John Cena Explains Why WWE Talent Releases No Longer Spell Doomsday

John Cena was the face of WWE for more than a decade and carried the company on his back throughout the PG era. He has seen a lot of changes not only in WWE but the pro wrestling landscape in general. He is aware of how WWE is nowadays and it appears that John Cena believes WWE talent getting released isn’t the end of the world anymore.

There was a time when WWE was the only place for wrestlers to make significant money and get worldwide recognition at the same time after WCW and ECW went under back in 2001.

Things are much different now in the world of professional wrestling, as there are innumerable alternatives to WWE – including AEW, NJPW, Impact Wrestling, MLW, GCW and numerous other promotions in general.

While speaking to Busted Open Radio, John Cena talked about the change in the world of professional wrestling over the years. Cena stated that he believes WWE talent getting released is no longer as bad as it used to be, as it simply presents more opportunities for talent to make a name elsewhere.

Yes, ah, I think in, think in just in seeing the evolution of the business; that’s my biggest takeaway. Ah when I, when I started and, and you [Bully Ray] have a deeper wisdom than this because you come from multiple companies, I’m a WWE lifer. When I started, there was like, Jack Lanza and Timmy White at the cash table, you made sure to take your draw. Transportation was a nightmare. There was no navigation, I still had Rand McNally atlas, and [we were like] ‘oh, looks like the arena’s over there.

There was no developmental territories. It was all kind of boggled up and freelanced. Even the shows were kind of off the cuff. Now there’s so much more structure, there’s so much more growth. To see it grow from the stereotype of a carnival act to being perceived as a global phenomenon. And I speak in terms of WWE, but I think that is sports entertainment wide.

Now is there other companies, putting in resource and being like, ‘Well, the world’s a stage and we can go around the world and people will enjoy this as long as we put forth a good product,’ and I admire that. But my best moment is now. [It] is looking at, ‘okay, I have kind of done my piece and it’s better now than it ever was.’ Talent’s treated better. They have a lighter schedule. They are paid well. They have incentives. They get supplement for their college education if they want to be college educated. They get financial advice.

I learned a language in WWE because they offer a free second language program. The developmental system in NXT is a palace. It’s this 200,000 square foot facility with a strength and conditioning wing that looks like a Division One college, with a medical wing to make sure they are taken care of. They have the best coaches. They have the best mentors. Like this isn’t the Davis Arena in Kentucky, which I loved by the way, but it’s not that.

They have made themselves break the mould of perception, which is why I don’t get bent out of shape when people like, ‘You know it’s fake, right?’ Like to me that when I, when I hear that question, it’s like, ‘you know nothing about what we do, right?’ and I don’t get offended because it…I know who I am talking to right away. It will be somebody being like, ‘You know the movies are fake, right?’ Yeah, yeah, man, that’s… I don’t care. I don’t get all defensive. It’s just, it’s like ‘Oh you are the one person who doesn’t get it now, okay, that’s fair, don’t worry about it.’ But I think my favorite moment is just seeing how it has grown and man, what a time to be in Sports Entertainment now.

It’s kind of like the 90s, with WCW firing all cylinders and WWF firing all cylinders, and ECW. There are so many companies to work for. I wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for that gold rush. Now we have another renaissance of like… You can get tons of places to work in, and tons of avenues to perform in. And if you get, if WWE says, ‘We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors,’ kind of your journey is just starting. There are options, man, and that means people are hungry again and there’s… I love it for the performers.”

John Cena also recently addressed his reputation for burying talent in WWE. Cena truly loves professional wrestling and simply wants everyone in the business to prosper and that is all that matters.

What’s your view on what John Cena said? Do you agree with him? Let us know in the comments!