Not Trying To Be The Next John Cena

Austin Theory is fighting his childhood idol, John Cena, on "The Grandest Stage of Them All," WrestleMania, but the current WWE United States Champion wants everyone to know he's not trying to be a Cena 2.0 -- telling TMZ Sports, "I don't want to be a rip-off."

We spoke with Theory ahead of his highly-anticipated match with Cena for the U.S. title at 'Mania ... and he put into perspective what the moment means to him considering John played a role in his desire to be a professional wrestler.

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"Being eight years old and knowing what I wanted to do for the rest of my life because of John Cena and that is be a WWE Superstar. That was the first time I seen wrestling and I was inspired. And I…