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John Cena believes that if WWE can fire Steve Austin, they can fire anybody. In an interview on Rich Eisen Show, Cena commented on the recent talent releases in WWE, giving them historical perspective. Cena also spoke on WWE’s hiring strategy with so many wrestling companies out there right now to take on talent.
“When I started in the WWE, the WWE had just absorbed WCW and ECW, and also had two developmental territories,” Cena said. “The rosters were abundant is probably a good word. When I started in WWE, there were releases twice a year. And it created stakes for developmental talent and it created stakes for talent to try and make a name for themselves. Because we just knew. We knew in a calendar year, shortly after WrestleMania and either before or after the holidays, there would be cuts. There always were. And that seemed to stop right around when we really began to redefine ourselves with our new school, Ruthless Aggression era style of characters of me, Brock, Randy, Dave.”
“When those guys began to anchor in and develop programs going into the next decade or more, and we started to expand our reach, we started to have more programming,” Cena said of the talent progression and landscape. “The talent rosters started to get big. And I think a lot of it, WWE’s hiring strategy, I think a lot of it might’ve, and once again I’m not thinking for the WWE. This is just me posing a different perspective. I think a lot of it might have been a little slightly defensive hiring. Because there was, and still is, a giant boom right now in sports entertainment. People are absorbing this content, they’re engaging. People are making a name for themselves outside of the WWE, it’s no longer a one stop shop. So I think with this flux of passionate people who love sports entertainment, people do get a name for themselves outside of WWE. And I remember when I started in WWE, I want to use the word fortunate. I was fortunate enough to be at the show in Atlanta where Stone Cold Steve Austin was fired. And that moment right there, it shot through me like a cannon. Because I got the impression ‘if they can fire Stone Cold Steve Austin, unless your name is Vince McMahon, everyone is replaceable.”
Cena was on the Eisen show promoting his Peacemaker show that drops this week on HBO Max. Cena headlined this year’s Summerslam against Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship.
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