Earlier this year, when he beat AJ Styles for the WWE championship at Royal Rumble, John Cena tied Ric Flair's record for the most world title reigns of all time, at least in the WWE record book, at 16. Flair was interviewed after and said he "couldn't be happier" about it.

Now, in a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, he repeats that sentiment:

"Just nothing but admiration. John's a wonderful guy, he's worked hard. He's been the flagship for the company for so long now. I'm just happy for him, he deserves it. If he wins it a 17th time, I'll never begrudge it. I think he's a great guy."

When asked if he thinks Cena will be the guy to break the record, however, Flair responded as such:

"No. Randy Orton's close, Triple H. I think John's kind of winding down. I mean, he's got so many other things going on. I wouldn't be surprised if he's not a host on 'Good Morning America' or 'The Today Show' sometime. He loves wrestling but he's gotten so diversified now that I don't think I'll see him chasing the championship realm. But if he does, I'm all about it."

That's a fair assumption, considering Cena has been public about the fact that his career is winding down and it's time for other stars to step up to fill the void. That could very well mean his time as champion is finished, which would mean, of course, he'll remain tied with Flair for the record.

Then again, SummerSlam is right around the corner and he could be facing Jinder Mahal for the WWE championship, assuming he beats Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown Live next week.

Why not?