Former WWE star reveals unbelievable pitch he made to John Cena
John Cena has been involved in four matches ever since his WWE Farewell Tour kicked off. Meanwhile, former Intercontinental Champion Matt Cardona (fka Zack Ryder) shared an interesting pitch he made to The Franchise Player earlier this year.
After failing to win the 2025 Men's Royal Rumble match, Cena emerged victorious in the six-man Elimination Chamber match. He then dethroned Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 to become the Undisputed WWE Champion and has since successfully defended the title against Randy Orton at Backlash.
During an appearance on Chris Van Vliet's INSIGHT podcast, Matt Cardona revealed that he reached out to The Cenation Leader with a proposal to wrestle him at a GCW pay-per-view in New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom in January 2025. Despite his efforts to make the match happen, John Cena was ultimately unable to accept the offer.
"I pitched [John] Cena to wrestle me at Hammerstein Ballroom, GCW, 'cause I had this mystery opponent. I reached out; I threw the Hail Mary. Obviously, he couldn't do it, but I tried," Cardona said. [From 51:01 to 51:13]
You can watch the full interview below.
WWE Hall of Famer wants to punch John Cena
The Last Real Champion made his presence felt at the Backlash Post-Show press conference. At one point, R-Truth appeared and said he was proud of his "childhood hero," although some fans felt he sucked and couldn't wrestle. This did not sit well with John Cena, and he ended up putting Truth through a table with an Attitude Adjustment.
On the Busted Open podcast, Bully Ray called out the company for its repetitive booking. The WWE Hall of Famer claimed the segment lacked emotional investment and said that, had it been more compelling, he would have wanted to punch The Cenation Leader in the face.
"It sounded like somebody knocked over an ashtray. I didn’t feel bad for Ron Killings afterward. What John did—I’ve seen it a hundred times. I want to feel something. I want to be so emotionally invested in that moment that I want to punch John Cena in the face for what he did," Ray said.
It will be exciting to see if WWE fans witness R-Truth vs. John Cena at the upcoming Saturday Night's Main Event on May 24, 2025.
Please credit INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use the transcription from the article's first half.
