Why JBL Says WWE Champ John Cena Had One Of The Hardest Runs In Wrestling

Of all the stars that broke in during WWE's Ruthless Aggression era, John Cena is considered to be one of the greatest, with the accolades to prove it. Due to this, Cena is often brought up as his era's Stone Cold Steve Austin or Hulk Hogan, but according to John Bradshaw Layfield during an episode of "Something To Wrestle," this led to the soon-to-be-retired veteran having a lot more on his shoulders than the greats that preceded him.

"It takes a while to find the next, and it's never the next Hulk Hogan," JBL explained, noting that he was once told that it's useless to try and "out-Hulk" Hogan, and instead, there should be a focus on a brand-new star. "So, when Cena comes along, he's following the Rock and Stone Cold, and the Attitude Era — where you can flip people off, drink beer, cuss all you want — now, all of a sudden, he's in a PG to G-rated era; I thought Cena had the hardest role of any champion, probably in history."

Despite this, JBL noted that Cena wasn't a "Next Hogan" but a completely different star, however, the two shared several similarities when it came to 'Make A Wish' appearances and merch sales. "And there was a reason you couldn't turn him heel! I mean, he was selling half the merch, who else is gonna sell it?" JBL pointed out that this was a similar case with Hogan prior to his WCW heel turn. "There aren't many guys in the world that you can even put in the same breath as Hulk Hogan; John Cena is one of them."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Something To Wrestle" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.