John Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE, where he is a free agent who appears for both the Raw and SmackDown brands. Cena started his professional wrestling career in 2000 with Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), and won the UPW Heavyweight Championship the following year. Cena signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 2001. He was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), and was promoted to the main roster in 2002. From a generic character in 2002, Cena morphed into a hip hop devotee by the end of 2003. Cena later transitioned to his current character, which he describes as “a good guy who works hard and does the right thing”.
Cena has won 25 championships throughout his WWE career, with 16 reigns as a world champion: a record 12-time WWE (World Heavyweight) Champion/WWE Champion and a three-time United States Champion, as well as being a five-time Tag Team Champion (with Batista, The Miz, Big Show, and David Otunga). He also is a Money in the Bank ladder match winner, a two-time Royal Rumble winner (2008, 2013), and a three-time Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner (2009, 2010, 2012). Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked Cena as the #1 wrestler in the world in 2015. Cena has main evented WWE’s flagship pay-per-view, WrestleMania, on five occasions (WrestleManias 22, 23, XXVII, XXVIII, and 29) over the course of his career.
Cena has the fourth-highest number of combined days as WWE Champion, behind Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, and Hulk Hogan. He has also headlined WWE’s flagship event, WrestleMania, on five occasions (WrestleManias 22, 23, XXVII, XXVIII, and 29), tying Hulk Hogan for the most appearances in the event’s history. Cena is also a two-time Royal Rumble winner (2008, 2013), and a three-time Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner (2009, 2010, 2012).
Early life
John Felix Anthony Cena Jr. was born on April 23, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts, to Carol (née Lupien) and John Cena Sr. He is the second oldest of five brothers: Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean. His maternal grandfather was French-Canadian, and his other ancestry includes English, Irish, Scottish, and German. He attended Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts, before transferring to Cushing Academy, a private prep boarding school. After graduating from Cushing Academy, he attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. In college, he was a NCAA Division III All-American center on the college football team, wearing the number 54, which is retired.
Professional wrestling career
2000–2001: Ultimate Pro Wrestling
Cena began training to become a professional wrestler in 1999 at Ultimate Pro Wrestling’s (UPW) California-based Ultimate University operated by Rick Bassman. Bassman later recalled that Cena was “a good hand”, and that he had an “infectious personality”, which helped him get over with the crowd. Cena made his pro wrestling debut as “The Prototype” in UPW on March 27, 2000. He was pinned by Mikey Richardson.
In December 2000, he competed in the UPW’s Heavyweight Heavyweight Championship Tournament, but he failed to win the title when he was pinned by Joe Hennig in the final. He was also part of the UPW’s tag team division with Rickie Atlas as his partner. They defeated The Pilgrims (Damien Adams and Michael Modest) at the UPW Christmas Chaos on December 21, 2000.
In early 2001, Cena began making appearances on WWF Jakked/WWF Metal. He would continue to make sporadic appearances on WWF television throughout the summer and fall of 2001, including a dark match loss to Kurt Angle at a SmackDown! taping in October.
2002–2003: Ohio Valley Wrestling
In June 2002, Cena was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), a WWE developmental territory. He spent the next nine months in OVW, where he refined his wrestling skills and character. He was brought up to the SmackDown! roster in April 2003.
Cena made his WWE television debut on the June 27, 2002 episode of SmackDown!, losing to Brock Lesnar. Lesnar attacked Cena after the match, and Cena was sidelined with a legit neck injury. He returned to SmackDown! on the October 10, 2002 episode, losing to Billy Kidman.
On the October 31, 2002 episode of SmackDown!, Cena made his in-ring return, defeating Chris Jericho. The following week, on November 7, 2002, Cena defeated Jericho in a rematch. On the November 14, 2002 episode of SmackDown!, Cena defeated Kidman in a rematch. The following week, on November 21, 2002, Cena again defeated Jericho in a No Disqualification match.
In early 2003, Cena began a feud with Kurt Angle. Angle defeated Cena in their first match at No Way Out on February 23, 2003. The two had a rematch at WrestleMania XIX on March 30, 2003, which Cena won.
On the April 3, 2003 episode of SmackDown!, Cena defeated The Undertaker in a No Disqualification match. The following week, on the April 10, 2003 episode of SmackDown!, Cena again defeated The Undertaker in a No Disqualification match.
Cena then entered into a feud with Brock Lesnar, who had recently returned to WWE. The two had a match at Backlash on May 18, 2003, which Cena won.
On the June 5, 2003 episode of SmackDown!, Cena defeated Lesnar in a steel cage match. The following week, on the June 12, 2003 episode of SmackDown!, Cena and Lesnar faced each other in a rematch, which ended in a double count-out.
2004–2005: United States Champion
On the January 8, 2004 episode of SmackDown!, Cena defeated Kurt Angle to win the United States Championship. He held the title for five months, before losing it to John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) at The Great American Bash on July 18, 2004.
Cena then entered into a feud with The Big Show, which culminated in a match at SummerSlam on August 15, 2004, which Cena won.
On the November 18, 2004 episode of SmackDown!, Cena defeated Booker T to win the United States Championship for the second time. He held the title for two months, before losing it to Carlito Caribbean Cool at the Royal Rumble on January 30, 2005.
On the March 3, 2005 episode of SmackDown!, Cena won a #1 Contender’s Battle Royal to earn a shot at the WWE Championship. The following week, on the March 10, 2005 episode of SmackDown!, Cena defeated JBL to win the WWE Championship. He held the title for three months, before losing it to Batista at SummerSlam on August 21, 2005.
2006–2007: World Heavyweight Champion
On the January 9, 2006 episode of Raw, Cena defeated Edge to win the World Heavyweight Championship. He held the title for four months, before losing it to Rob Van Dam at One Night Stand on June 11, 2006.
On the June 12, 2006 episode of Raw, Cena won a rematch against Van Dam to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the second time. He held the title for two months, before losing it to King Booker at SummerSlam on August 20, 2006.
Cena then entered into a feud with Sabu, which culminated in a match at Unforgiven on September 17, 2006, which Cena won.
On the October 9, 2006 episode of Raw, Cena defeated Booker T in a rematch to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the third time. He held the title for two months, before losing it to Batista at Survivor Series on November 26, 2006.
Cena then entered into a feud with Umaga, which culminated in a match at New Year’s Revolution on January 7, 2007, which Cena won.
On the January 28, 2007 episode of Raw, Cena defeated Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton) in a handicap match to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the fourth time. He held the title for two months, before losing it to The Great Khali at Judgment Day on May 20, 2007.
2008–2010: WWE Champion
On the January 7, 2008 episode of Raw, Cena won the Royal Rumble match, last eliminating Triple H. This earned him a shot at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXIV. At the event, on March 30, 2008, Cena defeated Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship for the first time.
Cena then entered into a feud with JBL, which culminated in a match at Judgment Day on May 18, 2008, which Cena won to retain the WWE Championship.
On the June 30, 2008 episode of Raw, Cena defeated Chris Jericho to retain the WWE Championship. The following month, at The Great American Bash on July 20, 2008, Cena again defeated Jericho to retain the WWE Championship.
On the August 11, 2008 episode of Raw, Cena defeated Batista to retain the WWE Championship. The following month, at Summer