If you’ve been watching WWE for even an instant, you’re probably very familiar with John Cena. But if you’ve been watching WWE for a decade or so, it’s possible you’re also pretty familiar with his dad, John Cena Sr. The outspoken patriarch of the Cena clan has been a fixture in the New England wrestling scene for a good long while at this point, and every now and then he pops up on WWE television to be part of an angle involving his son.
So perhaps it was inevitable that Cena Sr. would at some point be drawn into the conversation that has continued to swirl regarding Jinder Mahal. While we’re mostly used to the fact that he’s the reigning WWE Champion (although we’re still reeling a little at all the legends he’s held that title longer than), the value and merit of Mahal as champion is something that fans and insiders alike continue to discuss.
Cena Sr. was recently a guest on Boston Wrestling Sports, and he had a lot to say about Mahal. True to form, he also wasn’t too interested in mincing words.
If you don’t have time to watch 18 minutes of John Cena Sr. holding court, here are the pertinent bits, via 411 Wrestling:
“I don’t think he’s a good champion, I don’t think he’s a worthy champion,” Cena Sr. said. “I think they need to get somebody in there that can get people involved in the championship matches … I don’t think he’s the man for the job.
“I’m not impressed. There are other people I can see holding that belt. The fans are gonna get pretty tired, pretty fast. They don’t like Mahal to start with, and not because he’s a good heel, it’s because he can’t wrestle.
“He’s not even close to being a JBL. Mahal is in there for one reason: they want the Indian market. What better way to get it than to have the champion into the country you’re going? And he’s gonna hold that when he comes out of India, he’s gonna hold that for a while for whatever reason. To upset the fans, maybe? Perhaps. But he certainly is not the same caliber of JBL. He doesn’t have the arrogance, the ability, nor the characterization, nor the wrestling ability!”
It’s likely that a good many people will agree with Cena Sr.’s comments. There’s one person that we’ll almost certainly never hear from on the matter, though, and that’s John Cena. He’s been around long enough to know he shouldn’t touch these remarks with a 10-foot pole.
