Gunther says he “hated” John Cena when he first start his career as a professional wrestler

Gunther, who is scheduled to be John Cena’s final opponent at Saturday Night’s Main Event, did an interview with ESPN’s First Take. Gunther commented on how the locker room views Cena…

“I can only speak for myself, and I haven’t really—like, I shook hands twice with him. I didn’t really have any interactions with him otherwise. I just remember when I started wrestling, like 20 years ago now, I remember that I hated that guy in jorts on TV week by week, and I always thought he doesn’t belong in a ring. I’m a big purist. I’m a big traditionalist. And I said it on Monday: John Cena is definitely the greatest sports entertainer of all time. But I’m the greatest professional wrestler there is right now. So that’s going to be the conflict.”

Gunther also commented on the match being a “passing of the torch” moment…

“Yeah, quite traditionally it is always a passing of the torch when somebody really established retires and gets in the ring with somebody from a different generation. That’s definitely the case here too. I think John Cena represents a certain generation of WWE Superstars, and I represent the newer generation. A lot has changed in WWE. It’s a very international roster now, very diverse, and I think I represent that very well. So in that sense it’s definitely a passing of the torch for the future.”