John Cena has been vocal about his admiration for Mason Rook, and he’s now shared the story of how the two first met, before Rook had even signed with WWE.
Speaking to Metro, Cena recalled a WWE stop in Glasgow, Scotland, where he ran into Rook, who was still going by Will Kroos at the time and working as one of the local extras.
“We [WWE] did Glasgow, I think it was, and I was hoping, ‘Man, I know we have UK extras here. What if we walk into the room and Will Kroos is there? I will like lose my mind.’ And that’s exactly what happened. All the additional talent was kind of being shepherded into taking their physicals and stuff, and Will Kroos is one of them. And I stopped dead.”
Cena pulled Kroos aside and praised him directly.
“Yo, dude, I’m a huge fan of yours. The way you tell stories, the way you carry yourself, what you’re doing is appropriate. Anyone can learn to do the physical stuff with enough practice. You have the nuance that very few performers have.”
Cena appeared on the March 24 episode of RAW at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro, his last time in the city before his retirement.
Rook debuted on NXT in April and officially revealed his new ring name on the May 5 episode, after attacking Tony D’Angelo for the second show in a row. Cena showed his support again on social media and later said publicly that he was a fan.
Rook has been on a tear in NXT. On Tuesday (September 15), he defeated Tony D’Angelo and Saquon Shugars in a No. 1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match, earning a future title shot against NXT Champion Grayson Waller.