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.
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 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.
Let's take it back to John Cena and Rock back in the day, when people felt like they was just shoved down their throats. Eventually, they earned the people's respect, and the next thing you know, they were just loved by the whole world.
Everybody either hates or loves John Cena; there's no medium. I feel like that I've accomplished something when I get people to cheer for John Cena. I feel like I've done something.
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'.
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.
To John Cena after the fans kept throwing his shirt back in the ring : They didn't throw my shirt back.
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.
John Cena is John Cena - it's really not a character he is playing.
Professionally, John Cena has my respect more than anybody I've ever been around in the ring and out of the ring.
To be honest, the cool thing about Cena is he's just in his gear all the time. He doesn't have to get dressed. He comes off his bus, and he's it. All he has to do is pull up his kneepads. You know who is kind of a new Cena is Ambrose. Ambrose can show up in his gear like he just changes his boots.
John Cena is one of the great WWE talents that I respect most. If I were to end up there, working with someone of his caliber would certainly be a goal and jive with my mission of changing wrestling.
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 respect my competitors, you know, I get respect back from them. I respect people out there who pay for their tickets to come watch us compete. And I respect the reporters because they've got to come out here and tell a good story. That's what it is. It's just a cycle of respect.