Roman Reigns on Working with John Cena, Learning from Their Fiery Promos on RAW, More

Roman Reigns did a media call with members of the international media this week and praised John Cena following their recent match at the WWE No Mercy pay-per-view, which Reigns won. Courtesy of The Mirror in the UK, below is what Reigns had to say about Cena:

“It was a huge honour. You don’t really get to face people like John Cena often. He’s definitely a rare breed, we had a lot of heavy things to say to each other building into the match, but I think at the end of the day we both came out of it with a lot of respect for each other, not only for what we do in the ring, but what we do for the company and all the various responsibilities that come with this role. I’m proud to say that I was able to beat an athlete and a competitor, a superstar and a role model like John Cena, especially in hindsight, someone who has been on top of the mountain for 15 years. He said it, it’s not just like he was wrestling at a certain level, he was at the elite level. I don’t think anybody else is going to have a career like John Cena, to be able to hold the fort down for 15 years, it seems superhuman. I’m just really glad I was able to display my skill and my talent in the ring and we had a really great match and I’m very proud of it.”

Reigns also called the feud with Cena one of his biggest challenges yet. When asked about the fiery exchanges he had with Cena in the weeks leading up to No Mercy, Reigns said:

“I think I learned that I’m up for any challenge. That was one of the biggest challenges for me and that’s what great competitors do. If I had to lower myself to compete with John Cena, then there’s no point in competing with John Cena. But what he did, like any great competitor, any great superstar, he forced me to step up. As he said, ‘you either step up or you step aside’. I’m very proud to show that I’m able to do these different things. For a long time my strength has always been in the ring and I haven’t had these barn burner promos that everybody talks about the next day. But, I know inside that I’m able to step up. I know what I have ability wise and talent wise and I think that’s all that John was trying to do, he wanted to bring out the best in me and I think he did that and I’m very grateful for that. I think that’s my job, that’s the most important thing about being the top guy, that you lift everybody up, that you bring everybody up to that standard. It can’t be the other way around because if that’s the case, then the whole structure is off. I think he did a great job of lighting a fire under my ass and I think I did a great job of stepping up to the occasion and we made great TV for it.”

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