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.
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.
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.
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'.
Professionally, John Cena has my respect more than anybody I've ever been around in the ring and out of the ring.
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.
John Cena's match with me, the one that kind of got him hired with WWE, I remember they were there to look at John, obviously. He looked great - he was like the blue-chipper - and John was a good friend of mine, so I had no problem whatsoever helping him kind of highlight and do his thing.
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.
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.
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.
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 had a conversation with John Cena, and I told him, 'If only I could be a giant with abs,' and he said, 'Maybe you could be a giant with abs.' That kind of got me thinking that maybe John was onto something, because when it comes to obviously being successful and marketable, John is one of the smartest people I've been around.
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.
John Cena is John Cena - it's really not a character he is playing.
I swear, there is no one better listening to the fans and knowing what they wants and how to make them cheer other than John Cena.