Of Brian Kendrick’s several runs in WWE, it’s hard to point out which is the most noteworthy. While Kendrick most recently acted as a stalwart in WWE’s rebooted Cruiserweight division in the late 2010s, his first run with the company took place in the early 2000s, and is best known for his feud against John Cena in 2003.

Kendrick discussed his feud with Cena in an interview on the Hitting The Turnbuckle Podcast, recalling his view of Cena at that time. “I was young, and he was young too… I think John is only a year or two older than I am,” Kendrick explained, “And people from that generation have a certain sense of humor, and I just knew he was the funniest guy there.” However, due to his youth and lack of perspective, Kendrick didn’t even think about the idea that his frequent adversary would reach the heights he did. Kendrick admitted, “I didn’t think about who’s the future [star]… But I knew he was super talented in everything he did.”

The most memorable segment from Kendrick’s first run with the company is likely his rap battle against Cena, a moment that Kendrick says was in part a tool to showcase referee Brian Hebner’s beatboxing abilities. “Hebner was beatboxing before a house show… and everybody was blown away, I know I certainly was,” Kendrick revealed, “I don’t know who pitched it… but it was a really fun skit.”

While Kendrick was released from his WWE contract in early 2022, the backlash for his comments regarding several antisemitic conspiracy theories prevented him from debuting for AEW later that year. Since then, the former tag team champion has resumed doing sporadic producer work for WWE.