John Cena Pays Tribute to Kenny Omega Following Former AEW Champion's Praise
Omega is the latest wrestler to receive a cryptic Cena Instagram post.
John Cena recognizes game. Even as the 16-time world champion winds down his professional wrestling career, Cena continues to keep his ear to the ground when it comes to today's squared circle scene. That extends outside of WWE as well, as Big Match John has been known to give flowers to top talent from the greater wrestling world. This was most recently seen with Maxwell Jacob Friedman, as Cena shared a conversation with MJF at The Iron Claw premiere and praised the former AEW World Champion in subsequent interviews, even suggesting he hopes to see him in WWE someday.
John Cena Pays Tribute to Kenny Omega
Big Match John's recognition of AEW's top stars continues.
Taking to Instagram, John Cena posted a picture of Kenny Omega. The image in question is during Omega's "The Cleaner" era in New Japan Pro Wrestling as he reigned as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and was a cornerstone of Bullet Club.
As per the rules of Cena's Instagram, the photo was posted without a caption, as all of his Instagram posts are shared "without explanation, for your interpretation."
That said, the post is likely in response to praise Omega recently shared for Cena during a Twitch stream.
"I have not [met Cena], but I think he's great. Great professional wrestler. He's done an incredible amount for the business, I don't think anyone will be able to match anytime soon. The reason why is because Cena wasn't doing anything for the sake of an accomplishment or trophy or recognition," Omega said. "People went out of their way after the fact to say, 'look at all this stuff John is doing in his off time.' Maybe he even laughs at it himself, but for the amount of effort he has put in to make people's lives better, whether it be Make A Wish, fans at the arenas, or autograph signings, it's a great example for what the face of a company should be or for the face of the industry. I'm a very big proponent of John Cena. I think he's incredible."
This is not the first time Cena has acknowledged Omega on social media. Back in January 2017, Cena shared the same photo of The Cleaner as well as a South Park "I Am Kenny" picture not long after. This was around the time that Omega was rumored to be joining WWE, but that speculation never came to fruition.