John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American actor, retired professional wrestler, writer, and former rapper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time for WWE, he remains signed with the company as a brand ambassador as of 2025. He is best known for his in-ring career from 2001 to 2025, where he is recognized by WWE as a record 17-time world champion.
Cena began professional wrestling in 1999 and signed with the World Wrestling Federation in 2001, where he began in its then-developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling. After debuting on the main roster on SmackDown! in 2002, he rose to prominence as a brash, heel rapper before becoming the company's franchise player from the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s. He wrestled on a part-time schedule from 2017 until his retirement in 2025. His run as a face from 2003 to 2025 was the longest continuous portrayal of a heroic character in WWE history.
Cena held numerous championships and accomplishments in WWE, including the WWE Championship a record 14 times, the World Heavyweight Championship three times, the WWE United States Championship five times, the WWE Intercontinental Championship once, the World Tag Team Championship twice, and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice. He is the 35th Triple Crown and 25th Grand Slam champion, won the Royal Rumble match twice, the Elimination Chamber match four times, the Money in the Bank match once, and headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming events, including its flagship event, WrestleMania, six times. Cena's full-time career received mixed critical and audience reception, with praise for his character work and promotional skills but criticism for his perceived over-representation and on-screen dominance relative to other wrestlers. In contrast, his later career was more positively received.
Cena began acting in 2006 and has done both comedy and action films, receiving praise for his roles in Trainwreck, Blockers, and The Suicide Squad. He has also starred in films such as The Marine, Bumblebee, and F9, as well as portraying the title character in the superhero series Peacemaker. In music, he released the rap album You Can't See Me in 2005, which peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200. Cena is also known for his charity work, granting more than 650 wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the most in the organization's history.
Early life
John Felix Anthony Cena was born in West Newbury, Massachusetts, on April 23, 1977, to Carol and John Joseph Cena. He has four brothers named Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean. Their maternal grandfather was baseball player Tony Lupien, a son of businessman Ulysses J. Lupien, and the brothers are cousins of computer scientist Natalie Enright Jerger.Cena was educated at Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts, before moving to Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. He then attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was an NCAA Division III All-American center and football team captain. After graduating in 1999 with a degree in exercise physiology and kinesiology, he pursued a bodybuilding career and worked as a limousine driver. He also worked at Gold's Gym.
Professional wrestling career
Ultimate Pro Wrestling (1999–2001)
In 1998, Cena moved to California to train for professional wrestling at Ultimate Pro Wrestling's Ultimate University, operated by Rick Bassman. He adopted a semi-robotic persona called the Prototype, wrestling at local events and holding the UPW Heavyweight Championship in 2000. His early career was partially featured in the Discovery Channel documentary Inside Pro Wrestling School. Cena remained with UPW until March 2001.World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment / WWE (2000–present)
Ohio Valley Wrestling (2000–2002)
On October 10, 2000, Cena made his unofficial World Wrestling Federation debut in a dark match on SmackDown! as the Prototype. He signed a developmental contract in 2001 and was assigned to WWF's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he held the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship with Rico Constantino. While competing in OVW, Cena also wrestled in WWF dark matches and house shows before being called up to the main roster in June 2002. He continued to appear in OVW until September and made a final appearance there in November under the name "Mr. P."Main roster debut and the Doctor of Thuganomics (2002–2004)
Cena made his official WWE television debut on June 27, 2002, answering Kurt Angle's open challenge on SmackDown! and declaring he possessed "ruthless aggression."Even though he lost the match against Angle, Cena was praised for his efforts in the match. Cena soon feuded with Chris Jericho, defeating Jericho at Vengeance in July. On the October 24 episode of SmackDown!, Cena attacked Billy Kidman after losing to him, turning heel for the first time in his WWE career. After the heel turn, Cena adopted a rapper persona inspired by a backstage freestyle overheard by Stephanie McMahon and Paul Heyman. Debuting the "Doctor of Thuganomics" character, Cena began performing freestyle raps in promos and wore jerseys and hats as part of his gimmick, along with the slogan "Word Life". Cena was briefly paired with enforcer B-2 and then Red Dogg until Red Dogg was sent to the Raw brand in February. At the 2003 Royal Rumble, Cena made his first appearance in the Royal Rumble match but was eliminated by The Undertaker. Cena then entered a number-one contender tournament for the WWE Championship, defeating Eddie Guerrero, The Undertaker, and Chris Benoit before losing to champion Brock Lesnar at Backlash. Cena continued high-profile feuds with The Undertaker and Kurt Angle, eventually turning face on the November 6 episode of SmackDown!, joining Angle's team at Survivor Series.At the 2004 Royal Rumble, Cena was eliminated by Big Show and failed to earn a WWE Championship match at No Way Out. At WrestleMania XX on March 14, Cena defeated Big Show to win the United States Championship, his first singles title in WWE. Cena retained the title at Judgment Day and The Great American Bash before being stripped of it on the July 8 of SmackDown! after accidentally knocking over General Manager Kurt Angle. Cena regained the title by defeating Booker T in a best of five series that concluded at No Mercy on October 3, but lost it days later to Carlito Caribbean Cool on SmackDown!. Their storyline escalated when Cena was stabbed in a nightclub by Carlito's bodyguard Jesús, an angle used to explain his absence while filming The Marine. Cena returned at Survivor Series on November 14 and regained the title on the November 18 episode of SmackDown!, then defeated Jesús in a street fight at Armageddon on December 12.
WWE Champion (2005–2007)
At the 2005 Royal Rumble, Cena and Batista were the final two participants and were eliminated simultaneously by one-another. After a restart, Batista won. Cena earned a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 21 by defeating Kurt Angle at No Way Out, beginning a feud with champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield. Although Cena lost his United States Championship to Orlando Jordan on the March 3 episode of SmackDown!, Cena defeated JBL at WrestleMania to win his first WWE Championship. Cena introduced a customized spinner belt and defeated JBL again in an "I Quit" match at Judgment Day.As part of the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery on June 6, 2005, Cena was drafted to the Raw brand by becoming the first pick. Cena began a feud with General Manager Eric Bischoff, who opposed Cena's refusal to participate in fighting the ECW roster at One Night Stand. At Vengeance, Cena retained his title in a triple threat match against Christian and Chris Jericho. Bischoff backed Jericho as his chosen challenger, but Cena retained his championship at SummerSlam and defeated Jericho again in a You're Fired match on the August 22 episode of Raw. Kurt Angle subsequently replaced Jericho as Bischoff's hand-picked contender. Over the next few months, Cena lost to Angle by disqualification at Unforgiven, pinned Shawn Michaels at Taboo Tuesday in a triple threat match involving Angle, and pinned Angle at Survivor Series. During this feud, Cena added a submission finisher, the STF, in preparation for a triple threat submission match against Angle and Chris Masters on the November 28 episode of Raw.
File:Edge vs. Cena.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Cena facing off against Edge at a house show in 2006
Cena retained the WWE Championship in the Elimination Chamber at New Year's Revolution, but immediately lost it to Edge, who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. Cena regained the title at the 2006 Royal Rumble and retained it against Triple H at WrestleMania 22, Cena's first WrestleMania headlining match. Cena lost the title a few months later to Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand due to Edge's interference, in a match where the crowd was notably hostile to Cena. Edge later won the title from Van Dam on the July 3 episode of Raw, leading to a lengthy feud that ended with Cena defeating him in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at Unforgiven in September to reclaim the championship. Cena returned with his version of the spinner title belt on the next night's Raw. Cena was involved in a Champion of Champions match at Cyber Sunday against Big Show and King Booker. Kevin Federline interfered and cost Cena the match, leading to the duo feuding. In the new year, Federline pinned Cena on the January 1, 2007 episode of Raw with an assist from Umaga. Cena then defended his championship against Umaga twice at New Year's Revolution and in a Last Man Standing match at the 2007 Royal Rumble.
The night afterwards on Raw, Cena teamed with Shawn Michaels to win the World Tag Team Championship from Rated-RKO before defeating Michaels at WrestleMania 23 to retain the WWE Championship. Michaels would turn on Cena the night after, costing the pair the tag titles in a battle royal. In the summer, Cena also defeated The Great Khali at Judgment Day by submission and at One Night Stand by pinfall and Bobby Lashley, King Booker, Mick Foley, and Randy Orton in a five-pack challenge at Vengeance: Night of Champions, and against Lashley at the Great American Bash in subsequent defenses and began a feud with Randy Orton, against him retaining the title at SummerSlam and Unforgiven. On the October 1 episode of Raw, Cena suffered a legitimate torn pectoral muscle during a match against Mr. Kennedy and was sidelined indefinitely. Cena was stripped of the WWE Championship the following night on ECW, ending his 380-day reign. Cena underwent surgery for his injury at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.