and it started in
John Felix Anthony Cena Jr. was born in West Newbury, Massachusetts on April 23, 1977,
in part thanks to his father, Cena Sr., who was a ring announcer for a local promotion
under the name of ‘Johnny Fabulous.’ But before he stepped into the squared circle himself,
Cena tried his hand at other sports. As a student at Springfield College,
Cena excelled as an All-American football star, and after graduating, he bulked up and began competing
as a professional bodybuilder, while driving a limousine to supplement his meager income.
But he wasn’t a smack-talking rapper, or a hero who never gives up.
At first, John Cena was simply known as
His original gimmick was ‘The Prototype,’ a stern, silent warrior heavily inspired by the Terminator.
Cena didn’t exactly set the world on fire, but WWE liked what they saw in the young prospect,
so they signed him to a deal in 2001. In WWE’s developmental league,
he trained alongside other future superstars like Dave Bautista and Brock Lesnar,
until he made his main roster debut on June 27, 2002.
By then, he’d dropped the Prototype and was wrestling under his own name, but
He floundered for nearly a year, until he finally discovered his voice, and founded the
The best wrestling characters are extensions of the performer’s personality,
but early in his run, Cena had no opportunity to show his off.
He was bland and boring, and was on the verge of being fired,
when he came up with a gimmick that changed the game.
Cena is a massive hip-hop head, and a fairly talented freestyle rapper himself,
so for a Smackdown Halloween special, he dressed in a Vanilla Ice costume and dropped a devastating diss.
Cena’s skit was a huge hit, so
As a 'heel,’ or bad guy, he cut mocking freestyles on his opponents before beating them in the ring,
and released a rap album that debuted at #15 on the Billboard charts in 2005.
Before long, Cena had evolved into the ultimate babyface,
a heroic good guy who captivated fans and captured championships.
tying the record set by the all-time great, Ric Flair.
Cena became so unstoppable that some members of the WWE Universe turned on him,
but despite the polarized reactions, Cena has been the face of the company for well over a decade.
He grabbed the brass ring and became “the guy” WWE were looking for,
as well a global ambassador for the brand.
Over the last few years, however, he’s taken a step back from the spotlight,
appearing less frequently for WWE, and using his credibility to help establish the next generation of talent.
Like the Rock, Cena is moving away from sports entertainment, and
Cena’s first leading role came in 2006, when he starred as the titular troop John Triton
in the WWE-produced action movie ‘The Marine.’ Even though it was a box-office disappointment,
it spawned five straight-to-video sequels, none of which starred Cena.
He was featured in a few more WWE films through the years,
but his mainstream breakthrough came in 2015. Cena seemed to be everywhere that year,
even where you’d least expect him, but it was his scene-stealing turns
as Amy Schumer’s casual hookup in ‘Trainwreck,’ and a sleazy drug dealer in ‘Sisters,’
that finally grabbed Hollywood’s attention.
although he followed them up by voicing the kid-friendly ‘Ferdinand’ in 2017,
and hosting the Kids Choice Awards. Perhaps because he was finally ready to start a family of his own.
Five years after his first marriage ended in divorce, Cena finally proposed to his longtime partner
and fellow wrestler Nikki Bella at WrestleMania 33.
Sadly, the couple broke up shortly after, days before their scheduled wedding,
but Cena bounced back with roles in the surprisingly sweet sex comedy ‘Blockers,’
and the ‘Transformers’ spinoff ‘Bumblebee.’
Cena’s Mandarin skills also came in handy when he moved to China,
where finished out 2018 working on a film called ‘Project X’ with the living legend Jackie Chan.
and it’s hard to think of a more worthy recipient.
Over the last 16 years, John has devoted his time to the troops,
helped spread breast cancer awareness, and granted nearly 600 wishes,
shattering the Make-a-Wish Foundation record.
Cena has accomplished a lot in his 41 years, but he still has so much to offer the world.