John Cena was a fan of Mason Rook long before the rising WWE star made his NXT debut.
Cena was among the first major names to publicly praise Rook when he debuted for NXT in April. Speaking with Metro, Cena revealed that he originally discovered Rook — then wrestling as Will Kroos — while filming “Matchbox: The Movie” in Hungary.
“I didn’t have access to a lot of sports entertainment live, especially with the time change, and the only stuff I would watch is, they ran a UK wrestling program on broadcast television, on my hotel TV,” Cena recalled. “I think it was every Wednesday night, and I would consistently see Will Kroos do his thing, and the promotion he was working with.”
While Rook’s athletic ability caught Cena’s attention, it was his work beyond the moves that really stood out.
“I was floored. And here’s the thing: he’s known for the moves. I was floored by his storytelling.”
Cena became such a fan that he would tell his wife, Shay Shariatzadeh, that he needed to watch Rook whenever the program aired.
“I would tell my wife, like, ‘I gotta watch this kid.’ She’s like, ‘What are you doing watching this English UK indie broadcast?’ I’m like, ‘This kid is good. He can tell stories, and he moves great!’”
A year before Rook signed with WWE, he worked as an extra when the company visited Glasgow. Cena remembered hoping Kroos would be among the local talent brought in for the show — and getting his wish.
“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,” Cena said. “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 immediately introduced himself and told Rook how highly he thought of his work.
“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 admitted he was surprised when Rook eventually surfaced in NXT. He also pointed to specific matches he had watched as examples of the young wrestler’s in-ring intelligence.
“I watched him get himself counted out in a match against a Rey Mysterio-like opponent, and everything he did made sense,” Cena said. “I watched him in a further match; it was like a championship match, and he somehow made himself this big unstoppable force, but also somehow was able to get defeated with dignity.”
Cena believes that type of storytelling ability separates Rook from many other young wrestlers.
“He’s a very intelligent performer, and a lot of times you see at a younger age aspirational performers who want to do crazy stuff, but their in-ring intelligence, they just don’t have enough time or attention. I was floored by his storytelling.”
Cena concluded by saying the sky is the limit for Rook as his WWE career continues to develop.
