John Cena Profile: Biography, News, Career, Videos, Socials & More

Sid Pullar III | Nov 19, 2024

WWE.com

John Cena is one of the most iconic wrestlers in WWE history. Known for his charisma and mantra "Never Give Up", Cena debuted in 2002 and rose to prominence with his "Doctor of Thuganomics" persona before becoming a top star and 16-time WWE World Champion.

Cena was the face of the company for over a decade before transitioning to Hollywood, where's he's starred in blockbuster films like The Suicide Squad and Fast X. He now stars in the series The Peacemaker.

Biography
Top Stories About John Cena
Early Life
John Cena's Professional Years
Championships
Theme Song
Social Media
Videos

Biography

Real Name	John Felix Anthony Cena Jr.
Nicknames	The Prototype, The Doctor of Thugnomics, The Champ, The Face Of WWE
Date of Birth (DOB)	April 23, 1977
Nationality	American
Spouse	Shay Shariatzadeh
Debut	November 5, 1999
Theme Song	The Time Is Now - John Cena, Trademarc
Training	Mike Bell, Fit Finlay, Tom Howard, Christopher Daniels
Billed Height	6 ft, 0 in
Billed Weight	251 lbs

Early Life

On April 23, 1977, John Cena was born in West Newbury, Massachuetts. One of five siblings of his mother Carol and father John Joseph Cena, John grew up a big fan of pro wrestling thanks in large part to his father's appreciation of the business as a ring announcer for Chaotic Wrestling.

Due to bullying in his childhood, Cena trained after asking his parents for a weightlifting bench at 12 years old. Cena started to play football and eventually graduated from private prep school Cushing Academy before attending Springfield College.

He was an NCAA Division III All American center at the school. After a brief bodybuilding career, Cena took his fandom of pro wrestling and went on to start his pro wrestling career when he moved to California.

John Cena's Professional Years

Cena's Indy Days (1999-2002)

Beginning his training at Ultimate Pro Wrestling's (UPW) Ultimate University, John Cena's pro wrestling career performed in local flea markets in California. After developing his first character "The Prototype," Cena became UPW Heavyweight Champion and became a star for the independent promotion before eventually moving on in March 2001.

After a few tryouts for WWE, Cena was signed to his first developmental contract in 2001 when he was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). He continued to wrestle under his Prototype persona and quickly became the OVW Heavyweight Champion. Among this legendary 2002 OVW class of talent with Cena were Brock Lesnar, Dave Bautista, Randy Orton and Shelton Benjamin. Many fans went on to call Cena, Lesnar, Batista and Orton the "OVW 4."

WWE Debut & The Doctor of Thuganomics (2002-2005)

Going by his real name, Cena made his official WWE debut on the June 27, 2002 episode of SmackDown when he answered an open challenge by Kurt Angle. When asked what sets him apart from other rookies, Cena told Angle, "he has Ruthless Aggression." Cena lost this debut match, but earned the respect of The Undertaker in the process.

Following a brief feud with Chris Jericho, Cena became a lower card talent who did not show much personality. That all changed the Halloween-themed episode of SmackDown in 2002 where Cena came dressed as Vanilla Ice and performed a freestyle rap at the behest of Stephanie McMahon behind the scenes.

From there, Cena started his "Doctor of Thuganomics" character that would allow him to breakout as a star. As a heel, Cena would wear hats and sports jersey as well as perform freestyle raps before his matches, which allowed him to form a connection with the fans.

Through rivalries with the likes of Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle and The Undertaker, Cena found himself rising the ranks and started to garner cheers even as a heel. This eventually led to his babyface turn ahead of Survivor Series 2003.

Cena won his first WWE singles title when he defeated Big Show for the United States Championship at WrestleMania XX in 2004 and went on to two more reigns that same year. Finishing in the runner-up position in the 2005 Royal Rumble, Cena went on to defeat Kurt Angle at No Way Out 2005 to earn a shot at the WWE Championship.

"The Doctor of Thuganomics" defeated JBL to win his first WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21. Holding the top prize in the company for the duration of 2005, Cena beat the likes of Chris Jericho, Christian and Kurt Angle.

Face of WWE & Feuds With Edge, Randy Orton, Batista & The Nexus (2006-2010)

Firmly established as the top star of the promotion, Cena kicked off 2006 as WWE Champion, but would lose the title to Edge cashing in the Money In The Bank for the very first time at New Year's Revolution. However, Cena won back the title from "The Rated R Superstar" at Royal Rumble 2006. Defeating Triple H at WrestleMania 22, Cena would continue his rivalry with Edge following this.

Thanks to interference from Edge, Rob Van Dam beat Cena to win the WWE Title at One Night Stand 2006 in the second Money In The Bank cash-in. Then, Edge defeated RVD and Cena to win the gold himself. This led to two more headline bouts between Cena and Edge at SummerSlam and Unforgiven 2006.

Cena captured the WWE Title from Edge in a TLC Match for his third and longest reign starting at Unforgiven. He went on to defeat the likes of Shawn Michaels, Edge, Randy Orton, Umaga and The Great Khali during this 380 day reign. Due to a torn pectoral injury, Cena relinquished the WWE Championship and was supposed to be sidelined for nine months.

However, Cena returned just three months later to win the 2008 Royal Rumble in one of the most shocking comebacks of his career. He failed to recapture the WWE Title, losing to Orton in a triple threat that also included Triple H at WrestleMania 24.

A second significant injury for Cena took place after losing to Batista at SummerSlam 2008, but he once again made a speedy recovery and returned at Survivor Series to defeat Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship. After losing the title, he defeated Edge and Big Show to regain the gold at WrestleMania 25.

After Edge beat Cena in a Last Man Standing Match to win back the title at Backlash, Cena restarted his rivalry with Randy Orton over the WWE Title. The two men traded the gold back-and-forth throughout the fall of 2009, culminating with a 60 minute Iron Man Match won by Cena at Bragging Rights.

Cena's reign was once again short-lived when Sheamus beat him for the WWE Championship in a Tables Match at TLC 2009. Following winning and losing the title on the same night, Cena faced Batista at WrestleMania 26, which he won back the top prize to begin his ninth world title run.

This run featured the debut of a new faction of NXT Season 1 talent called The Nexus led by Wade Barrett, who debuted in a memorable beatdown of Cena on the June 7, 2010 edition of WWE Raw. The group cost Cena the WWE Title to Sheamus in a Fatal Four Way at the titular event.

Cena led Team WWE in a win over The Nexus in an Elimination Match at SummerSlam 2010, but he came up short against Wade Barrett in a match that forced Cena to join the group at Hell In A Cell. After Barrett failed to win, Cena was supposed to be fired, but he eventually made Wade give him his job back and Cena beat him at TLC 2010.

Feuds With The Rock, CM Punk, Bray Wyatt & Brock Lesnar (2011-2015)

Taking aim at regaining the WWE Title, John Cena set his sights on The Miz, but he had a major distraction ahead of his WrestleMania 27 match with the return of The Rock. Coming back as guest host for Mania, "The People's Champion" began to throw insults to Cena in the leadup to the event before costing Cena his bout against The Miz. This led to a challenge for WrestleMania the following year.

This kickstarted the build for the "Once In A Lifetime" showdown. With Rock gone, Cena beat The Miz to once again win the WWE Championship. In the interim, CM Punk rose to prominence in an iconic feud with Cena. After his legendary "Pipebomb" promo, Punk defeated Cena to win the WWE Title at Money In The Bank 2011.

Following two more reigns as champion, Cena was in the WrestleMania 28 main event against The Rock where "The Great One" came out victorious. On the Raw After Mania, Brock Lesnar made his return to the company for the first time in eight years to attack Cena. The two men fought in an Extreme Rules Match at the titular event with Cena winning.

Cena won the 2012 Raw Money In The Bank Ladder Match and cashed in against CM Punk on Raw 1000. Cena won the match by DQ, but didn't win the gold. Battling with Punk over the title, Cena went on to win the 2013 Royal Rumble Match to earn a shot at the WWE Championship. He challenged The Rock in a rematch at WrestleMania 29 with Cena regaining the title.

Daniel Bryan ended this run by defeating Cena to win the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 2013. Cena's 14th reign as world champion started with a win over Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Title at Hell In A Cell 2013 before losing to Orton to become Undisputed WWE Champion at TLC 2013.

Cena began a rivalry with Bray Wyatt heading into WrestleMania XXX with Cena coming out on top at the show. Wyatt got his win back in a Steel Cage Match at Extreme Rules 2014, but Cena then beat Bray in a Last Man Standing Match at Payback.

Cena started his 15th reign as WWE Champion in a multi-man Ladder Match at Money In The Bank 2014. However, Brock Lesnar then demolished Cena to win the title at SummerSlam. The two men further battled over the gold in a singles match and a triple threat with Seth Rollins at Royal Rumble 2015 with Brock retaining the title.

United States Championship Open Challenge (2015-2016)

John Cena defeated Rusev to win the United States Championship for the fourth time at WrestleMania 31. On the Raw After Mania, Cena kickstarted the "United States Championship Open Challenge" where he issued an open challenge to any superstar on the roster every week on Monday Night Raw.

In the midst of this reign, Kevin Owens made his debut on the main roster as NXT Champion and went on to defeat Cena at Elimination Chamber 2015. However, Cena would then beat Owens on two occasions with the third match being for the U.S. Championship at Battleground.

"The Champ" then beat WWE Champion Seth Rollins in an open challenge, which allowed him to go for his record tying 16th world title reign at SummerSlam. Rollins came out on top to win both the U.S. Title and retain the WWE Championship, but Cena regained the U.S. Championship at Night of Champions the following month.

This fifth reign with the title was shorter than the last with Cena dropping the gold to Alberto Del Rio at Hell In A Cell 2015. Cena then suffered an injury that led to him missing several months from 2015 into 2016.

Feud With AJ Styles & Part-Time Run (2016-2024)

After a brief appearance at WrestleMania 32, Cena made his official return in the spring of 2016 when he started a feud with AJ Styles. The two men battled in a memorable rivalry that featured three bouts in the summer, ultimately concluding with Styles defeating Cena at SummerSlam.

Cena got his revenge for this loss by beating Styles for the WWE Title at Royal Rumble 2017. The victory allowed Cena to tie Ric Flair with a record tying 16 world title reigns.

After dropping the title to Bray Wyatt, Cena teamed with Nikki Bella to beat The Miz and Maryse at WrestleMania 33 in 2017. Post match, he asked Bella to marry him, which she accepted. Cena then lost to Roman Reigns in a dream match at No Mercy 2017.

Cena returned in 2018 and found himself on the outside looking in as the company came close to WrestleMania 34, so he challenged The Undertaker to return to face him with "The Deadman" winning at the event.

In a memorable bout, Cena faced "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36 in 2020. Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, this showdown was changed to a "Firefly Funhouse" match where the two stars clashed in a cinematic encounter. After a reenactment of several highlights of Cena's career, Wyatt was ultimately victorious.

Cena would not return again until Money In The Bank 2021 where he confronted Undisputed WWE Champion Roman Reigns. The company dubbed the next few months, "The Summer of Cena." They went on to do battle at SummerSlam with Reigns retaining the title.

On the June 6, 2022 episode of Monday Night Raw, Cena returned to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of his WWE main roster. He went on to wrestle for the first time in a year in a tag team win with Kevin Owens against Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn on the December 30, 2022 episode of SmackDown.

Cena would return in 2023 and began a feud with Austin Theory over the United States Championship. This led to Theory defeating the 16-time world champion to retain his title at WrestleMania 39. After a surprise appearance at Money In The Bank 2023, Cena returned for a brief run from September to November. He ultimately lost to Solo Sikoa in decisive fashion at Crown Jewel.

Cena made a surprise appearance to interfere in the Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Bloodline Rules Match at WrestleMania 40 in 2024. On the Raw After Mania, he competed in his first Raw match since January 2019 in a six-man tag team win with Awesome Truth over The Judgment Day.

At Money In The Bank 2024, Cena made a surprise return to announce that he will be retiring in 2025. Detailing his retirement tour, Cena announced that he will appear on 30 to 40 events from January to December next year.

Championships

Championship	Times Won
WWE Championship	13
World Heavyweight Championship	3
WWE United States Championship	5
WWE Tag Team Championship	2
World Tag Team Championship	2
Men's Royal Rumble	2
Men's Money In The Bank	1
Sports Illustrated's Muhammad Ali Legacy Award	1

Theme Song

The Time Is Now - John Cena

Social Media

Instagram: @johncena

Twitter/X: @JohnCena

Tiktok: @johncena

Videos

Published Nov 19, 2024

SID PULLAR III

Sid Pullar III, born and raised in New York, is a lifelong pro wrestling fan who fell in love with the business when stars like Randy Savage, Ric Flair and Sting captured his imagination. In 2017, he started the Tru Heel Heat Wrestling podcast. Then in 2020, he began his writing for Sportskeeda Wrestling before moving to WrestleTalk in 2021. He is looking to capture his three decades worth of pro wrestling knowledge through his pieces and interviewing various stars.