Eli Isom wasn't a fan of John Cena when he was younger.
Joining Spencer Love of Love Wrestling, the young Ring of Honor star discussed his four-year anniversary with the company, his quest for the World Television Title, and his feelings about Dalton Castle. Additionally, Isom spoke about his late mother and how he has her in his mind every time he performs in the ring.
“So the fact that I even get to wrestle, it's really a blessing. It really is," Isom said. "The fact that my mom was the reason for that just means everything to me. Every time I go out and I wrestle, I make it a point to try to have the best match that I can, because hopefully she's watching down and I would hate to give her a bad performance!"
Isom, who has spoken in the past about how he and his mother had differing views on John Cena, was asked if he has become a fan in the time since and what he thought of Cena's recent return to the WWE. He even shared a story about attending a taping of Raw and his mom threatening to take him home if he didn't stop booing Cena. He said the following:
“In terms of John Cena, you know, I've grown to appreciate John Cena. But when I was a kid... I remember one time, in particular, we went to a RAW. We were up in the top section, and John Cena had come out and I was booing him like no other. I was just like 'boo! Get out of here!... Which was uncommon, because I was like a 10, 13-year-old kid, so most kids my age, they love John Cena. I was just booing him, blah, blah, blah. Then, I felt a nudge on my back and I kind of went over the rail. I was like, 'Whoa, what's going on?' I looked around, and it was my mom. And she was like, 'you do that one more time, we're leaving!' I was like 'all right, all right, fine!'"
Cena, now on SmackDown, is scheduled to face Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam on Saturday, August 21. Isom is set to compete at ROH's Glory By Honor (night one) on August 20 in a match against Mike Bennett, PJ Black, Danhausen, Demonic Flamita, and Dak Draper.
Fightful will have results from ROH Glory by Honor following the conclusion of the event.