As the face of the company, John Cena is one of the most powerful men in WWE – and one star was on the receiving end of his ire.
John Cena had his favourite WWE stars, but there were some he often didn’t see eye-to-eye to with backstage in the company.
The 17-time champion was often accused of failing to put rising stars over in WWE, with the likes of Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, and Wade Barrett falling to the star.
However, Cena went one step further in the early 2010s when he allegedly got a star’s push cancelled after an ‘incident’ between the pair.
An ‘incident’ with John Cena led to Alex Riley’s WWE exit
Alex Riley looked all-but-set to become a huge star in WWE after his appearance on one of the early seasons of NXT.
He was paired with The Miz and even featured in his WrestleMania main event with Cena in 2011, but then his WWE career turned sour.
The star went from the WrestleMania main event to a commentator, before being released by the company in 2016.
Revealing details of his strange descent in WWE, Riley revealed to The Two Man Power Trip: “There was an incident and it certainly affected the path of my career.”
According to backstage producer, Arn Anderson, who worked extensively with Cena during his time at the top of the company, this was due to a heated exchange with the 17-time champion.
“He was offered some help from Cena and seemed less than enthused or interested,” said Anderson on his podcast. “I’m sure it was around that time that his water got cut off.”
Riley took a six-year hiatus from professional wrestling after his 2016 release, but returned to the independent scene in 2022.
Alex Riley isn’t the only star whom John Cena reportedly got fired
Cena’s backstage heat extended further than his issues with Riley too, as another star has revealed a difficult exchange with the 17-time champion.
Ken Anderson, who worked in WWE as Mr Anderson, has revealed how a match with Cena led to his unfortunate exit from the company.
“He claimed he gave me a hip toss, and then he tore his pec,” revealed Anderson on his Mic Check podcast. And he claimed that I tore his pec somehow.”
“I watched the video over and over and over and over again and like, it’s a hip toss,” added Anderson, “Like, sometimes accidents happen.”
Anderson claimed he was told by WWE legend ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin about Cena’s issues with him, and The Texas Rattlesnake told the star to leave.
Anderson revealed Austin told him: “‘You know, this guy hates your guts, this guy hates your guts, and you know that you got the heat from John, John claims that you tore his pec.’”
Cena never worked with Anderson again, and the former United States Champion was released in 2009.