When fans compare a wrestler to Shawn Michaels, it's usually because they're a dynamic, charismatic cruiserweight who can talk, wrestler, and play some Sweet Chin Music with a well-placed Superkick for good measure, too. But in John Cena’s opinion, that's only part of what made HBK so darn special.

Sitting down for an interview with Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick on After The Bell, Cena spent a considerable period of time discussing his matches with “The Viper” and how, in his humble opinion,  Orton is the closest ting to the NXT booker his generation has to offer because of his impressive mind for the game.

“I think the great thing about an Iron Man match is you have the luxury of a three count. The three-count fan elicits excitement. So if people aren't interested, you can give them a pinfall. The match had a digger dynamic to it. Any time I can get in there with Randy's great. He and I fit together well. We work together well, and I love working with him. This is the fourth premium live event, as we now call them, and we'd done a lot of stipulations before, and we'd added tons of stipulations to this match, with anything goes, and if I lose, I leave RAW. One could speculate that possible audience fatigue, of watching performers together for half a year, that's a lot of interaction. That's a lot,” John Cena said via Fightful.

“So I do remember the concept of, maybe he should hit the pyro and try to explode me, and him being okay with it. Not only being okay with it, he made that work. I think that just goes to show, if we were coming up with concepts like that, we had certainly exhausted every traditional method of competition. But the fact that both of us could be like, ‘Yeah, that's a good idea, and let's wholeheartedly try it.' It's a cool concept, a cool idea, and we were brave enough to try. I think when you've had such a history with someone and been in the ring with them so many times, we both kind of knew, ‘We're gonna have to do some different stuff here.'

“Randy is my generation's Shawn Michaels. He has an understanding of nuance, and how important it is. He has the best timing of anybody. He's always there, he's never late. He shows emotion as a performer. He's incredible. He makes difficult look simple, always.”

When comparing Orton to fans from the past, Michaels probably isn't the most obvious option, as, especially later in their careers, they went in very different paths. Still, is psychology is a hallmark of Orton's offense, then he really is HBK-esque, as Mr. Michaels didn't get where he got by his brawn but instead his exceptional brains for the industry.

John Cena discusses his WrestleMania 39 program with Austin Theory.

Elsewhere in his appearance on After The Bell, John Cena was asked about his program with Austin Theory, which saw “The GOAT” own A-Town's finest on the mic before landing an ugly loss at WrestleMania 39.

While some may think that Cena was simply playing up his character to add drama to their angle, in “The Champ's” opinion, he was telling the truth on the microphone, as he knows a thing or two about “apathetic silence” on the mic.

“It was really one of my main points the last time we spoke when I was speaking about Austin Theory. Nothing I said about Austin Theory I wouldn't say to his face. We still talk on a regular basis, and I still try and bestow on him advice. I think he's working more toward connecting with the audience. But I could hear the silence of apathy when he would perform,” John Cena said on After The Bell via SE Scoops.

“And I know it is because I had it plenty. I single-handedly ruined the Ruthless Aggression era by completely failing, by being the Ruthless Aggression guy, and completely failing. So I know what apathetic silence sounds like, and that was my one fear.”

Are Cena assertions about Theory on the money? Well considering fans have been roasting the three-time United States Champion for his robotic deliver and seeming inability to connect with a crowd for years now, it sure feels like Cena may have touched a never that is very much raw based on the reaction to his most recent promo on SmackDown. If Theory is ever going to be someone fans genuinely engage with within the WWE universe, he needs to figure that out and fast.