John Cena, 2008
Ring name(s)
John Cena[1]
Billed height
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Billed weight
251 lb (114 kg)[2]
Born
April 23, 1977 (age 35)[3]
West Newbury, Massachusetts
[2]
Resides
Tampa, Florida[4]
Billed from
Classified (UPW)[5]
West Newbury, Massachusetts
(WWE)[2]
Trained by
Ultimate Pro Wrestling[5]
Ohio Valley Wrestling[6]
Debut
2001[6]
John Felix Anthony Cena[7]
(pronounced /ˈsiːnə/; born April
23, 1977)[3] is an American
professional wrestler and actor.
He is currently signed to WWE as
a member of its Raw brand.[8]
In WWE, Cena has won 19
championships in total, including
12 world titles (having won the
WWE Championship a record 10
times[9] and the World
Heavyweight Championship
twice). In addition, Cena has also
won the WWE United States
Championship three times,[10]
and is a four-time Tag Team
Champion, having held the World
Tag Team Championship twice
(once each with Shawn Michaels
and Batista),[11] and the WWE
Tag Team Championship twice
(once each with David Otunga
and The Miz). Cena also won the
2008 Royal Rumble match, and is
a two-time Superstar of the Year
Slammy Award winner (2009 and
2010).[12] He also has the fourth
highest number of combined
days as WWE Champion behind
Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan and
Bruno Sammartino.
Cena started his professional
wrestling career in 2000,
wrestling for Ultimate Pro
Wrestling, where he held the
UPW Heavyweight Championship.
In 2001, Cena signed a contract
with the World Wrestling
Federation (WWF) and was sent
to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW)
where he held the OVW
Heavyweight Championship and
the OVW Southern Tag Team
Championship
(with Rico Constantino).
Outside of wrestling, Cena has
released the rap album You Can't
See Me, which debuted at No.15
on the US Billboard 200 chart,
and starred in the feature films
The Marine (2006), 12 Rounds
(2009), and Legendary (2010).
[13] Cena has also made
appearances on television shows
including Manhunt, Deal or No
Deal, MADtv, Saturday Night Live,
Punk'd, and Psych. Cena was also
a contestant on Fast Cars and
Superstars: The Gillette Young
Guns Celebrity Race
, where he made it to the final
round before being eliminated,
placing third in the overall
competition.
Early life
John Cena was born April 23,
1977, in West Newbury,
Massachusetts,[3] the son of
Carol and John Cena, Sr.[14] He is
the second eldest of five brothers
– Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean.[15]
After graduating from Cushing
Academy, Cena attended
Springfield College in Springfield,
Massachusetts.[16] In college he
was a Division III All-American
center on the college football
team,[17] wearing the number
54,[16] which is still used on
some of his WWE merchandise.
[18][19] He graduated from
Springfield in 1998 with a
degree in exercise physiology,
[20] after which he pursued a
career in bodybuilding,[21][22]
and also worked as a chauffeur
for a limousine company.[23]
Professional wrestling career
Training (2000–2001)
UPW
Cena started training to become
a professional wrestler in 2000
at the California-based "Ultimate
University" operated by Ultimate
Pro Wrestling. Once he was
placed into an in-ring role, Cena
began using a semi-robotic
character known as The
Prototype.[24][25] Some of this
period of his career was
documented in the Discovery
Channel program Inside Pro
Wrestling School.[26] While in
UPW, Cena held the UPW
Heavyweight Championship for
just shy of a month in April 2000.
[27]
OVW
In 2001, he signed a
developmental contract with the
World Wrestling Federation
(WWF) and was assigned to its
developmental territory Ohio
Valley Wrestling (OVW).[28]
During his time there, Cena
wrestled as both The Prototype
and Mr. P, and held the OVW
Heavyweight Championship for
three months and the OVW
Southern Tag Team
Championship
(with Rico Constantino) for two
months.[29][30][31] World Wrestling Entertainment
Debut (2002–2004)
Cena performing an FU (now
"Attitude Adjustment") to Kurt
Angle.
Cena made his television debut
answering an open challenge by
Kurt Angle on June 27, 2002.[32]
Inspired by a speech given by
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to
the rising stars of the company,
exhorting them to show
"ruthless aggression" to earn a
place among the legends, Cena
took advantage of the
opportunity and almost beat
Angle kicking out of his finishing
move, the Angle Slam and
enduring the ankle lock
submission hold.[33] Cena
ultimately lost to a hard amateur
wrestling-style pin.[33] Following
the near-win, Cena became a fan
favorite and started feuding with
Chris Jericho.[32] In October,
Cena and Billy Kidman took part
in a tag team tournament to
crown the first WWE Tag Team
Champions of the SmackDown!
brand, losing in the first round.
[34] The next week, Cena turned
on and attacked Kidman, blaming
him for their loss, becoming a
villain.[32]
Shortly after the Kidman attack,
on a Halloween themed episode
of SmackDown, Cena dressed as
Vanilla Ice performing a freestyle
rap.[32] The next week, Cena
received a new character: a
rapper who cut promos while
rhyming.[32] As the gimmick
grew, Cena began adopting a
variant of the 1980s WWF logo –
dropping the "F" – as his
"signature symbol", along with
the slogan "Word Life".[35]
Moreover, he was joined by an
enforcer, Bull Buchanan, who
was rechristened B-2 (also
written B² and pronounced "B-
Squared").[32] Buchanan was
later replaced by Red Dogg,[32]
until he was sent to the Raw
brand in February.
For the first half of 2003, Cena
sought the WWE Championship
and chased the reigning
champion, Brock Lesnar,
performing weekly "freestyles"
challenging him to matches.[36]
[37][38] During the feud, Cena
unveiled a new finishing
maneuver: the FU, a Fireman's
carry powerslam, named to
Brock Lesnar's F-5, with his first
victim being Rikishi.[39] Cena
won a number one contenders
tournament against Lesnar at
Backlash. However, Cena was
defeated by Lesnar. At
Vengeance Cena lost a singles
match against The Undertaker.
[32][40] At the end of the year,
Cena became a fan favorite again
when he joined Kurt Angle as a
member of his team at Survivor
Series.[41][42] United States and WWE
Champion (2004–2005)
Cena, wearing his customized
U.S. Championship belt
In early 2004, Cena participated
in the Royal Rumble match at the
2004 Royal Rumble,[43] making
it to the final six before being
eliminated by Big Show and the
Match being won by Chris Benoit.
[44] The Royal Rumble
elimination led to a feud with Big
Show,[45][46] which Cena won
the United States Championship
from Big Show at WrestleMania
XX.[47] During his reign, Cena
came into contention with
SmackDown General Manager
Kurt Angle over issues arising
with René Duprée and Torrie
Wilson.[48] The reign ended
almost four months later, when
he was stripped of the belt on
July 8 by Angle after he
accidentally knocked him over,
thus attacking an official.[49]
Cena won the championship
back defeating Booker T in a best
of five series that culminated at
No Mercy,[50] only to lose it to
the debuting Carlito Caribbean
Cool the next week.[51] After the
loss to Carlito, the duo began a
feud, which Cena was stabbed in
the kidney while at a Boston-area
nightclub by Carlito's bodyguard,
Jesús.[52][53] This worked injury
was used to keep Cena out of
action for a month, while Cena
was filming The Marine.[30]
Immediately on his return in
November, Cena won the United
States Championship back from
Carlito debuting a "custom made"
spinner-style championship belt.
[54][55]
Cena took part in the 2005 Royal
Rumble match, making it to the
final two. Cena and Raw brand
wrestler Batista went over the
top rope at the same time,
ostensibly ending the match.
Vince McMahon, however,
appeared on stage and re-
started the match in sudden
death rules, with Batista
eventually eliminating Cena.[56]
The next month, Cena defeated
Kurt Angle to earn a spot in the
SmackDown brand's
WrestleMania 21 main event
match,[57] beginning a feud
with WWE Champion John
"Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and his
Cabinet in the process. In the
early stages of the feud, Cena lost
his US belt to Cabinet member
Orlando Jordan,[58] who
proceeded to "blow up" the
spinner championship with JBL
and returning a more traditional
style belt.[59] Cena defeated JBL
at WrestleMania winning the
WWE Championship, giving Cena
his first world championship.[60]
Cena then had a spinner WWE
Championship belt made,[61]
while JBL took the original belt
and claimed to still be WWE
Champion,[61] until Cena
reclaimed the original belt in an
"I Quit" match at Judgment Day.
[62]
Cena was drafted to the Raw
brand on the June 6, 2005,
becoming the first wrestler
selected by General Manager Eric
Bischoff in the annual draft
lottery.[63] Cena immediately
entered a feud with Bischoff,
after refusing to participate in
the "war" against the Extreme
Championship Wrestling (ECW)
roster at One Night Stand.[64]
With Bischoff vowing to make
Cena's stint on Raw difficult, he
hand picked Jericho to take
Cena's championship from him.
[65] During their feud, even
though Cena was portrayed as
the fan favorite and Jericho as
the villain, a vocal section of live
crowds, nonetheless, were
booing Cena during their
matches.[66] More crowds
followed suit during Cena's next
feud with Kurt Angle,[67] who
took over as Bischoff's hand-
picked number-one contender
after Cena defeated Jericho in a
You're Fired match on the August
22 Raw.[68] As the feud
continued and the dissenters
grew more vocal, sometimes
seeming to outnumber fans by
wide margins,[69] the announce
team was forced to acknowledge
the booing on television and
began calling Cena a
"controversial champion",
claiming some people disliking
him on account of his "in-ring
style" and his chosen fashion.
[70] Despite the mixed and
negative reactions, Cena held on
to his championship through his
feud with Angle, losing to him by
disqualification[71] – which titles
do not change hands in WWE – at
Unforgiven and pinning him at
Survivor Series.[72] The feud
with Angle also saw Cena add a
secondary, submission based,
finishing maneuver – the STFU (a
Stepover Toehold Sleeper, though
named for a Stepover Toehold
Facelock) – when he was put into
a Triple Threat Submissions Only
match on the November 28 Raw.
[73]
WWE Championship feuds and
injury (2006–2007)
Cena facing off against Edge at a
WWE house show.
Cena lost the WWE Championship
at New Year's Revolution, but not
in the Elimination Chamber match
that he had been advertised to
participate in beforehand.
Instead, immediately after
winning the Elimination
Chamber, he was forced into a
match against Edge, who cashed
in his Money in the Bank contract
– a "guaranteed title match for
the WWE Champion at a time and
place of the owners choosing."
After two quick spears pinned
Cena, winning the championship.
[74] Three weeks later, Cena won
the championship back at the
Royal Rumble.[74] After winning
the championship, Cena began
feuding with Triple H, which the
crowd began booing Cena and
cheering the intended villain,
Triple H.[75][76] Cena beat Triple
H at Wrestlemania 22 to retain
his WWE Title.[6] The negative
reaction towards Cena
intensified when facing Rob Van
Dam at One Night Stand. Taking
place in front of a crowd of
mostly "old school" ECW fans at
the Hammerstein Ballroom, Cena
was met with raucous jeering
and chants of "Fuck you, Cena",
"You can't wrestle", and "Same
old shit". When he began
performing different moves into
the match, the fans began
chanting "You still suck". Cena
lost the WWE Championship at
One Night Stand, with Van Dam
pinning Cena after interference
from Edge.[77]
Cena, addressing fans at a Raw
show
In July, after Edge won the
championship from Van Dam in a
Triple Threat match that also
involved Cena,[78] re-ignited the
feud between him and Cena from
earlier in the year. After Edge
went about retaining the title by
dubious means – getting himself
disqualified[79] (for which
Championships do not change
hands) and using brass knuckles
[77] – he introduced his own
version of Cena's "custom" belt,
this one with his logo placed on
the spinner.[80] Cena eventually
won the championship back in a
Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
at Unforgiven. The match had an
added stipulation that had Cena
lost he would leave the Raw
brand and go to SmackDown.
[81][82] Cena returned his
version of the spinner belt on the
next night's Raw.[83]
On the heels of his feud with
Edge, Cena was placed in an
inter-brand angle to determine
the "Champion of Champions" –
or which was the most dominant
champion in WWE's three brands.
Cena, the World Heavyweight
Champion King Booker, and the
ECW World Champion The Big
Show engaged in a mini-feud
leading to a Triple Threat match
at Cyber Sunday, with the viewers
voting on which of the three
championships would be placed
on the line.[84] At the same time,
Cena became involved in a
storyline with non-wrestler Kevin
Federline, when he began
appearing on Raw with Johnny
Nitro and Melina. After getting
into a worked physical
altercation with Federline on
Raw,[84] Federline appeared at
Cyber Sunday to hit Cena with the
World Heavyweight
Championship during the match,
helping King Booker retain his
championship.[77] 2006 ended
with Cena beginning a feud with
the undefeated Umaga over the
WWE Championship,[85] while
2007 began with the end of his
storyline with Kevin Federline. On
the first Raw of the new year,
Cena was pinned by Federline
with an assist from Umaga,
although later in the night he
was able to get his hands on
Federline performing an FU on
him.[86]
One night after the Royal Rumble,
an impromptu team of Cena and
Shawn Michaels defeated Rated-
RKO (Edge and Randy Orton) for
the World Tag Team
Championship, making Cena a
double champion.[87] On the
April 2 episode of Raw, after
losing a WWE Championship
match to Cena at WrestleMania
23,[88] Michaels turned on Cena,
costing them the championship
in the second of two 10 team
battles royals, by throwing Cena
over the top rope and
eliminating the team. The Hardys
(Matt and Jeff) eventually won the
match and the championship.
[89] For the rest of the month,
Cena feuded with Michaels,
Orton, and Edge until The Great
Khali declared his intentions to
challenge for Cena's
championship attacking and
"laying out" all three of the top
contenders[90] before assaulting
Cena himself and stealing the
physical belt.[91] For the next
two months, Cena feuded with
Khali over the championship,
eventually becoming the first
person in WWE to defeat him by
submission at Judgment Day[92]
[93] and then by pinfall at One
Night Stand.[94][95] Later that
summer, Randy Orton was
named the number one
contender for the WWE
championship,[96] starting a
feud between the two. Leading
up to SummerSlam, Orton
delivered a number of sneak-
attacks, performing three RKOs
to Cena, but in the actual match,
Cena retained the championship.
[97] A rematch between the two
occurred at Unforgiven, with
Orton winning by disqualification
after Cena ignored the referee's
instructions and continued to
beat on him in the corner.[98]
During a match with Mr. Kennedy
on the October 1, 2007 episode
of Raw, Cena suffered a
legitimate torn pectoral muscle
while executing a hip toss.[99]
Though finishing the match and
taking part in the scripted attack
by Randy Orton after the match,
surgery the following day found
that his pectoralis major muscle
was torn completely from the
bone, estimating at the time to
require seven months to a year
of rehabilitation.[100][101] As a
result, Cena was stripped of the
title in an announcement by
Vince McMahon on the next
night's episode of ECW,[102]
ending what was the longest
WWE Championship reign in over
19 years.[103] Cena's surgery
was performed by orthopedic
surgeon James Andrews at St.
Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham,
Alabama.[99] Two weeks later, in
a video update on WWE.com, Dr.
Andrews and Cena's physical
trainer both said that he was
several weeks ahead of where he
was expected to be in his
rehabilitation at that time.[104]
Despite his injury, Cena attended
the annual WWE Tribute to the
Troops show filmed at Camp
Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq on
December 7, and aired on
December 24.[105]
Return and various feuds
(2008–2010)
Cena made an unannounced
return as the final participant of
the Royal Rumble match, winning
the match, and the traditional
WrestleMania title shot, by last
eliminating Triple H.[12] Instead
of waiting until WrestleMania, the
title shot was cashed in against
WWE Champion Randy Orton at
February's No Way Out pay-per-
view[106] in a match where Cena
won by disqualification, resulting
in him not getting the
championship.[107] The night
after No Way Out, Cena was
placed back into WrestleMania
XXIV's WWE Championship match,
making it a Triple Threat match
also involving Triple H,[108]
during which he was pinned by
Orton.[109] At Backlash, Cena
failed to regain the title in a Fatal
Four-Way elimination match, in
which he was pinned by Orton.
[110] Triple H won the title
during that match. During the
match, Cena eliminated JBL,[110]
renewing their feud from 2005.
Cena defeated JBL at Judgment
Day and then at One Night Stand
in a First Blood match.[111][112]
JBL, however, defeated him in a
New York City Parking Lot Brawl
at The Great American Bash in
July.[113]
Cena as one half of the World Tag
Team Champions
On the August 4 episode of Raw,
Cena became a World Tag Team
Champion for a second time,
teaming with Batista to defeat
Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase,
[114] but failed to retain the
titles the following week against
the former champions.[115]
Batista defeated Cena at
SummerSlam;[116] shortly after,
he was named one of four
contenders for CM Punk's World
Heavyweight Championship in
the Championship scramble
match at Unforgiven. He was
replaced by Rey Mysterio,
however, after announcing Cena
had suffered a herniated disc in
his neck, which would require
surgery.[117] Cena underwent
successful surgery to repair the
injury.[118][119]
Cena made his in-ring return at
the November pay-per-view
event, Survivor Series, defeating
Chris Jericho to win his first
World Heavyweight
Championship.[120] The two
continued their rivalry up to
Armageddon, where Cena
retained his championship.[121]
Cena lost the championship at No
Way Out, to Edge after Kofi
Kingston was attacked by Edge,
who took his place in the
Elimination Chamber match.[122]
Cena was given an opportunity
to regain the title at WrestleMania
XXV in a Triple Threat match also
involving Big Show, which Cena
won.[123]
Cena lost the championship back
to Edge in a Last Man Standing
match at Backlash after
interference from Big Show, who
chokeslammed Cena through a
big spotlight.[124] This angle
resulted in Cena beginning a
feud with Big Show. Cena
defeated Big Show at Judgment
Day[125] and at Extreme Rules in
a Submission match by applying
the STFU.[126]
At the July pay-per-view, Night of
Champions, he participated in a
Triple Threat match for the WWE
Championship, which also
involved Triple H and WWE
Champion Randy Orton. Cena,
however, did not win the match.
[127] Two months later, at
Breaking Point, Cena defeated
Randy Orton for the WWE
Championship in an "I Quit"
match to win his fourth WWE
Championship.[128] At Hell in a
Cell, Cena dropped the title to
Orton in a Hell in a Cell match.
[129] Three weeks later, at WWE
Bragging Rights, Cena defeated
Orton in a 60-minute Iron Man
match.[130]
Two months later, Cena would
lose the title to Sheamus at TLC:
Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a
Tables match.
John Cena as WWE Champion in
2010
In February 2010, Cena regained
the WWE title at the Elimination
Chamber pay-per-view in an
Elimination Chamber match after
last eliminating Triple H. However,
immediately after the match Mr.
McMahon declared that he would
immediately defend his title
against Batista, who had been
involved with Cena in Vince
McMahon and Bret Hart's rivalry.
Cena lost that match to Batista,
and the WWE Championship and
marking one of the shortest WWE
Championship reigns in history.
[132] The following night after
the Elimination Chamber pay-per-
view, Cena asked for a rematch
for the title at WrestleMania,
which McMahon gave him the
opportunity to as long as he
defeated Batista that night. Later
that night, Batista intentionally
got himself disqualified by
kicking Cena in the groin to set
up their match at WrestleMania
XXVI.[133] At the event, Cena
defeated Batista to win back the
WWE title.[134] At the April pay-
per-view, Extreme Rules, Cena
defeated Batista in a rematch for
the WWE title in a Last Man
Standing match.[135] He faced
Batista one more time in an I
Quit match at Over the Limit
which he won.[136]
Feuding and joining The Nexus
(2010–2011)
See also: The Nexus
On the June 7, 2010 episode of
Raw, Cena was suddenly thrust
into a new storyline when during
his main event match against CM
Punk, he was attacked by all
eight former contestants of WWE
NXT Season 1, with Wade Barrett
as their leader. Punk, his follower
Luke Gallows, and other
personnel around the ring were
attacked as well, but Cena took
the worst of the attack and was
carried out on a stretcher. This
group would later refer to
themselves as The Nexus.[137]
At June's Fatal 4-Way event, Cena
lost the WWE title to Sheamus in a
fatal four-way match that also
involved Edge and Randy Orton
due to interference by Nexus.
[138] The following month, in a
WWE title rematch against
Sheamus in a steel cage match at
the Money in the Bank pay-per-
view, the group interfered, thus
costing Cena the chance of
regaining the championship.
[139] Cena later formed an
alliance with Edge, Chris Jericho,
John Morrison, R-Truth, The Great
Khali and Bret Hart to face the
Nexus at SummerSlam, where
Cena's team defeated Nexus with
the returning Daniel Bryan, a
former member of Nexus, who
replaced Khali after getting
injured public address by Wade Barrett
while a member of Nexus.
Nexus's actions, however, did
not stop after SummerSlam.
Hoping to end Nexus for good,
Cena challenged Wade Barrett to
a match at Hell in a Cell only to
lose due to interference by two
fans, later identified as Husky
Harris and Michael McGillicutty.
Due to the stipulations in place,
Cena was forced to join Nexus.
[141] Cena had originally planned
to destroy Nexus from within as
a member of the group, but the
Raw general manager ordered
him to follow orders from
Barrett, or else he would be fired.
At Bragging Rights, Cena and
Nexus member David Otunga
defeated "Dashing" Cody Rhodes
and Drew McIntyre to win the
Tag Team Championship.[142]
Later in the show Cena was
forced to help Barrett to win his
WWE Championship match
against Randy Orton. If Barrett
didn't win the match Cena would
be fired. Cena twisted his words
around and attacked Barrett,
giving Barrett the win via
disqualification but not Orton's
title.[142] The following day,
Cena and Otunga lost the Tag
Team Championship to fellow
Nexus members Heath Slater and
Justin Gabriel, when Barrett
ordered Otunga to lay down and
lose the title.[143] At Survivor
Series, Cena officiated a match
for the WWE Championship
between Wade Barrett and
Randy Orton. As a part of a pre-
match stipulation, if Barrett
didn't win the championship,
Cena would be fired from the
WWE.
Orton defeated Barrett to retain
the title, thus ending Cena's
career in the WWE.[144] The
following day on Raw, Cena gave
a farewell speech, before costing
Wade Barrett the WWE
Championship by interfering in
his rematch with Randy Orton.
[145] A week later, Cena invaded
Raw, first as a spectator, but he
then attacked members of Nexus,
explaining that he would still
take down Nexus one by one,
despite not having a job in the
WWE anymore.[146] On the
December 13 episode of Raw,
Cena was rehired by Barrett, in
exchange that he would face him
at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in
a Chairs Match.[147] Prior to TLC,
Cena teamed up with Randy
Orton and Rey Mysterio to defeat
Wade Barrett, The Miz and
Alberto Del Rio at The WWE
Tribute to the Troops. On
December 19 at TLC: Tables,
Ladders & Chairs, John Cena was
victorious against Wade Barrett
in a Chairs match in the main
event of the evening John Cena at WWE Tribute to the
Troops in 2010.
On the December 27 episode of
Raw, The Nexus, minus Wade
Barrett, announced they were
under new management and
offered to bury the hatchet with
John Cena, to which Cena
refused. The Nexus attacked
Cena, leaving a Nexus armband in
the ring during the process. As
the group retreated, CM Punk,
who had attacked Cena with a
steel chair twice the week
before, came to the ring to, what
looked like attack John Cena, but
instead put on the armband left
behind to symbolically announce
his allegiance with The Nexus.
[148] The next week, Wade
Barrett returned to Raw and
confronted CM Punk over the
issue of who the leader of The
Nexus was and who was
responsible for Cena's attack the
week before. Barrett was placed
into a Triple Threat Steel Cage
Match that night that would
determine the No. 1 contender
for the WWE Championship. CM
Punk added his own stipulation
to the match saying if Barrett
lost, he would be banished from
the group, but if he won he
would remain leader. Wade
Barrett would lose the match
after CM Punk interfered by
ripping of Barrett's armband.
[149]
On the January 17 episode of
Raw, Cena returned and faced
Punk in a match. During the
match, a man, who would later
be revealed to be Mason Ryan,
attacked Cena. During the 2011
Royal Rumble match, Cena would
eliminate most of the Nexus,
ending his feud with them.
Record-breaking WWE
Champion; various feuds (2011–
present)
The Rock and John Cena agree to
face each other at WrestleMania
XXVIII.
Cena competed in the 2011 Royal
Rumble match at the pay-per-
view, making it to the final five
before being eliminated by The
Miz, the current WWE Champion
at the time, who wasn't an
official participant in the match.
At the Elimination Chamber pay-
per-view, Cena won the
Elimination Chamber match to
face The Miz at WrestleMania
XXVII for the WWE Championship.
[150] On the February 21
episode of Raw, Cena replied to
The Rock's comments about him
from the previous week, as The
Rock returned as the announced
guest host of WrestleMania,
where he made a rap about
Rock. That same night, Cena was
placed into a WWE Tag Team
Championship match, with him
teaming with The Miz, where
they defeated Justin Gabriel and
Heath Slater to become WWE Tag
Team Champions. After the
match, Wade Barrett invoked
Gabriel and Slater's rematch
clause straight away, where they
won their titles back, after Miz
attacked Cena.[151] After weeks
of insults to each other, Cena met
Rock face-to-face on the March
28 episode of Raw, where Cena
would hit his Attitude
Adjustment finishing move on
Rock.[152] At WrestleMania, Cena
and Miz would fight to a double
count-out, but guest host Rock
would restart the match, only for
him to hit his Rock Bottom
finishing move on Cena, allowing
Miz to retain his title.[153] The
next night on Raw, Cena and
Rock agreed to face each other
at WrestleMania XXVIII, making it
the first match to be set up at
WrestleMania one year in
advance. At Extreme Rules, Cena
would defeat Miz and Morrison
to become WWE Champion.[153]
Cena went on to defend the title
against The Miz at Over the Limit
in an "I Quit" match[154] and R-
Truth at Capitol Punishment[155]
At Money in the Bank, CM Punk
defeated Cena to win the WWE
Championship, and left the
company with the title.[156]
[157][158] A tournament was
then conducted to determine the
new WWE Champion for the
"vacant" WWE title, which was
won by Rey Mysterio on the July
25 episode of Raw. That same
night, Cena challenged and
defeated Mysterio to become
WWE Champion for a record
breaking ninth time.[159]
Following the match, CM Punk
returned to the company, with
the WWE Championship he won
at Money in the Bank, leading to
a title unification match at
SummerSlam, where Punk
defeated Cena to become
"undisputed" WWE Champion.
Punk would lose the
championship following the
match to Mr. Money in the Bank
Alberto Del Rio.[160] On the
August 22 episode of Raw, Cena
defeated Punk to become
number one contender for the
WWE Championship, and would
defeat Del Rio at Night of
Champions to become WWE
Champion.[161] Cena would then
lose the title back to Del Rio two
weeks later at Hell in a Cell, in a
Triple Threat Hell in a Cell match
also involving Punk, after Ricardo
Rodriguez and Del Rio locked
Cena outside of the Cell.[162]
Cena lost his rematch at
Vengeance in a Last Man
Standing match, due to
interference by The Miz and R-
Truth.[163] After a few weeks of
Miz and Truth attacking Cena and
other employees, Cena was
allowed to choose his partner to
challenge Miz and Truth at
Survivor Series. Cena would
announce that he had chosen
The Rock to be his partner. At the
pay-per-view, after Cena and
Rock defeated Miz and Truth,
Rock gave Cena another Rock
Bottom.[164]
On the December 12 episode of
Raw, during his match with Mark
Henry, Cena was attacked by the
returning Kane.[165] The
following week on Raw, Cena
would call out Kane for his
actions last week, but Henry
would come out instead. Kane
would then come out soon after,
and once again attacked Cena.
[166] The following week, Kane
would explain to Cena that the
reason he had attacked him was
in disgust of Cena's "Rise Above
Hate" t-shirt slogan, stating that
hate is a "natural impulse" and
shouldn't be contained. He then
led the fans in attendance who
were not fond of Cena into
chanting "Cena Sucks!" as Raw
went off the air.[167] Kane
would then attack Cena's friend
Zack Ryder, which led him to lose
his United States Championship.
[168][169] At the Royal Rumble,
Kane and Cena would fight each
other to a double countout only
for Kane to get the upper hand
on Cena and Ryder, who was
watching in a private room in a
wheelchair, after the match.[170]
At Elimination Chamber, Cena
defeated Kane in an Ambulance
match to end the feud.[171]
Cena and the Rock face off at
WrestleMania XXVIII.
After Elimination Chamber, Cena
and The Rock would start
verbally attacking each other. At
WrestleMania XXVIII, Cena faced
the Rock in the main event match
which had been building for a
year and that was billed as "once
in a lifetime" and as the biggest
and most important match in
John Cena's career. The climax of
the match came when Cena let
his arrogance get in the way of
victory causing him to make the
mistake of attempting the
People's Elbow on the Rock, as
the Rock countered with a Rock
Bottom to seal the victory.[172]
Brock Lesnar faces off with John
Cena after his return in April
2012.
The following night on Raw, Cena
addressed The Rock, only to be
interrupted by the returning
Brock Lesnar, who proceeded to
hit Cena with an F5.[173] On the
April 9 episode of Raw Cena
attacked Lesnar at the opening,
[174] after John Laurinaitis
announced that Cena would face
Lesnar at the main event of
Extreme Rules.[175] John
defeated David Otunga later in
the main event only to get hit by
another F5 by Lesnar.[176] On
April 16, it was announced on
WWE.com that Lesnar versus
Cena would be an Extreme Rules
match.[177] On the next episode
of Raw, Cena was confronted by
Edge who acknowledged Cena's
lack of confidence in going to
face Lesnar being because of his
loss to the Rock before telling
Cena to wake up and beat Brock
Lesnar.[178] Later that night,
Cena showed his lack of
confidence by bringing a chain
to the contract signing and
refusing to fight Lesnar.[179]
Cena received a Kimura lock and
lacerations to the head during
the match, but managed a victory
against Lesnar,[180] though he
strained the muscles in his arm.
[181] This dovetailed into a
rivalry with John Laurinaitis, who
was angered at Cena because of
his victory against Lesnar and his
mockery and declared himself as
Cena's opponent at Over the
Limit.[182]
Other media
Film
Cena, with actual Marines, at the
premiere of his film The Marine.
WWE Studios, a division of World
Wrestling Entertainment which
produces and finances motion
pictures, produced Cena's first
movie — The Marine, which was
distributed theatrically by 20th
Century Fox America beginning
on October 13, 2006. In its first
week, the film made
approximately US$7 million at the
United States box office.[183]
After ten weeks in theaters, the
film grossed $18.7 million.[183]
Once the film was released on
DVD, it fared better, making $30
million in rentals in the first
twelve weeks.[183]
John Cena filming on the set of
12 Rounds.
His second film, also produced by
WWE Studios, was 12 Rounds.
[184] Filming began on February
25, 2008 in New Orleans;[184]
[185] the film was released on
March 27, 2009.
Cena co-starred in his third film
produced by WWE Studios, titled
Legendary, which was played in
selected theaters starting on
September 10, 2010, for a limited
time,[186] then it was released
on DVD on September 28, 2010.
[187]
That same year, Cena starred in
the children's film Fred: The
Movie, a film based on Lucas
Cruikshank's YouTube videos of
the same name, where he plays
Fred's father.[188] The movie
was released on the Nickelodeon
channel in September 2010.[189]
Guest appearances
Before his WWE debut, Cena
made an appearance on the
Internet stream show Go Sick as
Bruebaker, an angry, cursing
wrestler in 2001.[190]
During his WWE career, Cena has
appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
three times. Cena has also
appeared on morning radio
shows; including the CBS and XM
versions of Opie and Anthony as
part of their "walkover" on
October 10, 2006. Other
appearances have included Late
Night with Conan O'Brien, Fuse's
Celebrity Playlist, Fox Sports Net's
The Best Damn Sports Show
Period
, MADtv, G4's Training Camp (with
Shelton Benjamin), and two
appearances on MTV's Punk'd
(August 2006 and May 2007), as
the victim of a practical joke. He
also served as a co-presenter,
with Hulk Hogan, at the 2005
Teen Choice Awards, as a guest
judge during the third week of
the 2006 season of Nashville Star,
and appeared at the 2007
Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice
Awards
.[191]
In January 2007, Cena, Batista,
and Ashley Massaro appeared
representing WWE on an episode
of Extreme Makeover: Home
Edition,[192] giving the children
of the family whose house was
being renovated WWE
merchandise and eight tickets to
WrestleMania 23.[193] Two
months later, he and Bobby
Lashley appeared on the NBC
game show Deal or No Deal as
"moral support" to long time
WWE fan and front row staple,
Rick "Sign Guy" Achberger. Edge
and Randy Orton also appeared,
but as antagonists.[194] On April
9, 2008, Cena, along with fellow
wrestlers Triple H and Chris
Jericho, appeared on the Idol
Gives Back fund-raising special.
[195] In March 2009, Cena made
an appearance on Saturday Night
Live during the show's cold
opening sequence.[196] On
March 7, 2009, he was a guest
on NPR's quiz show Wait Wait...
Don't Tell Me! in a Not My Job
sequence titled "Sure, pro
wrestling is a good gig, but
when you win, do they throw
teddy bears into the ring?"[197]
Television
In 2001, between his training in
Ultimate Pro Wrestling and Ohio
Valley Wrestling,[21] Cena was
involved in the UPN produced
reality show Manhunt. Cena
portrayed Big Tim Kingman,
leader of the group of bounty
hunters who chased down the
contestants who acted as
fugitives. The show, however,
was mired in controversy when
it was alleged that the portions
of the show were rigged to
eliminate certain players, scenes
were re-shot or staged to
enhance drama and contestants
read from scripts.[198][199]
[200]
Cena was also featured on the
ABC reality series Fast Cars and
Superstars: The Gillette Young
Guns Celebrity Race
, which aired in June 2007,[201]
making it to the final round
before being eliminated on June
24, placing third in the
competition overall.[202]
In 2007 Cena was also
interviewed for the CNN Special
Investigations Unit documentary,
"Death Grip: Inside Pro
Wrestling", which focused on
steroid and drug use in
professional wrestling. When
asked if he had taken steroids he
was heard to reply, "I can't tell
you that I haven't, but you'll
never prove that I have."[203]
The day after the documentary
aired WWE accused CNN of taking
Cena's comments out of context
to present a biased point of view,
backing up their claim by posting
an unedited video of his
answering the same question—
filmed by WWE cameras from
another angle—in which he is
heard beginning the same
statement with "Absolutely not".
[204] A text interview on the
website with Cena later had him
saying the news outlet should
apologize for misrepresenting
him,[205] which CNN refused in a
statement, saying they felt the
true answer to the question
began with the phrase "My
answer to that question".[206]
They did, however, edit the
documentary on subsequent
airings to include the "Absolutely
not".[206]
Cena hosted the Australian
Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards
with Natalie Bassingthwaighte
on October 11, 2008 in
Melbourne, Australia.[2 BACK TO HOME
