With Wrestlemania 40 almost upon us, fans are in long anticipation of seeing John Cena back in the WWE fold even if it’s for a one-off night. Given the current circumstances, the possibility of seeing him at a wrestling ring in the foreseeable future is relatively low. He was last seen on WWE programming at […]
John Cena
From ruling the wrestling arena to owing the stage with his rap, John Felix Anthon Cena Jr. is the five-time United States Champion, four-time World Tag Team Champion, and a 16-time World Champion. John Cena is also New York’s best-selling author and the record-setting Make-A-Wish granter –granting over 600 wishes at the Make-A-Wish foundation.
The muscled Massachusetts kid, known for his rapper-persona, has owned the ring when he threw down Kurt Angle for a chance to become a true WWE Superstar.
From thereon, Cena went on to become the ‘Face that Runs the Place’; gaining respect from his peers, and love from his fans.
However, the success didn’t come easy as he faced critical comments from his fans and the wrestling peers. Cena’s wrestling resume of defeated foes consists of the likes of – The Rock, Randy Orton, Batista, Brock Lesnar, and Triple H, who later went on to be included in the WWE Wall of the Fame.
Having defeated several big names in the ring, Cena instituted an open-challenge policy to anyone who’d think they can knock him off. Preaching an ethos of “Hustle, Loyalty, Respect”, Cena had amassed a battalion of followers whom he dubbed as the “Cenation,” while also accumulating enough hardware to fill a Home Depot.
Apart from winning numerous wrestling titles, Cena has also starred in films such as – The Marine (2006), 12 Rounds (2009), Trainwreck (2015), Ferdinand (2017), Bumblebee (2018), and F9 (2021). He released a rap album called ‘You Can’t See Me’ in 2005 which went platinum.
Early Life and appearances in WWE
Before making his name in the wrestling industry, Cena played football as NCAA Division III All-American Center in the football team of the Springfield College in Springfield.
In 1998, he graduated from college with a degree in exercise physiology and body movement. Coming out of the graduation college, Cena decided to pursue a career in bodybuilding while he also worked as a limousine driver.
In 1999, Cena started training as a professional wrestler at the California-based Ultimate University of Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), which was operated by Rick Bassman.
Once in the ring, he started using a semi-robotic character known as The Prototype, with the fewer episodes being featured in the Discovery Channel program – Inside Pro Wrestling School. Being successful in the in-ring role, Cena held the UPW Championship for 27 days in April 2000.
With his fame on the rise, the erstwhile World Wrestling Federation (WWF) snapped him up in 2000 as he made his unofficial debut for the company on 10 October 2000. Billed as The Prototype, Cena taped in a dark match against Mikey Richardson in a losing attempt.
Signing and Ohio Valley Wrestling
After another tryout on 9th January 2001, at SmackDown in Oakland, John Cena was signed to a developmental contract with WWF that same year.
Using the ring name as The Prototype, Cena was assigned to the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), the then-developmental territory of the company.
He held the OVW Heavyweight Championship for three months, holding the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino) for two months. He wrestled at OVW from 2001 to 2002, even after his main call up in June 2002.
WWE Career
Cena made his official debut in WWE in June 2002, after answering to the open challenge posed by Kurt Angle on SmackDown, where he declared to possess “ruthless aggression” before he lost by a basic roll-up pin. Nevertheless, his efforts were lauded by the likes of Billy Kidman, Faarooq, Rikishi, and The Undertaker.
Following the near-debut-victory, Cena became fan-favorite when he defeated Chris Jericho in an upset at the Vengeance. After that, he went on to defeat the likes of Albert and D-Von Dudley while he was restricted to appear on Velocity for the remainder of September.
In October, Cena paired up with Kidman in a tag team tournament to crown the first SmackDown Tag Team Championship but lost in the first round to Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit. This led Cena to turn heel and attack Kidman the following as he blamed Kidman for their loss.
Later in 2002, Cena took on the nickname ‘The Doctor of Thuganomics’ for his rapper gimmick where he would rap before his every match. He also feuded with Los Guerreros, winning his personal battle against Chavo but losing the tag team against them alongside Edge.
He then ignited a feud with Brock Lesnar while he chased the WWE Championship for the first half of 2003. It was during this time that he started using one of his signature moves FU, named so to mock Lesnar’s F-5. Cena also feuded against The Undertaker, defeating him and Orlando Jordan in a tag team match with the help of A-Train.
He participated in the Royal Rumble in 2004 where he made it to the final six before Big Show eliminated him.
In the number one contender’s tournament for the WWE Championship, Cena went on to defeat Kurt Angle in the finals at No Way Out and earned a spot in the WrestleMania 21 main event match of the SmackDown brand.
WWE Champion
After defeating Kurt Angle, Cena started feuding with the then-champion John “Bradshaw” Layfield (JBL) and his Cabinet. Cena defeated JBL at WrestleMania to win his first WWE Championship, having a spinner WWE Championship Belt made for himself.
JBL, then, took the original championship belt and claimed to still be the WWE Champion. Cena defeated him in an “I Quit” match at Judgement Day and retained the Championship, officially starting ‘The Age of John Cena’.
John Cena eventually lost the title to Edge in the first pay-per-view of 2006, where Edge cashed his Money in the Bank contract, taking advantage of a worn-out bloodied Cena, who had just won the Elimination Chamber match at New Year’s Revolution.
Edge held on to the title by using dubious means such as disqualification and using brass knuckles but was eventually defeated by Cena in a match of Edge’s choice – a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at Unforgiven where Cena won the title back.
Following the victory, Cena got involved in a ‘Champion of the Champions’ match where three of the WWE brand’s champions were to fight it out in a Triple Threat match (Cena, the World Heavyweight Champion King Booker and the ECW World Champion Big Show being the three champions). Cena lost after the interference from non-wrestler Kevin Federline.
In 2007, he successfully defended his title but suffered a legitimate torn pectoral muscle while executing a hip toss which required surgery. His rehabilitation period was estimated to be around seven months to a year and as a result, Cena was stripped of his title by Mr. McMahon.
In 2008, he suffered another injury in the neck, again needing a surgery. The following year Cena finally regained his title from JBL but lost it to the new superstar of RAW Sheamus.
At the 2010 Royal Rumble, Cena went on to defeat some of the biggest stars of the WWE franchise including Sheamus, Triple H, and Randy Orton to win back the title. Having won the title, Cena was immediately challenged by Batista, with Cena losing the challenge. However, Cena won it back from Batista at WrestleMania.
He was then forced to join Nexus upon losing against Wade Barrett at Hell in a Cell match. Meanwhile, Cena won the Tag Team Championship with David Otunga, defeating Cody Rhodes and Drew Mclntyre at Bragging Rights.
Cena then again won titles from Rey Mysterio and Alberto del Rio. In 2013, he became one of the few wrestlers who have won multiple Royal Rumble events. He also won the World Heavyweight Championship from Del Rio but lost it to Randy Orton who defeated him twice.
Return to WWE as “Free agent”
After winning the mixed tag team match for WrestleMania 33, pairing with Bella, Cena proposed Bella and went on a hiatus. In July 2017, Cena returned to WWE dubbing as a “Free Agent” working for both Raw and SmackDown. Meanwhile, he also faced personal troubles after his partner Nikki Bella and his WrestleMania loss to The Undertaker.
Frequently asked questions
Who is John Cena’s wife?
John Cena’s first wife was Elizabeth Huberdeau. They were married from 2009 to 2012. He got engaged to Nikki Bella in 2017.
What is the net worth of John Cena?
As of 2020, John Cena’s net worth is valued at $55 million.
What are the popular movies of John Cena?
| Year | Title | Role |
| 2000 | Ready to Rumble | Gym Patron |
| 2006 | The Marine | John Triton |
| 2009 | 12 Rounds | Danny Fisher |
| 2010 | Legendary | Mike Chetley |
| 2011 | The Reunion | Sam Cleary |
| 2014 | Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery | Himself |
| 2015 | The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown! | John Cenastone (voice) |
| 2015 | Trainwreck | Steven |
| 2015 | Sisters | Pazuzu |
| 2015 | Daddy’s Home | Roger |
| 2016 | Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania | J.C. (voice) |
| 2017 | The Wall | Staff Sergeant Shane Matthews |
| 2017 | Daddy’s Home 2 | Roger |
| 2017 | Ferdinand | Ferdinand the Bull (voice) |
| 2018 | Blockers | Mitchell |
| 2018 | Bumblebee | Agent Jack Burns |
| 2019 | Playing with Fire | TBA |
| 2020 | The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle | Yoshi (voice) |
| 2020 | Project X-Traction | TBA |
| 2020 | Fast & Furious 9 | TBA |
Was John Cena in the military?
John Cena was not in the military.
Does John Cena have kids?
No, John Cena does not have Kids.
How tall is John Cena
John Cena’s height is 1.84 m.
