Former WWE Star Tyrus Muses On John Cena's Career, Final Opponent

Throughout John Cena's retirement tour this past year, multiple current and former WWE stars have spoken about how the 48-year-old has positively impacted both their personal and professional lives, regardless of their position in the company. One former WWE wrestler who rarely shared the ring with Cena was Tyrus, also known as Brodus Clay, who recently opened up about the 17-time World Champion's generosity and kindness outside of the squared circle in an interview with "TMZ."

"Great dude. Wouldn't [have] had a WrestleMania moment without him. Let me train at his facility and his trainer Rob changed my life forever. I love him, but I really wanted to whoop his ass one time ... he deserves to have a retirement tour. He's been good for the business. He's another guy who a lot of people like to blame for their not coming up or whatever, but when you're the top guy and maintain it for as long as he has, consistently as he has, he's turned it into an amazing acting career and he's at a point in his career where he doesn't have to do anything at all with wrestling. And the fact that he's doing it and he's not just doing it, he's putting young guys over. He's getting guys over."

Tyrus also stated that Batista and Brock Lesnar were his first two picks as Cena's final opponent, stating that his feud with "The Animal" in the early 2010s was iconic, while a rematch with "The Beast" would've been fitting after being destroyed by him at Wrestlepalooza. Cena ended up losing his final match to GUNTHER this past weekend at Saturday Night's Main Event, as the "Never Seen 17" tapped out for the first time in 20 years.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "TMZ" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.