During the mid-2000s John Cena entered a feud with Carlito over the WWE United States Championship.
The rivalry featured a controversial angle in which Cena was “stabbed” in the kidney while out at a nightclub. The incident kept Cena off television for an undisclosed amount of time while a whodunnit storyline played out to discover his attacker.
It was eventually revealed that Carlito’s bodyguard Jesus was the knife-wielding assailant, which led to a Street Fight at Armageddon in 2004. But the feud could have been way more controversial as ECW original New Jack was pitched to be the one who attacked Cena on that fateful night.
Controversial ECW Star New Jack Was Considered To Feud With John Cena In WWE
Speaking on his podcast Something to Wrestle longtime WWE producer Bruce Prichard told listeners that The Original Gangsta was pitched to be a part of the angle, but his violent and unpredictable reputation was not something they wanted to deal with.
There was definitely talks to New Jack,” he confirmed. “I don’t think anybody wanted to touch him because of his reputation and unpredictability. But, yes, it may have been during this time that he was actually discussed, but never to the point of, ‘Alright, who is gonna go pitch that one to Vince?’ The reputation preceded itself.
Prichard mentioned that not even Paul Heyman, who had worked with Jack in ECW for years, was excited about the prospect of bringing the controversial wrestler onboard.
Paul was like, ‘Ok, you may get your controversy, but it may not be the kind of controversy you really want to have.'”
The former Bounty Hunter was one of the most controversial and violent hardcore wrestlers in the history of ECW. He was a major player in the promotion during its heyday in the 1990s and early 2000s. His matches often featured him heading to the ring with a shopping cart full of weapons such as toasters, vacuum cleaners and cheese graters, which he would use to inflict violence upon his opponents. His career is filled with shocking and infamous scenes like the Mass Transit incident in 1996, and the Vic Grimes incidents in 2002 among others.
H/T Wreslting Inc