At the end of the day, all I can be is me. I'm not John Cena. In my 30 years, I've never been John Cena. I don't even think about becoming him. I just want to be - I want to be Roman Reigns. I want to do things my way. I think that's why I'm in the deep water with Vince McMahon and 'The Authority'.
I want to be a Roman Reigns; I want to be a John Cena.
I learned from many people. I became a better wrestler thanks to my matches with Edge, with Christian, with Rey Mysterio, with John Cena - who, even though you, the fans, want to criticize him, John Cena is one of the best wrestlers of the universe.
You want to know why I am the perfect champion? Because you can take the strength of John Cena; the intelligence of Triple H; the desire of Cena; the athleticism of Triple H; the determination of Cena; the ruthlessness of Triple H... and if you combine these attributes into one person, you get Randy Orton. The only difference is that I have one thing that neither Cena nor Triple H has: the WWE Championship.
A lot of people say now, 'John Cena doesn't work.' Well, John Cena does the things that people go to see John Cena do, and he doesn't take a lot of risks.
I used to be around John Cena all the time in WWE, and I watched him and the way he worked. John is a guy who has been at the top longer than anyone else in history, and I'm lucky to have the opportunity to train at Cena's gym and go to him for advice.
I've made more with John Cena just by being John Cena that anyone else I've ever met. He works harder than anyone I've ever met, 30 hours a day, 500 days a year and will do anything and everything that is asked of him and couldn't possibly work harder. He is a mega draw.
When fans think WWE, I don't want them to think Hulk Hogan or The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin or John Cena. I want them to think of The Miz. I want to be on every show. When we need a guy to do Conan or Jimmy Kimmel, I want them to call me. I wanna be on the cover of all the video games. I want it all.
Allow me to correct you on two things: number one, the reason John Cena isn't here tonight has nothing to do with you. John Cena isn't here because I destroyed him in our match, this past week, in Pennsylvania. And number two, you're not the leader of the Nexus, I am.
When John Cena came to Raw, he immediately got off on the wrong foot with Eric Bischoff. Eric Bischoff said that he thought John Cena was a would be Eminem, and Lord knows one Eminem is enough, but since that time, I have come to respect and really like this kid. This John Cena is a good guy. You can't say anything differently than that.
You look at John Cena - whether you love him or you hate him, he always gets a reaction. Roman Reigns has that same aura, that same ability.
The guy who could be me, but he knows when to draw the line, is John Cena. John Cena can rock 'n' roll, let me tell you.
There's one thing you're [John Cena] better at than I am, and that's kissing Vince McMahon's ass. You're as good as kissing Vince's ass as Hulk Hogan was.
Imagine you put Brock Lesnar/Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns/John Cena on WrestleMania. Sold.
John Cena and Roman Reigns get insane reactions where half the crowd loves them and half the crowd despises them. When you're in the ring waiting for your opponent, whether it's John or Roman, you get hit by this crazy noise.
I have nothing but respect for John Cena and his work rate. He's one of the hardest-working wrestlers there ever was. He's been a great champion, an inspiring role model. It's not easy being John Cena and carrying all the weight of the company on your back all the time.
I've been part of so many pay-per-views, and I've been in the ring with John Cena and Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton and Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns... all the top names. And I've been Intercontinental champion twice.