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Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready shut us up? About

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Speaker 1: to hit the fan? Welcome to on sanction Thursdays are

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Speaker 1: wrestling with Friday. What's up? Everyone? Welcome back here to

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Speaker 1: Wrestling with Freddy. It is on sanctioned Thursday, and it

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Speaker 1: is me. It is producer Alex. You guys are not

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Speaker 1: used to me talking. I'm sorry. Most of the time

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Speaker 1: I'm either reading questions that you guys send in to

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Speaker 1: the guys, or I'm in the background, just in the

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Speaker 1: guys's ears, telling them the notes of the show and

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Speaker 1: keeping them in line. And you know how it is

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Speaker 1: the producer world. You guys are producers out there and

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Speaker 1: and some of you are say what's up? You know

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Speaker 1: it's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

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Speaker 1: And by the way, Freddy and Jeff are the most

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Speaker 1: professional two podcasters I know. They are really good at

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Speaker 1: what they do. We watch every single wrestling show. We

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Speaker 1: are in a group chat, just always chatting it up.

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Speaker 1: And I do think that their opinions, specifically Freddy's. Hey,

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Speaker 1: no hate Jeff, but Freddie, who has worked in the

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Speaker 1: industry or WWE, is essential in this business and it's

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Speaker 1: always good to hear his take on all the storylines,

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Speaker 1: and that's what we pride ourselves on our show. As

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Speaker 1: many of you know, there's a lot of wrestling shows

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Speaker 1: out there. Most of them love to talk wrestling like

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Speaker 1: we all do, and we all love to listen to

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Speaker 1: but ours, ours is on its own little genre. We

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Speaker 1: love to talk storytelling. We love to talk about everything

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Speaker 1: that goes on in the world of professional wrestling within

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Speaker 1: the storyboards. And you know, that's why we watch wrestling

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Speaker 1: and that's why we were praising AW so much nowadays

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Speaker 1: because they have really stepped up on their storytelling. Matches

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Speaker 1: are great too, by the way, you can tell an

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Speaker 1: entire story within a match as well, but we like

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Speaker 1: the lead in and the lead out of each story.

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Speaker 1: But talking about stories, I'm talking about the leading in

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Speaker 1: and leading outs. Today, I producer Alex. I'm putting together

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Speaker 1: this show this specific on sanctioned Thursday as a love

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Speaker 1: letter to a legend. I'm talking about John Cena. Now

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Speaker 1: he has just about less than a month left as

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Speaker 1: a in ring entertainer. So I wanted to put this

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Speaker 1: together and put it out there, and I'd love to

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Speaker 1: get you guys' take on this piece that I wrote

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Speaker 1: and I put together for the one and only John Cena. Now,

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Speaker 1: today's episode is dedicated to one of the greatest ever

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Speaker 1: to lace up a pair of boots. Twenty plus years

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Speaker 1: of storytelling, championships, heartbreak, surprises, and moments that shaped an

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Speaker 1: entire generation of fans. Now, this isn't just a recap

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Speaker 1: of his career. It's a thank you, a quiet nod

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Speaker 1: to a man who gave everything to this industry. So

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Speaker 1: why don't we start in the beginning. Now, John Cena

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Speaker 1: debuted on June twenty seventh, two thousand and two, on SmackDown.

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Speaker 1: He walked right up to Kurt Angle, an Olympic gold medalist,

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Speaker 1: and said the words nobody expected, ruthless aggression, and then

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Speaker 1: he slapped him, because that's what you do in pro wrestling.

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Speaker 1: Sina didn't win that night, but it didn't matter. The

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Speaker 1: message was sent. He was young, hungry and trying to

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Speaker 1: survive in a locker room full of giants rock Taker,

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Speaker 1: Big Show, Edge, Angle, Eddie Little. The people know that

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Speaker 1: he was almost fired, that's something people forget. Wwe didn't

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Speaker 1: know what to do with him, But then during a

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Speaker 1: European tour, he started rapping on the bus and That's

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Speaker 1: when everything changed. Vince heard it, Creative heard it, bands

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Speaker 1: heard it. The prototype became the doctor of Thugodomics, and

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Speaker 1: suddenly the kid who almost got cut became the loudest

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Speaker 1: voice in the room. Let's talk about the Doctor Hugonomics era.

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Speaker 1: His baggy jerseys, padlocks, freestyles that walked the line every week.

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Speaker 1: This era made Seen a star because he finally felt

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Speaker 1: like himself. He wasn't playing a character, he was living one.

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Speaker 1: He battled booker T Big Show RVD JBL. He won

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Speaker 1: the United States Championship and made it feel cool again.

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Speaker 1: He carried a spinner belt. He cut promos that were funny, disrespectful,

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Speaker 1: and sharp. Crowds started chanting with him, and then he

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Speaker 1: hit the ceiling. He wasn't just a mid car rapper anymore.

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Speaker 1: He was the guy which brings us to main event ascension,

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Speaker 1: the face of WWE. Wrestle Mania twenty one, Sena versus JBL.

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Speaker 1: Sena wins his first WWE Championship, and from that moment

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Speaker 1: on everything changed. For almost five fifteen years straight, he

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Speaker 1: was the top guy. The company ran through him. Pay

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Speaker 1: per view after pay per view, main event after main event,

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Speaker 1: merch crowds make a wish, the whole thing seen. It

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Speaker 1: became the heartbeat of WW. His most memorable rivals from

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Speaker 1: this era edge probably the rivalry that defined him the most.

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Speaker 1: Randy Orton two careers locked together forever, Battista, the Choose

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Speaker 1: Your Destiny feud, c M Punk Money in the Bank

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Speaker 1: two and eleven. What an iconic match, The Rock to

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Speaker 1: Wrestle Manias once in a lifetime twice, Rock Lesnar the

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Speaker 1: beatdown in twenty fourteen that felt like a crime scene

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Speaker 1: and through it all, Sina carried the weight like a pro.

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Speaker 1: Now let's talk about his championships. This dude has a

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Speaker 1: resume of a legend. He was WWE Undisputed and World

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Speaker 1: Heavyweight Champion seventeen times combined. He was WW United States

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Speaker 1: Champion five times. Just recently, he was an Intercontinental champion.

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Speaker 1: He won it on November tenth. WW Tag Team Champion

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Speaker 1: with the mizz and then with David Otunga. He was

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Speaker 1: World Tag Team Champion twice, once with Bautista and Sean Michaels,

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Speaker 1: Money in the Bank winner in twoenty twelve, Royal Rumble

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Speaker 1: winner in two thousand and eight. In two and thirteen,

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Speaker 1: ten Slammy Awards in total. He also has the most

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Speaker 1: Make a Wish wishes ever granted. Whether people booed him

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Speaker 1: or cheered him, they respected him. But all this didn't

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Speaker 1: come without its up and downs. Seeing his career wasn't perfect.

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Speaker 1: He was pushed hard, sometimes too hard. Crowds got tired

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Speaker 1: of the super Sena. They booed him, yelled at him,

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Speaker 1: tearned all their backs on him. But he never cracked.

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Speaker 1: He showed up every single week. He worked through injuries,

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Speaker 1: the torn triceps, the neck issues, the elbow surgeries, bruised everything.

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Speaker 1: He evolved when he needed to do. You guys remember

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Speaker 1: the US Open Challenge era. That was the rebirth of Sina,

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Speaker 1: a workhorse run where he had banger matches with Cisoro,

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Speaker 1: Sammy Zain, Kevin Owens Rollins. That run reminded fans he

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Speaker 1: wasn't just a pro machine. He was a wrestler and

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Speaker 1: a damn good one. Let's talk about his character evolutions.

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Speaker 1: Sina had three major versions of his character. The rookie

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Speaker 1: with ruthless aggression, trying to survive and proving that he belonged.

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Speaker 1: He was also the doctor of Thuganomics, a swagger filled

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Speaker 1: heel anti hero who won the crowd by accident. Then

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Speaker 1: he became the franchise, the company ace everything the brand

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Speaker 1: stood for, loyalty, respect, hustle, work, ethic. He kept the

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Speaker 1: colors bright, he kept the message simple, and over time,

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Speaker 1: kids loved him, adults respected him, and WWE leaned on

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Speaker 1: him to keep the machine running. He had a transition, though,

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Speaker 1: a transition to Hollywood. That was his next chapter. Scena

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Speaker 1: started taking small movie roles Marine twelve Rounds, nothing crazy,

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Speaker 1: but years later he hit comedy with train Wreck and

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Speaker 1: people realized, wait a second, John Cena is funny. Then Caine, Blockers, Bumblebee,

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Speaker 1: Fast Nine, Sulicide Squad, and his breakout role as peace

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Speaker 1: Maker Witch turned into a full HBO Max series. Scena

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Speaker 1: became what everyone said he never would be, a legit

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Speaker 1: crossover star. But through all of it, he never abandoned wrestling.

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Speaker 1: He kept coming back, big matches, surprise returns, He put

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Speaker 1: over younger talent. He showed up even when he didn't

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Speaker 1: have to, which leads us to the final run the

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Speaker 1: Goodbye Tour, and now as he approaches the end, every

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Speaker 1: appearance feels heavier, Every promo feels like a chapter closing

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Speaker 1: every match feels like a thank you. He looks at

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Speaker 1: the camera with that tired smile, the one that's seen

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Speaker 1: absolutely everything, and you can tell he's proud of what

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Speaker 1: he built. WWE is holding this tournament for his final opponent.

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Speaker 1: Fans are waiting to see who gets that honor, who

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Speaker 1: gets to be the last name in the last match

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Speaker 1: of John Sena. But no matter who it is, Sena

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Speaker 1: will make them better, because that's what he does. John

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Speaker 1: Cena is more than the championships, more than the slogans,

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Speaker 1: more than the bright colors and the merch and the catchphrases.

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Speaker 1: He is the blueprint for what showing up looks like,

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Speaker 1: for what commitment looks like, for what carrying a company

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Speaker 1: on your back for two decades looks like. He inspired

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Speaker 1: kids who needed something to believe in. He broke records

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Speaker 1: just by caring about people. He made wrestling feel big,

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Speaker 1: even on the nights it felt small. He wasn't perfect,

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Speaker 1: he wasn't always loved, but he was always there, always giving,

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Speaker 1: always trying. And as he closes this chapter, we get

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Speaker 1: to say something simple. Thank you, Sina for everything, for

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Speaker 1: every moment, for every match, for every time you showed

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Speaker 1: us what hustle, loyalty, and respect actually mean. Friends, Thanks

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Speaker 1: for spending this time with me as we looked back

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Speaker 1: on the incredible career of John Cena. If you enjoyed

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Speaker 1: this episode, hit the subscribe button, Share it with someone

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Speaker 1: who grew up watching him too. Make sure you follow

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Speaker 1: us on our official Instagram account Wrestling with Freddy. Hit

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Speaker 1: that follow button on there. Let us know what you think,

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Speaker 1: what you love, everything, what you hate. Leave us a

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Speaker 1: review right here on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify. We

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Speaker 1: read them and Jeff might, as Freddie always says, whether

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Speaker 1: it's good or Jeff might, go ahead and pick up

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Speaker 1: on it, and we did live on the air. Listen,

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Speaker 1: let's just end this in the spirit of Sina, never

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Speaker 1: give up, keep going, keep listening. This is Wrestling with

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Speaker 1: Freddy on Sanctioned Thursday,