Paul Heyman says John Cena is a real-life superhero, and WWE wants to have more superstars who follow in his footsteps as a “community up-lifter.”
In an interview with Graham “GSM” Matthews for Bleacher Report, Heyman described how, nowadays, WWE knows everything about prospects due to the extensive tryouts. He discussed how the hiring process has changed, as WWE now looks for people who can represent the company in a positive light. He cited WWE Global Ambassador Titus O’Neil’s message to new recruits; the former Tag Team Champion described how every member of the roster can impact the others’ abiliity to make a livelihood and provide for their families.
“They know everything about you,” Heyman said. “That was never the case before in this industry. Hey, did you see that guy? Yeah he cut a great promo. Great, hire him, put him in developmental. Great, hire him, put him on RAW or SmackDown. Have him cut a promo, let’s see how he does if we just throw him out there. We take the baby, we walk to the ocean, we throw them into the water, and we see if they swim back, and if not, we dive out into the ocean and we pull them and say, ‘Here’s how you doggy paddle.’ We don’t do that anymore. We want people who are prepared, who are equipped, who are physically and mentally and spiritually and emotionally understanding of the rigors that it takes to become a star, and then the responsibility of being a star. Titus O’Neil was here, WWE Global Ambassador.
“When he was done, because he had to go do some media commitments, he did not get up there and say, ‘I want you all to concentrate on getting a job. I want you all to understand what it takes to draw money. I want you all to understand you all to understand your responsibilities as human beings. If you get this job, you represent this company, which means you affect my ability to feed my kids because you make the name of the company something that’s a disgrace, it hurts my ability to feed my children. I wanna be proud for the company that I work for. Don’t we all want to be proud for the company that you work for? So if you get a DUI, if you’re involved in a bust, if you get taken down, if you do something stupid, you make us all look stupid. Look at the type of people that the company hires.’ That resonated throughout the room, that I’m accountable in my actions to how well you are equipped to feed your children, to make your living, to put money away for your future. Because if I drag us down, I drag you down with me.”
Heyman continued, emphasizing that WWE wants to find representatives of the company. He also explained that he hates superhero movies because he knows a real-life superhero, John Cena. Heyman then stated that the company wants to have more people like Cena, given his impressive character.
“So we’re also finding out who these people are,” Heyman said. “If there is a downside, what is a downside, and if the downside’s addressable. How can we help them? How can we lift them up? How can we take this person and make them an even better person so that they’re a far better representative of the company. I very often have told my own children if I catch them watching a Marvel or a DC movie because I personally hate Marvel and DC movies, just hate superhero movies. That’s just me, and I’m right in my contempt and disdain for them. They asked me why, and I tell them, because I know a real-life superhero, and his name John Cena. John Cena is a real-life superhero, flaws and all. That’s a hero, that’s a superhero in my book. We should all aspire to be the type of interactive combiner up-lifter that John Cena is.
“That’s why he was and still remains such a great representative and ambassador for WWE. This is what we look for, and it’s not just limited to, ‘The guy can do a promo. The guy has done good moves. Did you see him drop the elbow off the top rope’ anymore. There’s much more to it. Good for the industry itself that we’re taking into accountability the type of people that we want associates with it because for so long, there were no standards. If you could draw money, we didn’t care. Oh, well, you see what a rat bastard that person is? Yeah, but he draws a lot of money. Well, then we’re gonna put up with him. Not in the next generation. We wanna know we have a room full of people that view their image with the seriousness that a John Cena would view it.”
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