How Samoa Joe Helped Start John Cena's Career

02/16/2017 12:51 pm EST

It's been a long road for Samoa Joe to get to the WWE. After many years of fighting his way to the big leagues, The Destroyer has made it to the WWE's main roster. While many are aware of his journey, we didn't realize that Samoa Joe has had a lot to do with the success of the WWE over the past 18 years. In fact, Joe may have hand in creating the biggest superstar in the WWE today; John Cena.

Joe spoke with Eyes on the Game earlier this week on a number of wrestling topics and discussed a match he had with John Cena that sent both men on very different career paths.

"It's been 18 years, 18 years ago, myself and John Cena had a match and based off that match WWE inevitably hired him, and brought him along and I went my own separate way. It's been 18 years since me and John have been in the ring together. John, you know, early in my career, he's been a close personal friend and we drove a lot of miles together, and it would be an absolute pleasure to reunite in the ring and once again, smash him in the face and take everything from him."

Did the WWE pick John Cena over Samoa Joe? It would be hard to fault them for doing so, but either way this back story will make for an epic encounter whenever these superstars do meet in the ring. Despite their friendship and admiration, Joe must harbor a little resentment for being looked over for so many years while Cena soared to unimaginable stardom.

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