MLW star says he watched guys like Gangrel that main-evented the lower-tier programming, as well as acts like D-Generation X, noting he liked the crotch-chopping but fell away from wrestling because he's always looking for something new. "I always like to keep fresh, new stuff coming into the old noggin."

Hammerstone says he got back into wrestling around the time he graduated from high school in 2008. "That was mostly because I was into weightlifting and John Cena videos and I started watching him," he said. The former Dynasty member said that this period is when he realized that he could maybe do it and sent him down his current career path. 

"I kinda gotta thank good ol' John for getting me back into wrestling," Hammerstone said.

Hammerstone, who has been wrestling professionally since 2013, joined Major League Wrestling in 2019 and has been a marquee attraction for the promotion ever since, which eventually led to a brief tenure with Pro Wrestling NOAH. He's currently over 500 days into his reign as the MLW World Heavyweight Champion, after winning the title from Jacob Fatu in October 2021. He recently defended the title against Fatu in a highly-anticipated rematch in Philadelphia this past February.