10 Fascinating Backstage WWE Facts About John Cena
9. Why He Asked Tommy Dreamer For Permission
"He cared when he didn't have to care".
Those were the words of one Tommy Dreamer on Busted Open Radio last year when discussing one of the first times he met Cena backstage. Sometime in 2002-2003 (Tommy couldn't nail down an exact date), John approached him in the locker room and asked for permission to start using a modified version of his finisher.
Dreamer was pretty taken aback by this, because he wasn't exactly high up the food chain in WWE. Still, a respectful John wanted to clear things before he started using his FU/Attitude Adjustment on TV. The relative rookie eliminated any chance of backstage heat, basically.
ECW veteran Tommy always thought that was "super cool", and had a ton of respect for Cena from that day on. He was even more impressed when finding out that WWE's creative team hadn't sent John to find him - Cena was only being humble and showing deference.