Throughout the late 1990s during the “Attitude Era,” WWE had creative freedom to test how it could entertain its audience, specifically steering programming toward edgier, more graphic content. However, following the “Attitude Era,” WWE was left to rely on newer talent such as John Cena, especially with The Rock heading to Hollywood and Stone Cold Steve Austin retiring due to several injuries. Once Cena ditched his “Doctor Of Thuganomics” gimmick in the mid 2000s, he quickly became the company’s top babyface and in a recent interview with “Sportskeeda Wrestling,” WWE Hall Of Famer JBL claimed that Cena had one of the most difficult roles to fill in wrestling history.

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“John Cena had the hardest role in wrestling history. He followed the Attitude Era where you could flip off your boss, drink beer on television, girls were out there next to nothing, sometimes nothing and he had to have a PG, to G-rated era and be the champion in that era. I don’t know if anybody in the history of the business could have done that except for John Cena, it’s incredible what he did. I’d love to see him win his 17th.”

In his most recent appearance, this past July at WWE Money in the Bank, John Cena announced his WWE retirement tour for 2025, that he will retire from in-ring competition at the end of next year. Cena later revealed how many dates he expects to work, promising to fulfill approximately 36 dates as well as appear at the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 41.

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If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Sportskeeda Wrestling” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.