John Cena shares tribute ahead of WWE SmackDown

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“Most importantly, the audience. You, the fans of OVW. You keep it alive and breathing, and for that I’m grateful. Because without you, this might be a whole different path. I value hard work. I value trust, respect, and certainly persistence. At 1,400 episodes, Ohio Valley Wrestling has them all. Congratulations, and here’s to the road ahead,” he said.

Cena served as the host of WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas earlier this year. He also made a surprise appearance at Backlash 2026 to announce the upcoming John Cena Classic tournament.

WWE legend comments on working with John Cena

Wrestling icon Rob Van Dam recently opened up about working with John Cena in the past.

RVD won the WWE Championship from Cena at ECW One Night Stand in 2006. The Hall of Famer revisited the match on WWE Vault’s YouTube and noted that the former champion was painful to work with in the ring and almost folded him in half during a submission move.

“And I don’t know if a lot of people will say this, but, and this might be the pothead calling the kettle black, but he’s a little stiff when he put his submission on me, where he’s got you in the headlock and he’s got your feet and on your stomach down there going, ah! There’s not even room to scream because there’s no air left. Because he was like folding my body in half,” he added.

Gunther also retired AJ Styles at Royal Rumble 2026. The Ring General is currently in a rivalry with Cody Rhodes and will be challenging him for the title next week on SmackDown. Gunther will be revealing the stipulation for the title match during tonight’s show.

If you use the quote from the first half of this article, please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.

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