In an interview with ‘Eyes on the Game’ earlier this week, Samoa Joe revealed his wish to face John Cena in a WWE ring in the near future.
In case you didn’t know…
Some fans may not be aware that John Cena and Samoa Joe actually have a lot of history together, with Joe even claiming that Cena got hired by WWE off the back of a match with him 18 years ago. This was when both men worked for UPW (Ultimate Pro Wrestling), who were used as a developmental system for WWE in the early 2000s.
It was during their stint in this California-based promotion that Joe and Cena first crossed paths and competed against each other in the ring on multiple occasions in the early days of their careers.
Although they were adversaries in the ring, they actually formed a strong bond away from the squared circle whilst being trained in UPW, with Cena even reportedly have been known to spend time with Joe’s family and enjoy his mother’s Samoan barbeques.
The heart of the matter
Now that Samoa Joe has made his debut on the main roster, a whole host of new potential opponents await him, although it seems the man at the top of his list is his old adversary John Cena, a man he has not been in the ring with for 18 years.
In his aforementioned interview with ‘Eyes on the Game’, Joe spoke of his history with Cena and how he would love to cross paths with ‘face that runs the place’ once again.
“John, you know, early in my career, he’s been a close personal friend and we drove a lot of miles together, and it would be an absolute pleasure to reunite in the ring and again, smash him in the face and take everything from him.”
Joe is certainly not wasting any time in making his presence felt on WWE’s main roster and is already targeting the top names in the company. He has made multiple new enemies in the form Rollins, Reigns and, most recently, Sami Zayn which has led to fans salivating at the possibility of him having matches with them.
However, there are also numerous figures from Joe’s past that the fans would love to see him face again, such as AJ Styles and John Cena.
When asked whether or not he and Cena are still friends, Joe replied by saying “we’ve grown apart, but I’m pretty sure we can get familiar real quick”.
What’s next?
With Samoa Joe part of Raw’s roster and John Cena on Smackdown Live, a match between the two doesn’t seem to be in either man’s immediate future, although there are a number of dual branded pay-per-views over the year where this match could possibly take place.
There were rumours at one stage that Joe’s debut feud in WWE could be with Cena and lead to a marquee match at WrestleMania, but with Joe being signed to Raw, that now seems highly unlikely.
Current plans have Cena teaming with Nikki Bella at WrestleMania to take on The Miz and Maryse and then he will reportedly be taking another break from the company to pursue other interests. Therefore it may not be until Summerslam at the earliest that a John Cena vs Samoa Joe is even possible.
As for Joe, he is still a newcomer to WWE’s main roster and needs to be established as a star before being placed in high-profile matches with the like of John Cena, although to be fair to WWE, they have done a great job of that so far and appear to have big plans for the former NXT Champion.
Sportskeeda’s Take
A match between Joe and Cena is certainly one that many fans would like to see, and could make for a compelling story. Using the real-life 18-year friendship between the two and mixing that with some perceived jealousy on Joe’s part for Cena making it to WWE quicker than him would great to watch.
Plus, both men are more than capable of putting on high calibre matches and surely a potential John Cena vs Samoa Joe match would be no different.
Also, with rumours circulating that Cena may be contemplating retirement sooner rather than later, could this narrative possibly come full circle with Samoa Joe being the man to end John Cena’s storied career?
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