Former WWE star Michael Tarver has made claims of John Cena bullying him during their time together at the promotion.
Tarver, best known for being the original member of The Nexus, said WWE was very well aware of the work he did before he got signed and everyone was high on him until he got to the main roster and somehow fell afoul of Cena.
Speaking on the VOC Nation’s Talkin Sass podcast, Tarver called Cena out for burying him but also pointed out that they got over their differences and have a good relationship now.
“The irony of how WWE works, you could be the man or the woman in developmental, and (when you) get to the main roster, it doesn’t matter how good you are,” he said. “If one of the main people there don’t like you they will do everything they can do to bury you. I got to the main roster and just got buried.
“It was Cena,” Tarver said. “I don’t have any heat with him now, I make jokes about it. But there was a target on my back. I don’t know why he targeted me, but it is what it is.
“We ended up on good terms (but) I had to defend myself a lot. Everyone was high on me, and then all the sudden they all turned on me. People wouldn’t shake my hand – they wouldn’t even speak to me.”
It Wasn't All Heat
Tarver was released sometime after disappearing from TV because of a groin injury. While Cena was hardly a fan, the former Nexus star claims to have had support from other big names in the locker room.
“I thank God for people like Mark Henry and Teddy Long,” Tarver added. “Mark Henry would pull me aside a lot (and tell me to) weather the storm. ‘You got heat right now, just weather the storm.’ MVP would give me really good advice, Matt Hardy was always really cool. They’d say ‘you’re only getting this kind of heat because there’s something really there.'”
Source: Talkin Sass podcast (Transcribed by Wrestling Inc.)