John Cena is one of the most decorated superstars in the history of WWE. The Cenation Leader has feuded with many generational talents such as Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, and Batista during his full-time run with the company.
However, back in 2004, the Stamford-based promotion once considered having Cena compete against an alleged murderer, but somehow Special Counsel Paul Heyman saved the 16-time World Champion from this dangerous feud.
Bruce Pritchard revealed WWE’s creative plans for Cena
This controversial feud involving John Cena was pitched in 2004 after his long rivalry with Booker T for the United States Championship. The company had planned for Carlito’s bodyguard to stab Cena in the kidney as part of the storyline. Moreover, in a recent interview with Bruce Pritchard, the WWE Executive Director revealed that the role of Jesus was supposed to be portrayed by the controversial star New Jack. While talking on the Something to Wrestle podcast, Bruce Prichard stated that
“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.”
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Overall, the explanation of Bruce confirmed that the ideas surrounding the New Jack feud with John Cena were true, but the company ultimately decided against bringing him in.
Heyman rejected the notion before pitching to Vince McMahon
The credit for saving John Cena from this feud clearly goes to Paul Heyman. Bruce revealed that Heyman was the one who rejected the pitch before pitching the same to Vince Mcmahon. Prichard revealed that
“Paul was like, okay, you may get your controversy, but it may not be the kind of controversy you really want to have.”
The statement of the Special Counsel gives a clear indication that he was not on board with this idea. This disagreement further leads to John Cena concluded the angle by defeating Jesús in a street fight at Armageddon 2004. This was also the final WWE match for him just one month after his debut in World Wrestling Entertainment. This incident also shows the real influence of Heyman in making better decisions for the WWE’s future shaping.
