WWE Star Bayley Reveals SNME Homage To John Cena

By Ella Jay
WWE star Bayley is smiling Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

23 years removed from it, the stylings of John Cena's WWE television debut live on. This is due in part to former WWE Women's Champion Bayley, who molded her WWE Saturday Night's Main Event ring gear with the same colors seen on Cena during the June 27, 2002 episode of "WWE SmackDown."

"My original gear got stuck in some bad weather, so I text our seamstress team Friday morning asking for a miracle. Lori here MADE THIS GEAR FOR ME IN 24 HOURS. I gave her the colors and she got to work. That is a TRUE superstar. Thank you @nogimmickgear!!! #NeverGiveUp," Bayley wrote on X alongside images of her red and black attire as well as Cena's red-and-black shorts worn in his main roster debut match on "SmackDown."

 

For that occasion, Cena answered an open challenge from Kurt Angle, who promptly asked the then 25-year-old Cena which quality gave him the confidence to step up. Cena famously proclaimed that he possessed "ruthless aggression," which he then displayed in his in-ring battle with the former WWE Champion. Stillm Angle went on to defeat the young star with a double chicken wing pin.

Fast forward to 2025, Cena hugged Angle at ringside before competing in his final match at Saturday Night's Main Event with GUNTHER as his opponent. Elsewhere, Bayley faced "WWE NXT" star Sol Ruca while sporting her Cena-inspired ring gear and an arm band that read "Never Give Up." Both Cena and Bayley lost at SNME, with Cena tapping out to a sleeper hold and Bayley being pinned. 

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