John Cena’s enthusiasm for Mason Rook did not begin with Rook’s arrival in WWE NXT. It began thousands of miles away, while Cena was away from the usual wrestling schedule filming Matchbox: The Movie in Hungary.
Rook, previously known as Will Kroos, made his NXT debut in April and quickly received public support from Cena. Now, Cena has explained that his interest in the young performer was built through repeatedly watching his work on a UK wrestling program that aired on the television in Cena’s hotel room. With the time difference limiting Cena’s ability to keep up with live sports entertainment, the weekly broadcast became a regular part of his viewing while on location.
Rather than being drawn in only by Rook’s athletic ability or signature offense, Cena said the quality that immediately separated him from other emerging performers was his command of narrative inside the ring. That distinction is particularly notable coming from Cena, whose own career has been defined by the ability to connect physical action, character work, and emotional stakes in front of a large audience.
“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 said. “I think it was every Wednesday night, and I would consistently see Will Kroos do his thing, and the promotion he was working with. I was floored. And here’s the thing: he’s known for the moves. I was floored by his storytelling.”
For more background on this topic, read Malakai Black Says Randy Orton WrestleMania 42 Match Was Once Pitched.
Cena Saw More Than Athleticism in Will Kroos
The former Will Kroos was already gaining attention for his movement and in-ring physicality before joining WWE, but Cena’s comments frame Rook’s appeal in more complete terms. In Cena’s view, the difference-maker was not simply executing difficult maneuvers. It was understanding why a performer should make a particular choice in a match, how to react to an opponent, and how to make the overall contest feel coherent.
Cena said he was impressed enough that he regularly spoke about Kroos to his wife, Shay Shariatzadeh. The reaction was not a passing observation from a casual viewer. Cena recalled feeling compelled to make sure she understood that the unfamiliar wrestler he was watching on a UK independent broadcast possessed something special.
“I would tell my wife, like, ‘I gotta watch this kid,’” Cena said. “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!’”
That combination of attributes has long been central to WWE’s approach to building major stars. Athletic output can make an immediate impression, particularly in an era when clips and highlights spread rapidly. But Cena emphasized a different kind of skill: the ability to make a match intelligible and meaningful from beginning to end. For a wrestler at an early stage of his career, Cena viewed that instinct as unusually advanced.
Rook’s trajectory also gave Cena an opportunity to see whether the wrestler he had watched on television could translate the same presence into a WWE environment. Before Rook signed with the company, he appeared as an extra during a March episode of Raw in Glasgow. Cena had hoped that the wrestler he had been following would be among the additional talent brought in for the event.
The Glasgow Meeting That Confirmed Cena’s Interest
Cena recalled arriving in Glasgow with a specific thought in mind. WWE had local extras on hand, and he wondered whether Kroos might be in the group. When he saw him being directed alongside the other additional talent for physicals, Cena said the moment stopped him in his tracks.
“We 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.”
For Rook, the encounter came before his eventual NXT signing and debut. For Cena, it was a chance to directly tell a performer he admired that the work had reached one of WWE’s most accomplished veterans. Cena did not focus on specific spots, strength, speed, or the type of highlight-reel moves most often associated with younger wrestlers attempting to stand out. Instead, he singled out Rook’s poise and sense of purpose.
“Yo, dude, I’m a huge fan of yours,” Cena recalled telling him. “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.”
The word “appropriate” carries considerable weight in Cena’s assessment. Wrestling storytelling often depends on choices that suit the specific moment: selling at the right time, showing frustration or confidence in a way that advances a character, and making an attempt to win or escape feel justified by the match situation. A wrestler can be spectacular while still losing the thread of a contest. Cena’s praise suggests he saw Kroos, now Rook, making choices that fit naturally within the story being told.
It also explains why Cena was so vocal in celebrating Rook once he reached NXT. The debut may have introduced Rook to a broader WWE audience, but Cena had already spent time observing the traits that he believes are harder to teach than athletic execution.
Specific Matches Left a Lasting Impression
Cena pointed to two examples from Rook’s pre-WWE work that illustrated his argument. One involved a match where Kroos was counted out against an opponent Cena described as being in the mold of Rey Mysterio. The other was a championship match in which Kroos was able to portray a dominant, seemingly unstoppable force while still losing without being diminished.
Those are two very different storytelling challenges. A count-out loss can easily feel unsatisfying or arbitrary if the wrestler’s decisions do not establish a clear reason for the finish. Likewise, a powerful wrestler losing a championship match can damage the presentation of that character if the defeat is not handled with care. Cena believed Rook navigated both situations effectively.
“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.”
That description offers a useful look at the traits Cena values in developing talent. Rook was not praised merely for winning or looking impressive. Cena specifically appreciated his ability to preserve character credibility through defeat. In professional wrestling, a loss does not have to weaken a performer, but it requires an understanding of timing, body language, and match structure to ensure the audience views the result as part of the wrestler’s continued journey rather than an abrupt setback.
Cena contrasted that kind of awareness with a common tendency among aspirational young wrestlers. Many performers understandably seek to distinguish themselves through ambitious, difficult, or dangerous-looking offense. Yet Cena argued that in-ring intelligence takes more than ambition and repetition. It requires attention to detail and an understanding of how every action contributes to the larger presentation.
“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,” Cena said. “I was floored by his storytelling.”
What Cena’s Endorsement Means for Rook’s NXT Path
Cena also acknowledged that Rook’s NXT debut surprised him, but his comments leave little doubt about his confidence in the performer’s future. Having followed Rook from overseas television broadcasts to a WWE extra appearance in Glasgow and then to NXT, Cena has seen the progression from several angles.
There is no guarantee attached to an endorsement, especially in a developmental system where every performer must adapt to new opponents, television demands, coaching, and audience expectations. Still, Cena’s support is built on more than surface-level potential. He is identifying qualities that can sustain a wrestler as the stakes increase: clarity of character, emotional control, logic in the ring, and the ability to remain credible whether winning or losing.
For Rook, the name change and move to NXT represent a new chapter, but Cena’s story makes clear that the foundation was already visible during his time as Will Kroos. The future success of that foundation will be determined in NXT, where Rook now has the opportunity to show a wider audience the same storytelling instincts that caught Cena’s attention in a Hungarian hotel room.
Cena’s final view was direct: the ceiling for Mason Rook is extraordinarily high. If Rook can retain the nuance that earned that early praise while continuing to develop within WWE’s system, he will have the chance to turn an influential veteran’s belief into a defining part of his own rise.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.