John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena (born April 23, 1977) is an American
professional wrestler, rapper and actor. He is currently signed to WWE.
Birth name : John
Felix Anthony Cena
Ring name(s): John
Cena
Billed height: 6 ft
in (1.85 m)
Billed weight: 251
lb (114 kg)
Born: April 23, 1977 (age 35)
West
Newbury, Massachusetts
Resides Tampa, Florida
Billed from: "Classified"
(UPW)
West Newbury, Massachusetts (WWE)
"West Newbury, Mexico" (as Juan Cena)
Trained by: Ultimate
Pro Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling
In WWE, Cena has won 19 championships in total, including 12
world titles (having won the WWE Championship a record 10 times and the World
Heavyweight Championship twice). In addition, Cena has also won the WWE United
States Championship three times, and is a four-time Tag Team Champion, having
held the World Tag Team Championship twice (once each with Shawn Michaels and
Batista),and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice (once each with David Otunga
and The Miz). Cena also won the Royal Rumble match twice (2008 and 2013), the
2012 Money in the Bank contract for the WWE Title, and is a three-time
Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner (2009, 2010, and 2012).He has the
fourth highest number of combined days as WWE Champion behind Bob Backlund,
Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino. Cena is the only man to fail to capture a
world title upon cashing in a Money in the Bank contract.
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).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 in college
After graduating from Cushing Academy, Cena attended
Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. In college he was a Division
III All-American center on the college football team, wearing the number 54,
which is still used on some of his WWE merchandise. He graduated from
Springfield in 1998 with a degree in exercise physiology, after which he pursued
a career in bodybuilding, and also worked as a chauffeur for a limousine
company.
Professional wrestling career
UPW
Cena started training to become a professional wrestler in
2000 at Ultimate Pro Wrestling's California-based "Ultimate
University" operated by Rick Bassman. Once he was placed into an in-ring
role, Cena began using a semi-robotic character known as The Prototype. Some of
this period of his career was documented in the Discovery Channel program Inside
Pro Wrestling School. While in UPW, Cena held the UPW Heavyweight Championship
for just shy of a month in April 2000.
OVW
In 2001, he signed a developmental contract with the World
Wrestling Federation (WWF) (now WWE) and was assigned to its developmental
territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). 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.
World Wrestling Entertainment
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.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 to face Angle. Cena managed to counter the Angle
Slam and the ankle lock submission hold,but ultimately lost to a hard amateur
wrestling-style pin.Following the near-win, Cena became a fan favorite and
started feuding with Chris Jericho, defeating Jericho at Vengeance.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.The next
week, Cena turned on and attacked Kidman, blaming him for their loss, becoming
a villain.
Shortly after the Kidman attack, on a Halloween themed
episode of SmackDown, Cena dressed as Vanilla Ice performing a freestyle rap.The
next week, Cena received a new character: a rapper who cut promos while
rhyming. 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".Moreover, he was joined by an enforcer,
Bull Buchanan, who was rechristened B-2 (also written B² and pronounced
"B-Squared").Buchanan was later replaced by Red Dogg,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. During the feud, Cena
unveiled a new finishing maneuver: the FU, a Fireman's carry powerslam, named
to mock Brock Lesnar's F-5 because both moves start with Fireman's carry, with
the first victim being Rikishi. 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. 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.
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, making it to the final six before being eliminated by
Big Show and the Match being won by Chris Benoit. The Royal Rumble elimination
led to a feud with Big Show, which Cena won the United States Championship from
Big Show at WrestleManiaXX. During his reign, Cena came into contention with
SmackDown General Manager Kurt Angle over issues arising with René Duprée and
Torrie Wilson. 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. Cena won the championship back defeating Booker T in a
best of five series that culminated at No Mercy, only to lose it to the
debuting Carlito Caribbean Cool the next week.[50] 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, Jesus. This worked injury was
used to keep Cena out of action for a month, while Cena was filming The Marine.
Immediately on his return in November, Cena won the United States Championship
back from Carlito debuting a "custom made" spinner-style championship
belt.
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 restarted the match in sudden death rules, with Batista eventually
eliminating Cena. The next month, Cena defeated Kurt Angle to earn a spot in
the SmackDown brand's WrestleMania21 main event match, beginning a feud with
WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Lay field (JBL) and his Cabinet in the
process. In the early stages of the feud, Cena lost his US belt to Cabinet
member Orlando Jordan, who proceeded to "blow up" the spinner
championship with JBL and returning a more traditional style belt.Cena defeated
JBL at WrestleManiawinning the WWE Championship, giving Cena his first world
championship.Cena then had a spinner WWE Championship belt made, while JBL took
the original belt and claimed to still be WWE Champion, until Cena reclaimed
the original belt in an "I Quit" match at Judgment Day.
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. 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. With Bischoff vowing to make Cena's
stint on Raw difficult, he hand picked Jericho to take Cena's championship from
him. 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. More crowds followed suit during Cena's next
feud with Kurt Angle, 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.
As the feud continued and the dissenters grew more vocal, sometimes seeming to
outnumber fans by wide margins, 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. Despite the mixed and
negative reactions, Cena held on to his championship through his feud with
Angle, losing to him by disqualification– which titles do not change hands in
WWE – at Unforgiven and pinning him at Survivor Series. 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.
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 owner's choosing." Two quick spears allowed Edge to pin Cena,
winning him the championship. Three weeks later, Cena won the championship back
at the Royal Rumble. After winning the championship, Cena began feuding with
Triple H, which the crowd began booing Cena and cheering the intended villain,
Triple H. Cena beat Triple H at WrestleMania22 to retain his WWE Title. 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.
Cena, addressing fans at a Raw show
In July, Edge won the championship from Van Dam in a Triple
Threat match that also involved Cena,re-igniting the feud between him and Cena
from earlier in the year. After Edge went about retaining the title by dubious
means – getting himself disqualified(for which Championships do not change hands)
and using brass knuckles– he introduced his own version of Cena's
"custom" belt, this one with his logo placed on the spinner. Cena
eventually won the championship back in a match and arena of Edge's choice: a
Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at Unforgiven at the Air Canada Centre in
Edge's hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The match had an added stipulation
that had Cena lost he would leave the Raw brand and go to SmackDown. Cena returned
his version of the spinner belt on the next night's Raw.
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.
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, Federline
appeared at Cyber Sunday to hit Cena with the World Heavyweight Championship
during the match, helping King Booker retain his championship.2006 ended with
Cena beginning a feud with the undefeated Umaga over the WWE Championship,
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.
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. On the April 2 episode of
Raw, after losing a WWE Championship match to Cena at WrestleMania23, 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. 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 before
assaulting Cena himself and stealing the physical belt.[90] 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 and then by pin
fall at One Night Stand. Later that summer, Randy Orton was named the number
one contender for the WWE championship, 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.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.
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. 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. As a result, Cena was
stripped of the title in an announcement by Vince McMahon on the next night's
episode of ECW, ending what was the longest WWE Championship reign in over 19
years. Cena's surgery was performed by orthopedic surgeon James Andrews at St.
Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. 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. 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.
Return from injury and World
Championship reigns (2008–2010)
Cena made an unannounced return as the final participant of
the Royal Rumble match, winning the match, and the traditional WrestleManiatitle
shot, by last eliminating Triple H. Instead of waiting until Wrestle Mania, the
title shot was cashed in against WWE Champion Randy Orton at February's No Way
Out pay-per-view in a match where Cena won by disqualification, resulting in
him not getting the championship. The night after No Way Out, Cena was placed
back into WrestleManiaXXIV's WWE Championship match, making it a Triple Threat
match also involving Triple H, during which he was pinned by Orton. At
Backlash, Cena failed to regain the title in a Fatal Four-Way elimination
match, in which he was pinned by Orton. Triple H won the title during that
match. During the match, Cena eliminated JBL, renewing their feud from 2005.
Cena defeated JBL at Judgment Day and then at One Night Stand in a First Blood
match.JBL, however, defeated him in a New York City Parking Lot Brawl at The
Great American Bash in July.
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, but failed to retain the titles the following week against the former
champions.Batista defeated Cena at SummerSlam;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. Cena underwent successful surgery to repair the injury.
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. The two continued their rivalry up to Armageddon,
where Cena retained his championship. 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. Cena was given an opportunity to regain the title at
WrestleManiaXXV in a Triple Threat match also involving Big Show, which Cena won.
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. This angle resulted in Cena beginning a feud with
Big Show. Cena defeated Big Show at Judgment Day and at Extreme Rules in a
Submission match by applying the STFU.
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. 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. At Hell in a Cell, Cena lost the title to Orton in a Hell in a
Cell match. Three weeks later, at WWE Bragging Rights, Cena defeated Orton in a
60-minute Iron Man match. Cena would then successfully defend the title against
both Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a triple threat match at Survivor Series,
only to lose it to Sheamus at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a Tables
match.
John Cena as WWE Champion in 2010
Although Cena would regain the title at the Elimination
Chamber pay-per-view in an Elimination Chamber, his reign would be cut short
after Mr. McMahon would make him defend the title against Batista, which he
would go on to lose. Cena would defeat Batista at WrestleManiaXXVI for the
title, and would successfully defend it at Extreme Rules, defeating Batista in a
Last Man Standing Match. Cena would go on to face Batista one more time in an I
Quit match at Over the Limit which he won.
Feuding with and
joining The Nexus (2010–2011)
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. At Fatal 4-Way, Cena would go on to lose the WWE Title to Sheamus, in a
fatal four-way matchup involving Edge and Randy Orton, after the Nexus would
interfere. Cena would again lose to Sheamus, in a steel cage match, at Money in
the Bank after the Nexus would once again interfere. Cena would, in retaliation
to the Nexus, form 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.
Cena being forced to read a public address by Wade Barrett
while a member of Nexus.
Hoping to end the Nexus, Cena would challenge Wade Barrett
to a match at Hell in a Cell with the stipulations that if he were to lose, he
would join the Nexus. After Barrett would defeat Cena, he would join the Nexus,
and be forced by the Raw GM to follow their orders to avoid his contract
getting terminated. Cena and fellow Nexus member, David Otunga, would defeat
"Dashing" Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre to win the Tag Team Championship
at Bragging Rights. Later on, Cena would be forced to help Barrett defeat Orton
in a championship match, with Cena would do by giving Barrett the
disqualification win. 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. 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 terminating
Cena's WWE contract. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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 (2011–present)
The Rock and John Cena agree to face each other at WrestleManiaXXVIII.
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 chamber match to
face The Miz at WrestleManiaXXVII
for the WWE Championship.
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 Wrestle Mania, in the form of a rap. 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 the Miz
attacked Cena. Cena and the Rock would continue to feud with each other, on air
and through social networking, though after weeks of insults, they would
finally meet face-to-face. Cena would deny the Rock's claims to truly
"love" the WWE, claiming that he used it only as a method to
jumpstart his acting career, a claim which Johnson would angrily refute. After
a brief attack by the Miz and Alex Riley, Cena would hit the Rock with the
Attitude Adjustment. At Wrestle Mania, Cena and Miz would initially fight to a
double count-out, only for the Rock to restart the match and hit Cena with a
Rock Bottom to allow the Miz to retain. The next night on Raw, Cena, in
response to the Rock "screwing" him out of the title would agree to
face the Rock at the main event of WrestleManiaXXVIII, making it the first
match to be set up at WrestleMania one
year in advance. At Extreme Rules, Cena would defeat the Miz and John Morrison
to become WWE Champion. Cena went on to successfully defend the title against
The Miz at Over the Limit in an "I Quit" match and R-Truth at Capitol
Punishment
Cena would then begin to feud with CM Punk, who was leaving
the company at Money in the Bank. Punk would be enraged at Cena and the Rock,
calling the two phonies, already being announced to headline the next WrestleMania
and would demand change. At Money in the Bank CM Punk would defeat Cena to win
the WWE Championship, and would leave the company with the title. After Rey
Mysterio would be crowned the new WWE Champion, Cena would challenge and defeat
Mysterio to become WWE Champion for a record breaking ninth time, only to be
interrupted by CM Punk, who too claimed to be champion. Punk would again defeat
Cena at SummerSlam in a title unification match. After Alberto Del Rio would
become WWE Champion by cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase, Cena would
become number one contender and would beat Del Rio at Night of Champions to
become WWE Champion for the tenth time, only to lose it back to Del Rio at Hell
in a Cell, in a Triple Threat Hell in a Cell match also involving CM Punk. Cena
lost his rematch to Alberto Del Rio at Vengeance in a Last Man Standing match,
due to interference by The Miz and R-Truth. 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. Leading up to Survivor Series, Cena and the
Rock would continue to verbally assault each other, reiterating their points
for their WrestleMania match, while attacking the "Awesome Truth". At
the pay-per-view, after Cena and Rock defeated Miz and Truth, Rock gave Cena
another Rock Bottom.
On the December 12 episode of Raw, during his match with
Mark Henry, Cena was attacked by the returning Kane. Cena would then begin to
feud with Kane, who would continue to attack Cena, crediting his digust for
Cena's "Rise Above Hate" slogan and that Cena would need to embrance
the hate in order to defeat the Rock at Wrestle Mania. Cena, however, would
fight Kane to a draw at the Royal Rumble, and then defeat him in an Ambulance match
at Elimination Chamber
Cena and the Rock face off at WrestleManiaXXVIII.
After Elimination Chamber, Cena and The Rock would start
verbally attacking each other. At WrestleManiaXXVIII, Cena faced the Rock in
the main event match which had been building for a year and was billed as
"once in a lifetime". Cena would go on to claim the match to be the
most important of his life and that his win be a necessity, as nobody remembers
second place. The climax of the match came when Cena made the mistake of
attempting the People's Elbow on the Rock, as the Rock countered with a Rock
Bottom to seal the victory.
Brock Lesnar faces off with John Cena
after his return in April 2012.
The following night on Raw, Cena addressed the Rock,
admitting defeat and accepting the loss at Wrestle Mania; Cena then called the
Rock the greatest WWE wrestler ever and invited the Rock to the ring so that he
could congratulate him. However, Cena's call was answered instead by the
returning Brock Lesnar, who then attacked Cena with an F-5. This would result
in Cena feuding with the RAW General Manager John Laurinaitis, who revealed
that he signed Lesnar to bring "legitimacy" and for Lesnar to become
the "new face of the WWE". On April 29 at Extreme Rules, Cena
defeated Lesnar in an Extreme Rules match. The following night on Raw, Cena
would be confronted and eventually attacked by Laurinaitis before declaring
himself as Cena's opponent at Over the Limit. Cena would go on to lose the
match against Laurinitis due to interference from Big Show. It would then
further be announced by Laurinaitis that Cena would be facing Show at No Way
Out with the stipulation that dependent on the victor of the match, either Cena
or Laurinaitis would be fired. Cena would go on to win the match against Big
Show and proceed to do the Attitude Adjustment on Laurinaitis through the
announce table, while Vince McMahon would go on to fire Laurinaitis.
On the June 25 episode of Raw, Cena announced that he would
enter in his first Money in the Bank ladder match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view
to try and stop the Big Show from winning the contract. At the pay-per-view,
Cena won the match by defeating Show, Chris Jericho, Kane, and The Miz, earning
himself a contract that would grant him a shot at the WWE Championship anytime
up to a year. On July 23 at Raw 1000, Cena cashed in his Money in the Bank
contract on CM Punk to have a match for the title; Cena won the match by
disqualification after interference from Big Show, thus becoming the first
person to ever cash in Money in the Bank contract and not win a title. Show
would continue to attack Cena until the Rock arrived to make the save. The
following week on Raw, a WWE Championship number one contenders match between
Cena and Show ended in a no contest due to interference from Punk. Following
this, both men were entered in the championship match at SummerSlam by Raw
General Manager AJ. At the event, however, Cena would be unsuccessful in
winning the championship as Punk would go on to retain the title once more.
Over the next few weeks, Cena would continue to feud with Punk by refusing to
call him best in the world and fighting him to a draw at Night of Champions. On
September 20, Cena would be put out of action for six to eight weeks due to an
arm injury, but would still attempt to compete for the WWE Championship.
However, on the October 15 episode of Raw, Cena opted out of a possible match
at Hell in a Cell and instead thrusted Ryback into the title picture. On the
November 5 episode of Raw, Cena, along with Ryback, would be booked in a triple
threat match for Punk's WWE Championship at Survivor Series while starting to
feud with Dolph Ziggler over the topic of AJ Lee. However, at the pay-per-view,
Punk would pin Cena to retain the championship. Despite this, Cena would
continue to feud with Ziggler and on December 16 at TLC: Tables, Ladders &
Chairs faced Ziggler in a ladder match for his World Heavyweight Championship
Money in the Bank contract on the line, but lost after AJ turned on Cena. The
following night on Raw, Cena teamed with Vickie Guerrero to face Ziggler and AJ
in a mixed tag team match, however, the match ended in a disqualification after
Cena was attacked by the debuting Big E Langston. Cena then defeated Ziggler on
the January 7, 2013, episode of Raw in a singles match, and again in a steel
cage match the following week, despite interference from AJ and Langston in
both matches.
On January 27 at the Royal Rumble, Cena entered the Rumble
at #19 and won the match after last eliminating Ryback, becoming the fourth
wrestler (after Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin) to win
multiple Rumble matches. The following night on Raw, Cena announced that he
would pursue the WWE Championship at WrestleMania29, after which, he would be
assaulted by The Shield. The following week on Raw, Cena would gain vengeance
on the Shield when he, along with Ryback and Sheamus, attacked the stable. This
culminated in a six-man tag team match on February 17 at Elimination Chamber,
where the Shield emerged victorious. On the February 25 episode of Raw, Cena
defeated CM Punk to reaffirm his status as number one contender for the Rock's
WWE Championship.
Other media
Film
Cena, with actual Marines, at the
premiere of his film The Marine.
WWE Studios, a division of WWE 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.[200] After ten weeks in theaters, the film grossed $18.7
million. Once the film was released on DVD, it fared better, making $30 million
in rentals in the first twelve weeks.
John Cena filming on
the set of 12 Rounds.
His second film, also produced by WWE Studios, was 12
Rounds. Filming began on February 25, 2008 in New Orleans; 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, and then it was released on DVD on September 28,
2010.
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. The movie was released on the Nickelodeon channel
in September 2010.
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.
During his WWE career, Cena has appeared on ABC's 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 NBC's
Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Fuse's Celebrity Playlist, Fox Sports Net's The
Best Damn Sports Show Period, FOX's 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.
In January 2007, Cena, Batista, and Ashley Massaro appeared
representing WWE on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, giving the
children of the family whose house was being renovated WWE merchandise and
eight tickets to WrestleMania23. 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. On April 9, 2008, Cena,
along with fellow wrestlers Triple H and Chris Jericho, appeared on the Idol
Gives Back fund-raising special. In March 2009, Cena made an appearance on
Saturday Night Live during the show's cold opening sequence. 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?"
Television
In 2001, between his training in Ultimate Pro Wrestling and
Ohio Valley Wrestling, 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.
Cena was also featured on the ABC reality series Fast Cars
and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, which aired in June
2007, making it to the final round before being eliminated on June 24, placing
third in the competition overall.
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." 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”.
A text interview on the website with Cena later had him saying the news outlet
should apologize for misrepresenting him, which CNN refused in a statement,
saying they felt the true answer to the question began with the phrase "My
answer to that question". They did, however, edit the documentary on
subsequent airings to include the "Absolutely not".
Cena hosted the Australian Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards
with Natalie Bassingthwaighte on October 11, 2008 in Melbourne, Australia.
He guest starred as Ewan O'Hara in an episode of the fourth
season of the comedy drama Psych, as the brother of Juliet O'Hara, played by
Maggie Lawson.
He also guest starred in the seventh episode of Disney
Channel's Hannah Montana Forever as himself.
Endorsements
Before his professional wrestling career, Cena appeared in
an advertisement for Gold's Gym. As a wrestler he has endorsed the energy drink
YJ Stinger, appearing in commercials beginning in October 2003, and Subway, for
whom he filmed advertisements with their spokesperson Jared Fogle in November
2006 that began airing the next January. For a time in 2007 he also endorsed
two "signature collections" of energy drinks and energy bars sold by
American Body Builders. In 2008, Cena filmed a commercial as part of Gillette's
"Young Guns" NASCAR campaign.
In 2009, Cena expanded his relationship with Gillette by
introducing a new online campaign called "Be A Superstar" featuring
himself alongside WWE Superstars Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes. The campaign
features motivational videos.
Fashion
For the extent of his WWE career, Cena's attire has
attempted to reflect the most current thug fashions and styling’s within the
hip hop culture that his character represents. Cena started out wearing
"throwback jerseys" until WWE produced specific Cena merchandise
which he began wearing. While Cena was a member of the SmackDown! Brand, one of
his WWE produced t-shirts bore the suggestive spoonerism "Ruck
Fules". Whenever it appeared on television the image was censored, not by
the network, but by WWE to sell more shirts under the premise that it was
"too hot for TV." He also wore a chain with a large padlock, occasionally
using it as a weapon, until WrestleMania21, when it was replaced with a chromed
and diamond studded "Chain Gang" spinner medallion—reminiscent of the
ones worn by members of G-Unit—matching his spinner title belt.
Around the time The Marine was released, Cena began wearing
attire more military related, including camouflage shorts, dog tags, a Marine
soldier cap and a WWE produced shirt with the legend "Chain Gang Assault
Battalion." Shortly after WrestleMania23, when promotion for The Marine
ended, the military attire diminished and was replaced with apparel bearing his
new slogan "American Made Muscle" along with denim shorts, not seen
since he was a member of the SmackDown roster. He then wore shirts that
promoted Cenation and his trademark line "You Can't See Me." From
late 2011 until WrestleManiaXXVIII, Cena again switched to camo shorts
(honoring the U.S. Armed Forces), to coinincide with his black "Rise Above
Hate" T-shirt promoting WWE's "Be a Star" anti-bullying
campaign. On September 16, 2012, Cena debuted a new pink and black t-shirt and
cap combo with the phrase "Rise Above Cancer" that he wore through
October in partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure in honor of breast
cancer awareness month.
Music
"The Time is Now" by John Cena & Tha Trademarc
(2005)
Sample from "The
Time Is Now" by John Cena & Tha Trademarc.
________________________________________
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
In addition to his wrestling career, Cena is a rapper and a
hip hop musician. Cena performed his fifth WWE theme song, "Basic
Thugonomics," himself, and it was featured on the WWE soundtrack album WWE
Originals. He also recorded a song,"Untouchables", for the company's
next soundtrack album WWE ThemeAddict: The Music, Vol. 6. He collaborated on
the song H-U-S-T-L-E remix along with Murs, E-40, and Chingo Bling.
Cena's debut album, You Can't See Me, was recorded with his
cousin Tha Trademarc. It features, amongst other songs, his entrance theme,
"The Time is Now", and the single "Bad, Bad Man", for which
a music video was made that parodied 1980s culture, including the television
show The A-Team. A video was also made for the second single, "Right
Now," and premiered on the August 8 Raw. Cena and Tha Trademarc were later
featured on a track by The Perceptionists named "Champion Scratch."
Cena will appear on Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins' upcoming album Still Cool
featuring other guests.
Albums
• You
Can't See Me (with Tha Trademarc)
o Released:
May 10, 2005
o Chart
positions: 15 U.S. Billboard 200, 10 U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, 3 U.S.
Rap, 103 UK Albums Chart
o Singles:
"The Time Is Now", "Bad Bad Man" (featuring Bumpy
Knuckles), "Right Now"
Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Ready to
Rumble
Gym Trainer Uncredited
extra
2006 The Marine
John Triton
2009 12 Rounds
Danny
Fisher
2010 Legendary
Mike Chetley
Fred:
The Movie
Fred's
Imaginary Dad
2011 The Reunion
Sam
Cleary
Fred 2:
Night of the Living Fred
Fred's
Imaginary Dad
2012 Fred 3: Camp
Fred
Fred's
Imaginary Dad
2013 Fred 4 Fred's Imaginary Dad
2014 Scooby Doo:
The Curse of the Ghost Bear
The
Expendables 3
Personal life
Cena writes left-handed. He is a fan of Japanese anime and
has mentioned that his favorite anime movie is Fist of the North Star. He has
also said he is a fan of the video game series Command & Conquer and noted
that it was his favorite game. Cena is also a fan of the Boston Red Sox, Tampa
Bay Rays,[248] New England Patriots, Boston Celtics and English Premier League
club Tottenham Hotspur, and Scottish premier league side Celtic F.C.. Cena
collects muscle cars and has over 20, some of which are one-of-a-kind.
While promoting his 2009 film, 12 Rounds, Cena announced his
engagement to his girlfriend Elizabeth Huberdeau. They were married on July 11,
2009. On May 1, 2012, Cena filed for a divorce, and the divorce was settled by
July 18. In November 2012, TMZ reported that Cena is dating former WWE Diva
Nikki Bella.
• Nicknames
o "The
Cenation Leader"
o "The
Champ" (as champion)
o "The
Chain Gang Soldier"
o "The
Doctor of Thuganomics"
o "Mr.
Money in the Bank"
• Managers
o Kenny
Bolin
o B–2
o Redd Dogg
• Entrance
themes
o "Slam
Smack" by R. Hardy (FirstCom Production Music) (June 27, 2002 – November
7, 2002)
o "Insert
Bass Here" by DJ Case (FirstCom Production Music) (November 14, 2002 –
February 13, 2003)
o "Basic
Thuganomics" by John Cena (March 27, 2003 – March 10, 2005; April 5, 2009
for his entrance at WrestleManiaXXV; March 12, 2012 for his "Cena
Rap" against The Rock)
o "We
Are One" by 12 Stones (October 3, 2010 – November 21, 2010; used While a
part of Nexus)
o "The
Time is Now" by John Cena and Tha Trademarc (March 17, 2005–present)
Championships and accomplishments
John Cena as World Heavyweight
Champion
Cena as WWE Champion in 2007
• Ohio
Valley Wrestling
o OVW Heavyweight
Championship (1 time)
o OVW
Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time)– with Rico Constantino
• Pro
Wrestling Illustrated
o PWI Feud
of the Year (2006) vs. Edge
o PWI Feud
of the Year (2011) vs. CM Punk
o PWI Match
of the Year (2007) vs. Shawn Michaels on Raw on April 23
o PWI Match
of the Year (2011) vs. CM Punk at Money in the Bank
o PWI Most
Improved Wrestler of the Year (2003)
o PWI Most
Popular Wrestler of the Year (2004, 2005, 2007)
o PWI Wrestler
of the Year (2006, 2007)
o PWI
ranked #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006 and 2007
• Pro
Wrestling Report
o Match of
the Year (2006) vs. Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand 2006
o Wrestler
of the Year (2007)
• Ultimate
Pro Wrestling
o UPW Heavyweight
Championship (1 time)
• World
Wrestling Entertainment
o WWE
Championship (10 times)
o World Heavyweight
Championship (2 times)
o WWE
United States Championship (3 times)
o WWE Tag
Team Championship (2 times) – with the Miz and David Otunga
o World Tag
Team Championship (2 times)[11] – with Batista and Shawn Michaels
o Mr. Money
in the Bank (2012 - WWE Championship contract)
o Royal
Rumble (2008, 2013)
o Slammy
Award for Superstar of the Year – 2009, 2010 and 2012
o Slammy
Award for Holy $#!+ Move of the Year (2010) Sends Batista through the stage
with an Attitude Adjustment.
o Slammy
Award for Game Changer of the Year (2011) – with The Rock
o Slammy
Award for Insult of the Year (2012) - To Dolph Ziggler & Vickie Guerrero:
"You're the exact opposite. One enjoys eating a lot of nuts and the other
is still trying to find his."
o Slammy
Award for Kiss of the Year (2012) – with AJ Lee
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