Max Caster Reacts To Recent Praise From john Cena
AEW star Max Caster of The Acclaimed has responded to recent praise from veteran WWE Superstar John Cena.
We noted last month how Cena praised Caster for his in-ring work and his rapping on the mic. Cena stated that he doesn't think he could beat Caster in a battle. He went on to praise Caster as being extremely gifted, and revealed how he passed on his contact information to Caster. Cena also referred to Caster as a better version of the character he did in WWE. You can click here for Cena's full comments.
In an update, Caster recently participated in a virtual signing with Golden Ring Collectibles, and was asked about Cena's comments. Caster said Cena was a big influence for him, and the person who got him back into pro wrestling.
Caster was asked if he could beat Cena in a rap battle. He noted that it's not about being better than Cena when it comes to rhyming, but it's about paying homage. He also addressed those who say he's a rip-off of Cena's Dr. Thuganomics character.
"That's a great question," Caster said when asked if he could beat Cena in a rap battle. "John has been very, very nice to me and when he didn't need to. He reached out and he made that public so I'm allowed to say it now so he reached out and then he said things publicly about me in Forbes and that means a lot to me. So, it's never been about beating him in a rap battle. It's about trying to get past the point of people saying I'm a Thuganomics rip-off. Am I to an extent? Maybe. He's a huge influence on me, one of my favorite wrestlers.
"The guy, I will say in 2004 that got me back into watching wrestling. So, I take that energy and propel it forward and say, maybe there's people now in 2022, even last year who fell out of wrestling that they hear there's this rapping guy on wrestling now and he does these disses and they are hilarious and you watch it and you say, 'Oh, this is my guy.' You listen to the mixtapes, songs or diss tracks that I put out, the music videos, you say, 'Wow, this guy actually has some skill.'"
Caster continued, "So, to me it's not about beating John at anything. It's about paying homage, paying respect and elevating what he did and I think, by his own admission, that I'm there, I'm doing it and I hope to continue doing that."
Caster has been working singles matches while partner Anthony Bowens recovers from a knee injury. He came up short against Keith Lee on the March 18 edition of Rampage, defeated Sonny Kiss on the March 28 Elevation episode, lost to CM Punk at the March 30 Dynamite, and then lost to new ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe on the April 6 Dynamite.
Stay tuned for more.
(H/T to POST Wrestling for the quote)