WWE Nixed Plan For John Cena Storyline With New Jack

WWE has seen several ideas pass through creative, but never get picked up to actually go down on television. It seems that the company had a very interesting idea for John Cena, and it would have included an infamous ECW original.

During his second reign as WWE United States Champion, John Cena engaged in a best-of-five series against Booker T. The climactic fifth and final encounter occurred at No Mercy 2004, where Cena beat the former WCW star to retain his title. However, Cena’s reign was short-lived as he dropped the championship to the debuting Carlito in the following week, sparking a controversial storyline between the two promising Superstars.

As part of this angle, John Cena found himself caught up in an unexpected and dramatic twist. During a segment at a Boston nightclub, Carlito’s bodyguard, Jesús, attacked Cena by stabbing him in the kidney. This incident was a pivotal moment in the story, leading to Cena being written off WWE programming for a month. While it was eventually revealed that the “stabbing” was a “worked injury,” it served the purpose of allowing Cena to take time off to film his big-screen debut in the WWE Studios film “The Marine.”

Interestingly enough, ECW legend New Jack claimed in the past that WWE had approached him to be the one who would attack Cena, portraying his assailant character. However, ultimately, the role went to Jesús, adding further intrigue to the unfolding storyline.

During Something to Wrestle, Bruce Prichard verified that story about New Jack in WWE. It seems that there was 100% talks between the two sides. Sadly, things didn’t come together.

“There was definitely talks to New Jack. I don’t think anybody wanted to touch him because of his reputation and unpredictability. But, yes, it may have been during this time that he was actually discussed, but never to the point of, ‘Alright, who is gonna go pitch that one to Vince?’ The reputation preceded itself.” Prichard added that even Paul Heyman — who worked with Jack for years in ECW — was not enthused at the idea of bringing in the controversial wrestler. “Paul was like, ‘Ok, you may get your controversy, but it may not be the kind of controversy you really want to have.'”

New Jack sadly passed away, but at least he was featured in an episode of Dark Side of the Ring before he left us. John Cena eventually left WWE for Hollywood, but he’s still going strong, and able to get plenty of work wherever he wants.

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