Ex-WWE Star Fought Back Tears After John Cena Botch
A former WWE star thought they’d be sent back to NXT after they made a big mistake in a match with John Cena.
As WWE’s biggest star for a decade, John Cena’s word went a long way in the company and that could mean good things or absolute disaster for those who shared a ring with him.
Not long after joining the main roster from NXT in 2016, it was Baron Corbin’s turn to share the ring with Cena as part of a six-pack challenge on SmackDown, and things didn’t exactly go Corbin’s way during the bout.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Baron Corbin explained his near miss with John Cena and began by discussing what happened to a young Bray Wyatt when he ended up on the wrong side of the sixteen-time world champion:
I will start with the backstory of it. So when Nexus was up on television Bray Wyatt was not Bray Wyatt. He was Husky Harris, we’re going back here. There is a rumour that I believe is 100% true that Husky poked John Cena in the eye in a match. Vince was so mad, Cena was so mad that they sent Husky Harris back to NXT. We’re all grateful for that because Bray Wyatt was born.
So this whole rumour of Cena has been poked in the eye a couple of times and it sent Bray back to NXT for two and a half years, this was a massive punishment for that. So fast forward to this six-man, and I’d only been on the main roster [a short amount of time]. I still had hair, we’re going way back. Still had the long, beautiful locks.
Baron Corbin Thumbed John Cena In WWE Ring
However, despite being very aware of the fate that befell Wyatt, Baron Corbin ended up in the exact same position and he nearly broke down in tears as he thought his WWE career was over before it began:
It’s the beginning of the match, the match starts, this is my first big match. We got a lot of crazy spots. There’s a lot of cool stuff. I’m supposed to attack Cena, I drive Cena to the corner, put him in the corner, and I wind back to throw a body shot and my thumb lands about knuckle deep in his eye, and I’m like oh no! And he starts cussing ‘You motherf*cker!’ He’s dropping F-bombs, we’re talking first 20 rows are hearing this he’s going, ‘You motherf*cker! You poked me in the motherf*cking eye, What the f*ck!?’ I mean, he’s laying it in on me.
I’ve got my back to him at this point and I’m hearing all of this, I’m literally about to start crying, because I’m finally on the main roster. I’m up here, now I’m going back to NXT! Because of this whole thing of Bray poking him in the eye, I’m going dude, I’m going back to NXT without a doubt, I’m so screwed. I don’t want to go back to NXT. I’m so sad but I know I have to turn around to John for the next spot, and he’s still mother-effing me up and down.
I was just like, can we rewind life like five minutes? Let me start over, all of these things, and then we’re on live television, and these are all going through my head. The audience is even like, I can see in their eyes, they’re like John Cena is cussing, he’s going ape sh*t on Corbin. Finally, I have to turn around because this is the time, I’m delaying this as long as I can possibly turn.
I turn and John punches me dead in the face. It was a solid potato. I wore it, and I was like cool. Then for the rest of the match, I’m trying to remember these spots, but I’m trying not to cry because I’m like I’m going back to NXT. I just got out of there. Just the range of emotions I’m going through for the rest of that match. I’m just like, dude. I’ve walked through the curtain so dejected, and they’re like, that was amazing. And I’m just head down in the corner like it’s over for me, man.
After the match, Corbin tried desperately to apologise to John Cena but for Cena his receipt was more than enough payback and all was well:
John comes back, and I just look at him, puppy dog eyes. He’s like, ‘Hey, that was great.’ I go, ‘John I am so sorry.’ He goes, ‘Oh, we’re good. I gave you it back. We’re good.’ And I was like, Wait, this is gotta be at work. He’s lying to me. I’m gonna walk out this curtain and they’re gonna like, we need you to get your bags. You’re going back to NXT. But that was the end of it. I was good.
But I legit thought my life was over. I was like, This is it because I poked John Cena in the eye and he mother-effed me up and down. The whole match I’m panicking trying to remember stuff. And I walked through the curtain, he’s like, ‘Oh no, we’re good.’
John Cena has set his sights on winning the WWE Royal Rumble as he attempts to break his tie with Ric Flair and win the 17th world title of his career.