John Cena working with former NXT talent is nothing new. From Rusev to Kevin Owens to Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, Cena has wrestled many who have come through WWE's "developmental system"
Although NXT's rate of success in translating to the main roster is rather high, it hasn't stopped Cena from witnessing hurdles that sometimes slow down or even halt names that are brough up. On this week's episode of the E&C Pod of Awesomeness, Cena described some of the issues.
"NXT is different now. Those are people who actively gravitate towards 'professional wrestling.' That's why certain styles are appreciated and performances are appreciated. Then you get to WWE and the bundle of responsibility comes with using your skills to tell a story to a general public. (It's) not necessarily that pro wrestling fan that will tune into everything because they love everything. That's the biggest challenge the guys face," Cena explained.
Cena is also experiences blowback from fans who see him as that hurdle of adjustment for stars. To the 16-time world champion, this period for a wrestler is important, as it helps show who belongs and who doesn't.
"They'll have the same environment in NXT and come to Raw or Smackdown and will have a period of difficult adjustment. Sometimes the hardcore audience will get upset because they feel (the talent) isn't being used right, but I've seen it a number of times. The inability to grasp what's going on, and their audience got so much bigger, and depth of field got so much longer and they can't conceptualize it just yet. Some don't ever make it, some shake the cob webs and move on," said Cena.
You can hear the full interview at this link, and Cena discussing his work with CM Punk and AJ Styles at this link.
