Though it may be hard to remember now, as John Cena is so beyond over at this point as fans soak up his final act in the squared circle, there was a time last decade when “Cena Sucks” chants would overshadow “Let's Go Cena” declarations routinely, sometimes by a pretty considerable margin.

Now granted, in some ways, Cena did it to himself, as his reputation for squashing exciting young talents is the stuff of legend around the professional wrestling world, but there were times too when “The Face That Runs the Place” used his considerable clout to put performers over as well, as he did with his United States Championship Open Challenge in 2015.

Afforded a chance to wrestle pretty much whomever he wanted as the top of the card was concerned with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose duking it out for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Cena used his clout to put over younger stars he felt were ready for something bigger, including Kevin Owens, who was in the middle of a run as the NXT Champion.

While some fans knew of KO from his time in both NXT and on the indies, from Ring of Honor to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and beyond, his initial interaction with Cena and their eventual program that spanned from Elimination Chamber 2015 through Battleground a few months later, really put Owens on the map within the WWE Universe and help to establish him as “The Prizefighter,” which the “Champ” explained on After The Bell with Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick.

“The theme of the US Open Challenge, for me, was for the performers to showcase what they could do. I wanted to make it a little commercial for the person challenging me because if you were to answer an open challenge, that’s kind of how I got my start. So, I wanted to give the same opportunity back, and I think this was no different. Although Kevin had had great success in NXT, this was a chance for him to show what he could do as a performer and on a high-level stage. He can do great things. He has such a library of athletic things that he can do. He very much brought the best out of me in that perspective, and I thought this was a really cool moment,” John Cena said on After The Bell via Fightful.

“The audience was wanting something new. Even me with the United States Championship is still, ‘Oh, they’re still investing in this guy. Will someone new knock him off?’ Who’s attitudinal, who you kind of don’t know what to expect on your first impression. I think all of those things together, it was the right person to do it, and the right moment in time to do it. I just think it was a situation where Kevin, as a new performer, becomes a member of the roster and goes to the absolute limit and brings the best out of me, and in tune, I kind of have him a chance to showcase what he could do, which is a whole lot, and I thought it was a very good start to the audience getting to know KO.”

Would Owens have gotten over within the WWE Universe if it wasn't for Cena? More likely than not yes, as he's still one of the most compelling in-ring performers in the world regardless of the promotion, but it's hard to argue that Cena didn't jump-start that elevation and help to get him where he needed to be in the WWE Universe, which was the Intercontinental Championship a few short weeks later.

John Cena knows WWE will give him an incredible retirement program

Elsewhere during his appearance on After The Bell, John Cena was asked about the end of his professional wrestling career and what fans should expect from his final run as an active professional wrestler. While Cena didn't want to give away too much, as even he may not even know what the plans are, he's confident that WWE will give him a special moment on his way out of the door.

“There are a lot of different perspectives. Anyone else sitting here would probably craft a scenario where, ‘Oh, in my mind, the perfect thing is to do this, at this event, with this individual,'” John Cena said via Fightful. “I just want to do what's best for WWE. That has been my order of operations since I walked in this building. It hasn't changed. It's my way of thinking, but it's done me pretty well. When I'm courageous enough to express to those making choices, ‘Hey, this is it,' I do what they tell me to do because I believe in full faith that they're doing what is best for business. Whenever it comes to an end, and it will, whatever is deemed the best thing for WWE is exactly what will be the perfect moment.”

Who will retire John Cena? Will he get to hold a world title once more, breaking Ric Flair's record after he left for AEW, or does WWE have another idea in mind to say goodbye to arguably the biggest homegrown star in the promotion's history? Only time will tell, but needless to say, it's more likely than now going to be very special.