10 Wrestlers You'll NEVER Believe Shared The Same Ring

9. John Cena & Kazarian

A WWE Vs. AEW mash-up of sorts, John Cena and Frankie Kazarian travelled very different paths towards the nationally televised stage.

Cena was a gym freak who entered the WWE developmental system by way of a body guy school.

Kazarian did the indie grind, working virtually everywhere in the U.S. before finding a killer use of his deadpan comedic timing and vastly underrated in-ring game as part of the riotous SCU act.

Cena and Kazarian ended up on cable TV in a sliding doors scenario, but they also started in the first place: Rick Bassman's Ultimate Pro Wrestling, which operated as a WWE pipeline and a regional promotion in its own right.

Regrettably, the match wasn't premised on John Cena saying "I have a good haircut" and Kazarian responding "Do ya?!" and refusing to copy it.

Cena gave back as a late replacement for Christopher Daniels - he worked this 2003 match as a WWE full-timer - in what was a fair, mat-based sportsmanlike encounter that acts as shocking evidence of Cena's competent fundamentals. Where did they disappear to?

When "applying" the STF, he treated a man's throat like it might give birth later in his Fed run.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!