Did John Cena Copy His Viral ‘You Can’t See Me’ Celebration? Fans Think So as Angel Reese’s Winning Moment at the ESPYs Puts Everyone on Notice

WWE wrestlers and their catchphrases and gestures are almost synonymous. That said, John Cena‘s exclusive ownership of his iconic ‘You Can’t See Me’ is in serious jeopardy. WWE world, especially the Cenation world, has been on fire for the last few days since NCAA Champion Angel Reese pulled off the famous hand gesture of the WWE legend at ESPYs after winning an award.

Reese, 21, earlier did it on the court as a part of a trash-talking segment in order to bury his opponent, Caitlin Clerk after LSU’s win over Iowa in April. WWE Universe couldn’t resist more and burst into anger as they deemed it an insult to Cena. However, currently, it seems like some fans countered the majority referring to the actual origin of the famous gesture, something Cena himself admitted in a previous interview.

John Cena has a long backstory behind his iconic catchphrase

The 16-time world champion has been a reputable force in the wrestling industry for over a decade now. Long before he achieved heights in Hollywood, the former 16 time world champion already registered himself as a big name across the world through his in-ring excellence. Since his heyday, one thing fans continue to be crazy about is The Champ’s popular ”You Can’t See Me” gesture.

However, not many of those were aware of the origin of it. Coming to their help, Cena spilled the story behind his widely popular hand gesture and catchline. During an interview with IGN Sports, Cena noted that the standout phrase stemmed from a brotherly jeering. He mentioned that when his brother Sean heard Cena’s WWE theme song, The Time Is Now, for the first time, he started doing a dance which Tony Yayo did in 50 Cent’s In Da Club music video. Cena’s brother then asked him if he’d do that on television.

Read more: John Cena Addresses Fans Trolling Him for His Catchphrase “You Can’t See Me”

It was a kind of dare given by his brother for fun. But little did they know that it would eventually sneak into many areas of pop culture and would be recognized as one of the most iconic aspects of Cena’s identity.

However, now it seems like some fans dragged this story further in the light of the recent backlash faced by basketball star Angel Reese.

Fans accused John Cena of stealing his iconic catchphrase from Tony Yayo

This year’s ESPY Awards was held at Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles on July 12. During the event, Angel Reese clinched the Best Breakthrough Athlete award, as an added feather to her cap, marking outstanding achievements in the field of sports. She beat out Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes and Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers to grab the honor.

On one side, her follower list continues to overflow. On the other side, the WWE world isn’t going low on throwing dirt on her and even demanded an apology from her side to Cena. That said, some of them seemed to get behind Reese saying John Cena himself copied it from Tony Yayo and hence isn’t worthy of an apology.

Some said she had already given credit to Yayo, so it’s not an issue anymore.

Now, we need to see if Cena has anything to counter the blame for copying or not. Although earlier he mentioned that he didn’t just mimic the G-Unit rapper thoroughly. He does this by moving his hand in front of his head whereas Yayo’s one was different and slightly more subtle.

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What’s your take on fans causing John Cena of stealing his iconic gesture from elsewhere? Let us know in the comments.