Samoa Joe Shares John Cena Story From Early Training Days

Samoa Joe has shared candid details of his time training with John Cena in the late 1990’s.

The current AEW World Champion first crossed paths with Cena whilst working as a trainer in UPW, an independent wrestling company based in Southern California.

Joe led the beginniner training classes for the company and whilst Cena had moved past that level in his progression by 1999, he would still circle back to Joe’s class to hone his skills.

Cena would often travel with the West Huntington beach native to shows elsewhere in California and it was during this time that the 16-time WWE Champion would impress Joe with his rapping skills.

Speaking recently to ESPN, Samoa Joe revealed that Cena would freestyle for hours during the trips:

“People think that the freestyling started in WWE, but all that started back in the day, on road trips up to Northern California and John going on freestyle raps for hours at a time. I mean, just going off.

We’d have whatever evening mix, the drive time mix that would be on, and we’d be driving up to San Francisco, and John would just be killing it. The brother can rap.”

Samoa Joe Believes John Cena Is Not Given Enough Credit

It is not the first time that the former WWE United States Champion has had high praise for John Cena. During a 2021 appearance on ‘After The Bell‘, Joe noted that he believes Cena is not afforded the credit that he deserves for his hard work both in and out of the ring:

“Throughout the time I’ve known John, there’s one consistent thing, that has always stood out and still stands out to this day. I’ve even talked to guys who have worked with him in film and they say it’s the same case; John is consistently the hardest worker in the room.

Without a doubt. His attention to detail, how absolutely disciplined he is when it comes to the small things and really emphasizing the right things at the right time. He’s a cerebral guy and he’s not given enough credit for it.”

Fans may have limited opportunity to enjoy Cena’s in-ring work moving forward, with the Hall Of Fame bound Superstar recently revealing that he was working on a WWE exit strategy.

H/T: ESPN for the above transcription