Former WWE creative team member Dave Lagana posted a new blog on Tuesday regarding the creation of John Cena's rap character. "The period that Cena rapped every week on Smackdown in 2002-2003 is a time that showed that patience, consistency and believing in a character paid off," Lagana writes. "Before that, Cena would call himself 'Johnny Boots and Tights' as the most distinguishable thing about his character was his constantly changing tights based on the city we were in.

"It was on an international tour in 2002 where a battle rap on a bus between Cena and another Smackdown talent was heard by Bruce Prichard, Stephanie McMahon, Seth Mates, Paul Heyman and myself. It wasn’t fireworks going off at the time. We all didn’t look at each other and say, 'This is exactly what the WWE needs.' It was a collective decision to say, 'Let’s try it.' And on a Halloween edition of Smackdown in 2002, we did.

"Every week, John would create these raps dissing his opponent. No matter who it it was. It was consistent and his momentum built. There were those on the inside who said, 'You’re killing this kid with it.' But the secret to this success was in the hands of John Cena. I’d suggest a scenario for the rap and he’d go off and create it and then we’d produce it. In one year, he went from being 'Johnny Boots and Tights' to the most talked about newcomer in the WWE." To read the full blog, visit IWantWrestling.com.

Powell's POV: It was fun to see Cena go old school with his promo style last night. He fired back much stronger than I expected him to, and I applaud him for not playing it safe. There's a lot more to the blog and some fun videos are included.

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: