When John Cena told Mason Rook he was a fan before he came to WWE, Rook thought he was “winding him up.”
Mason Rook made his official WWE debut in April 2026 as part of NXT, but in the years before then, he had made appearances for the promotion as an extra on UK tours. During one of those shows in Glasgow, he met John Cena for the first time and discovered that the 17-time World Champion not only knew of him but was a fan of his work.
Recalling the experience on Busted Open Radio, Rook said he thought Cena was winding him up when he told him he was a “huge fan.”
“When I first met John, I was actually doing extra work for WWE in Glasgow, and that’s when he pulled me to the side. He was the first important person that I saw on the day. We were all walking into the extra room, and he was in there signing some 8x10s in one of the production rooms.
“We were walking in, and he got up. I thought, at the time, he was getting up to leave, but there was a sharp left bend, and we were going to meet at the bend, and I thought to myself, ‘This might be the only time I get to introduce myself and say hello to him.’ I shook his hand and said, ‘Hey, my name is Will. It’s a real pleasure to meet you.’ He shook my hand and he said to me then, at first I thought it was a rib, I really thought he was just winding me up, but he said to me he’s a huge fan of my work. He watched it, at the time he was filming in Budapest and one of the indie companies I worked for at the time in England was somehow broadcast on that channel, so he would watch it on his downtime.”
Rook went on to say that having John Cena, one of the all-time greats validating him was “surreal.”
“From that moment on, he just became a fan of me, which I guess again is a credit to my work and belief that pro wrestling is my job and what I do. At the same time, to hear one of the greatest of all time say that and give me that kind of validation was very surreal and it’s something I’m extremely grateful for. For John to not only give his time to me then, but obviously, since I’ve arrived in WWE, he’s been quite vocal about me too, and he’s not had to do that, so I’m forever grateful for him for that.”
John Cena Was “Floored” When He First Saw Mason Rook’s Work
In a recent interview with the UK’s Metro newspaper, John Cena backed up the story, saying he was “floored” by the young star’s talent for storytelling in the ring.
“I think it was every Wednesday night, and I would consistently see Will Kroos [Mason RooK] do his thing, and the promotion he was working with. I was floored. And here’s the thing: he’s known for the moves. I was floored by his storytelling.”
With his connection to the star, it looks likely that Mason Rook will be part of the John Cena Classic Tournament that will see NXT stars taking on main roster talent. However, the details of the tournament are currently being kept under wraps, with Cena having promised all of the details have been worked out, but he isn’t able to give fans the information just yet.
