It's always nice to get some props from your peers, especially if it's one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling.
Jimmy Jacobs recently spoke to Sports Illustrated about his run in the WWE. He brought up John Cena during the interview, giving him nothing but praise. He came up with some ideas about a feud between Dolph Ziggler and The Miz that people weren't into. When he first brought up what he was planning for one segment in particular, John Cena was skeptical about the segment in question.
“He was really skeptical, basically saying, ‘I don’t think that’s going to work’” Jacobs recalled. “And I’m not knocking John Cena. John was the man. I f------ love John Cena. But with the way I had it laid out, we weren’t leaving on boos directed at the Miz or Dolph ending by saying, ‘I’m going to kick your ass!’ We were leaving on the gravity of Dolph putting his career on the line. John said to me, ‘We’re in a yay-boo business. You’ve got to leave them with either cheering Dolph Ziggler or booing The Miz.’ So I said, ‘Well, we’re up in four minutes, so we’ll see.’”
When the segment ended, the audience responded well to the angle, creating the kind of suspense and drama that comes from someone who may actually retire.
“John watched from [the Gorilla position]” said Jacobs. “Afterwards, he said, ‘I was skeptical of that, but that was a homerun. I really felt that.’ I was really proud of that.”
Jacobs was part of WWE's creative from 2015 until last month, when he was released following an incident where he took photos with The Elite, who were taping an episode of their YouTube show near where Raw was taping.
