New Details Emerge About Longstanding Backstage Accusations Against John Cena

John Cena is preparing to retire as the Greatest of All Time this Saturday, but his career wasn’t without controversy. Now, as we get closer to that big date, some new information is coming forward.

New details have surfaced about alleged backstage issues involving John Cena and several former WWE stars, as Maven offered new insight into the tension linked to both David Otunga and Alex Riley. The Tough Enough season one winner discussed the topic on Cafe de Rene with Rene Dupree.

David Otunga has been vocal in recent weeks about his own experiences with John Cena from their time together in the Nexus. Otunga and Cena even held the WWE Tag Team Championship, but Otunga has said he carried frustration for years over the way he was treated. Maven said he reached out to Otunga after hearing his remarks.

“Not only did I see it (Otunga’s comments), I texted David afterwards and we texted each other back and forth for a good 30 minutes after that. You can tell, and you could see in his delivery, that this is something that’s ate at him for years.”

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Maven added that he does not know whether Otunga’s claims have full accuracy, but he said the emotion behind them was clear.

“If what he says has credence, I don’t know, I wasn’t there. But he talked more about the Alex Riley/Kevin Kiley incident. There’s just a lot that doesn’t sit well with him.”

Maven continued by pointing to lingering tension Otunga still carries. He said that it is evident at this point as well.

“You can just tell, there’s animosity, there’s bad blood. Now, could that bad blood be, ‘He got a bigger push than me’ – I don’t know, like I said, I wasn’t there.”

Maven said Otunga is now in a place where he no longer feels the need to protect WWE. That being said, there may be more to this story, because he seemed to gloss over some details.

“Texting back and forth, I’ll give you the book report version of what we talked about – he’s held in his truth for so many years, and now his truth… he’s done with that, he’s at that stage, the Maven and Stevie (Richards) stage with WWE where he’s not looking for anything from them.”

Maven added that Otunga seems ready to speak more openly. He also had nothing but great things to say about Otunga.

“I don’t know if he’s on scorched earth mode, but he’s not protecting their image anymore. That’s what I took from (it). And full disclosure here, I like David a lot. A lot. David has never been anything but super, super nice and just respectful of what we do.”

Maven closed that portion of the conversation with a warning. “You could tell, more is coming. More is coming,” he said.

One of the most talked-about cases linked to Cena’s controversy involves Alex Riley. Riley once said a single backstage confrontation with Cena drastically changed the course of his WWE career. Riley had momentum on-screen between 2010 and 2012, especially during his run with The Miz, but his push stalled abruptly. WWE never confirmed this publicly, but the story has circulated among fans for years.

Maven offered his own experience with Riley, whose legal name is Kevin Kiley, and how Riley first opened up to him.

“Alex Riley’s real name is Kevin Kiley. In 2009, I had gyno surgery – I had my bitch tits fixed. The guy did a good job. I was living in Tampa and I hooked Alex Riley up with my guy who gave a severe discount on what the price should be, probably did it for half the cost.”

Maven then said Riley showed appreciation by taking him out to dinner. So, he had good things to say about the former WWE talent.

“So to thank me, Kevin took me to dinner. And that’s when he first told me about his issues with Cena. And to say that my mouth hit the floor would be an understatement.”

Maven chose not to share the details of Riley’s story. “Again, not my story to tell. Not my story to tell. I wasn’t there,” Maven said.

We will have to see how John Cena wraps up his WWE career. His final match against GUNTHER will be historic. It will be interesting to see how many stories come out along the way, because his in-ring career is over, but he is going out as one of the top faces in WWE that will ever exist.

What’s your take on accusations that John Cena is a backstage bully? Do you think that there is any truth to this? Let us know what you think in the comments section!