John Cena

John Cena
Cena in 2024
Born	John Felix Anthony Cena (1977-04-23) April 23, 1977 West Newbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma mater	Springfield College (BS)
Occupations	Actor professional wrestler rapper
Years active	1999–present (wrestler) 2002–2005, 2014 (rapper) 2006–present (actor)
Spouses	Elizabeth Huberdeau ​ ​ (m. 2009; div. 2012)​ Shay Shariatzadeh ​ ​ (m. 2020)​
Relatives	Ulysses J. Lupien (great-grandfather) Tony Lupien (grandfather) Trademarc (cousin) Natalie Enright Jerger (cousin)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	John Cena The Prototype Juan Cena Mr. P
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Billed weight	251 lb (114 kg)
Billed from	"Classified" West Newbury, Massachusetts Los Angeles, California
Trained by	Ultimate Pro Wrestling Christopher Daniels Mike Bell Tom Howard Fit Finlay
Debut	November 5, 1999
Signature

John Felix Anthony Cena (/ˈsiːnə/ SEE-nə; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE since 2001, where he is the current Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is his record 17th WWE world championship win overall. He is widely regarded as the greatest professional wrestler of all time.

Cena moved to California in 1998 to pursue a bodybuilding career and switched to professional wrestling in 1999, making his debut for Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW). In 2001, he signed with WWE (then WWF) and was assigned to its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he won the OVW Heavyweight Championship and OVW Southern Tag Team Championship. After moving up to WWE's main roster on SmackDown in 2002, he became a breakout success after adopting the character of a villainous trash-talking rapper. After winning his first WWE Championship in 2005, he underwent a gimmick change into a heroic character, which he described as a "goody-two shoes Superman". Cena led the company as its franchise player and public face from the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s. He began working a reduced schedule from 2018, which included portraying a villainous character from 2025. His continuous portrayal of a heroic character from 2003 until 2025 is the longest in WWE history.

Cena has held the WWE Championship a record 14 times and the World Heavyweight Championship three times. He is also a five-time WWE United States Champion, a two-time WWE Tag Team Champion, a two-time World Tag Team Champion, a two-time Royal Rumble winner, and a one-time Money in the Bank winner. He has also headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-views, including its flagship event, WrestleMania, six times (22, 23, 27, 28, 29, and 41 - Night 2). His full-time career was met with 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, although, his later career has been more positively received.

Cena's first starring film role was in The Marine (2006) and he gained praise for his performances in Trainwreck (2015), Ferdinand (2017), Blockers (2018), and Bumblebee (2018). He starred in F9 (2021) and Fast X (2023) and portrayed Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad (2021) and the eponymous television series (2022–present). He released his only studio album, You Can't See Me, in 2005, which peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200. Outside of his work in entertainment, Cena is known for his involvement in charitable causes, and has granted the most wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation at over 650.

Early life

John Felix Anthony Cena was born in West Newbury, Massachusetts, on April 23, 1977, to Carol (née Lupien) and former Chaotic Wrestling ring announcer John Joseph Cena. He has one older brother named Dan and three younger brothers named Matt, Steve, and Sean. His maternal grandfather was baseball player Tony Lupien and his maternal great-grandfather was businessman Ulysses J. Lupien. He is also a cousin of computer scientist Natalie Enright Jerger. When Cena was born, his umbilical cord was wrapped three times around his neck. A childhood fan of wrestling, he would create championship belts out of cardboard for himself and his brothers.

Cena was educated at Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts, before transferring to the private prep boarding school 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. He graduated in 1999 with a degree in exercise physiology and kinesiology, after which he pursued a bodybuilding career and worked as a limousine driver. He also worked in the store area of Gold's Gym.

Professional wrestling career

Ultimate Pro Wrestling (1999–2001)

Cena facing Crash Holly at an Ultimate Pro Wrestling show in 2000

Cena moved to California in 1998 to begin training for a professional wrestling career the following year at Ultimate Pro Wrestling's (UPW) Ultimate University, operated by Rick Bassman. He started wrestling in local flea markets, and once he was placed into an in-ring role, Cena began using a semi-robotic character known as The Prototype, which was described as "half-man, half-machine, a hundred percent mayhem." Some of this period of his career was documented in the Discovery Channel program Inside Pro Wrestling School. He held the UPW Heavyweight Championship in April 2000 and wrestled for the UPW until March 2001.

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2000–2002)

On October 10, 2000, Cena made his unofficial debut for WWE (then WWF) on a SmackDown! taping in a dark match against Mikey Henderson, which he lost while performing as The Prototype. He received another tryout at a SmackDown! taping on January 9, 2001, defeating Aaron Aguilera before wrestling again in a dark match at a SmackDown! taping on March 13.

In 2001, Cena signed a developmental contract with the WWF and was assigned to its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). He continued to wrestle as The Prototype and held both the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship with Rico Constantino. Throughout early 2002, Cena competed on WWF house shows against the likes of Shelton Benjamin and Tommy Dreamer. After his main roster call-up in June, he continued to appear on OVW programming until September 25, when he lost to Kenny Brolin in a Loser Leaves OVW match. He made a one-off appearance in November under the ring name Mr. P in a six-man tag team match, where he teamed with Big Boss Man and Charlie Haas to defeat Lance Cade, Trevor Murdoch and Sean O'Haire. Cena's call-up to the main roster meant that he was part of OVW's Class of 2002 alongside Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, and Dave Bautista, which eventually became known as the "OVW 4".

The Doctor of Thuganomics (2002–2005)

Cena performing an "FU" (standing fireman's carry takeover) on Kurt Angle in January 2005

Under his real name, Cena made his WWE television debut on the June 27 episode of SmackDown! by answering Kurt Angle's open challenge and declaring he possessed "ruthless aggression", but lost the match. He began feuding with Chris Jericho, defeating him on July 21 at Vengeance.Soon after, he was stablished as a heel character and feuded with Billy Kidman.

On a bus, Stephanie McMahon, Paul Heyman, and others heard Cena engaging in a rap battle with another SmackDown wrestler, leading to the idea of Cena incorporating rap into his gimmick. Cena received a new character: a rapper who cut promos while rhyming. He used the nickname "The Doctor of Thuganomics" and expanded his gimmick to include rapping before his matches, wearing hats and sports jerseys as part of his ring gear. As the character evolved, 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 to B-2 (also written B² and pronounced "B-Squared") and replaced with Red Dogg until he was sent to the Raw brand in February.

At Royal Rumble on January 19, 2003, he entered his first Royal Rumble match at number 18, but was eliminated by The Undertaker. Cena then sought Brock Lesnar's WWE Championship, defeating Eddie Guerrero, The Undertaker and Chris Benoit in a tournament for a title match at Backlash on April 27, which he lost. After losing to Kurt Angle at No Mercy on October 19, Cena became a fan favorite when he joined Angle as a member of his team on November 16 at Survivor Series.

Cena with his customized United States Championship belt in January 2005

Cena was eliminated by Big Show at the Royal Rumble on January 25, 2004, and lost to Angle by submission in a triple threat match for a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XX also involving Big Show at No Way Out on February 15. At WrestleMania on March 14, Cena defeated Big Show to win the United States Championship, his first singles championship in WWE. He retained the title against Rene Dupree on May 16 at Judgment Day and in a fatal four-way match also involving Rob Van Dam and Booker T at The Great American Bash on June 27, until he was stripped of the title on the July 8 episode of SmackDown! by Angle (the SmackDown! General Manager) after accidentally attacking him in his wheelchair. Cena won the title back by defeating Booker T in a best of five series that started on August 15 at SummerSlam and culminated on October 3 at No Mercy, only to drop it to the debuting Carlito Caribbean Cool the following week on SmackDown!. The duo began a feud which resulted in Cena allegedly being stabbed in the kidney while at a Boston-area nightclub by Carlito's bodyguard, Jesús; this worked "injury" was used to keep Cena out of action for a month while he was filming The Marine. After returning on November 14 at Survivor Series, Cena won the United States Championship back from Carlito on the November 18 episode of SmackDown!. He retained the title against Jesús at Armageddon on December 12 in a street fight.

WWE Champion (2005–2007)

On January 30, 2005, at Royal Rumble, Cena competed in the titular match, making it to the final two. He and Batista went over the top rope at the same time, at first ending the match, but the match was restarted and won by Batista. At No Way Out on February 20, Cena defeated Angle to earn a spot in the SmackDown! brand's WrestleMania 21 main event match, beginning a feud with then WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and his Cabinet in the process. In the early stages of the feud, Cena lost the United States Championship to Cabinet member Orlando Jordan. At WrestleMania 21 on April 3, Cena defeated JBL to win the WWE Championship, his first world championship. Now with a spinner WWE Championship belt, JBL took the original title belt and claimed he was still the WWE Champion, until Cena defeated him in an "I Quit" match at Judgment Day on May 22 to retain the title.

Cena was drafted to the Raw brand on the June 6 episode of Raw, becoming the first wrestler selected in the annual draft lottery. Cena immediately entered into a feud with Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, after refusing to participate in the "war" against the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) roster at the 2005 ECW One Night Stand. At Vengeance on June 26, Cena retained the title against Christian and Chris Jericho in a triple threat match. With Bischoff vowing to make Cena's stint on Raw difficult, he hand-picked Jericho to take Cena's championship from him. Despite Cena being portrayed as the face and Jericho as the heel, a vocal section of the live crowds cheered Jericho and booed Cena during their matches. On August 21, at SummerSlam, Cena defeated Jericho to retain the title. Kurt Angle took over as Bischoff's hand-picked number one contender after Cena defeated Jericho in a You're Fired match on the August 22 episode of Raw. Cena held on to the WWE Championship, losing to Angle by disqualification on September 18 at Unforgiven, pinning Shawn Michaels in a triple threat match involving Angle at Taboo Tuesday on November 1, and pinning Angle on November 27 at Survivor Series. Their feud 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 episode of Raw.

Cena facing off against Edge at a WWE house show in July 2006

At New Year's Revolution on January 8, 2006, Cena retained the WWE Championship in the Elimination Chamber match after last eliminating Carlito, but immediately afterwards, Mr. McMahon announced Edge was cashing in his Money in the Bank contract—a "guaranteed title match against the WWE Champion at a time and place of the owner's choosing". Two spears allowed Edge to pin Cena and win the championship, which Cena won back on January 29 at Royal Rumble. He defeated Triple H to retain the title at WrestleMania 22 on April 2 and in a triple threat match involving Edge at Backlash on April 30. On June 11, Cena defended the title against Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand in front of a boisterous crowd of mostly original ECW fans at the Hammerstein Ballroom. He was met with raucous jeering and chants of "Fuck you, Cena", "You can't wrestle", "Same old shit" and "You still suck" when he performed different moves as the match progressed. Cena lost the WWE Championship to Van Dam after interference from Edge.

Cena addressing fans at a Raw show in October 2006

On the July 3 episode of Raw, Edge won the championship from Van Dam in a triple threat match also involving Cena. After Edge went about retaining the title by dubious means—getting himself disqualified (for which championships do not change hands)—and using brass knuckles on August 20 at SummerSlam, he introduced his own version of Cena's "custom" title belt, this one with his logo placed on the spinner. Cena eventually regained the championship in a match and an arena of Edge's choice: a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match on September 17 at Unforgiven at the Air Canada Centre in Edge's hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, after performing the FU on Edge through two tables off a ladder; the match had a stipulation that had Cena lost, he would have joined the SmackDown! brand. Cena returned with his version of the spinner title belt on the next night's Raw.

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, World Heavyweight Champion King Booker, and ECW World Champion Big Show were booked in a triple threat match on November 5 at Cyber Sunday, with the viewers voting on which of the three championships would be placed on the line. At the same time, Cena was involved in a storyline with non-wrestler Kevin Federline, getting into a worked physical altercation with Federline on Raw. At Cyber Sunday, Cena lost the match after Federline hit him with the World Heavyweight Championship. On the January 1 episode of Raw, Cena was pinned by Federline with an assist from Umaga. At New Year's Revolution on January 7, 2007, Cena defeated Umaga to end his undefeated streak and retain the WWE Championship. On January 28, Cena retained the title against Umaga in a Last Man Standing match at the Royal Rumble.

The next night on Raw, 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. At WrestleMania 23 on April 1, Cena retained the WWE Championship against Michaels. The next night on Raw, Michaels turned on Cena, costing them the tag titles in the second of two 10-team battle royals, by throwing Cena over the top rope and eliminating the team. Cena retained the WWE Championship against Michaels, Orton, and Edge in a fatal four-way match on April 29 at Backlash. The Great Khali then declared his intentions to challenge for Cena's championship, attacking and "laying out" all three of the top contenders before assaulting Cena and stealing the title belt. On May 20, at Judgment Day, Cena became the first person to defeat Khali by submission and then by pinfall on June 3 at One Night Stand in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Cena retained the title in a five-pack challenge on June 24 at Vengeance: Night of Champions, and against Bobby Lashley on July 22 at The Great American Bash. Orton was then named the number one contender for the WWE Championship and delivered a number of sneak-attacks, performing three RKOs to Cena. He retained the championship against Orton on August 26 at SummerSlam and at Unforgiven on September 16, despite losing by disqualification after ignoring the referee's instructions and beating on him in the corner.

During a match with Mr. Kennedy on the October 1 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 Orton after the match, surgery the following day found that his pectoralis major muscle was torn completely from the bone. At the time, it was estimated this would require six months to a year of rehabilitation. As a result, Cena was stripped of the title by Mr. McMahon the next night on ECW, ending 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.

World Heavyweight Champion (2008–2010)

On January 27, 2008, at Royal Rumble, Cena made a surprise return as the final participant of the Royal Rumble match, last eliminating Triple H to win the match and the traditional WrestleMania XXIV title shot. However, Cena cashed in his shot against WWE Champion Randy Orton at No Way Out on February 17, winning by disqualification, thus not being awarded the title. The following night on Raw, Cena defeated Orton in a non-title match with Triple H as special guest referee to regain his title match at WrestleMania on March 30, making it a triple threat match, but lost after being pinned by Orton. At Backlash on April 27, Cena competed in a fatal four-way elimination match for the title, eliminating JBL but was eliminated by Orton. Cena defeated JBL on May 18 at Judgment Day and in a First Blood match at One Night Stand on June 1, failed to regain the title from Triple H on June 29 at Night of Champions and lost to JBL in a New York City Parking Lot Brawl at The Great American Bash on July 20, ending their feud.

On August 4, Cena and Batista defeated Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase for the World Tag Team Championship on Raw, which they lost in a rematch the following week. At SummerSlam on August 17, Cena lost to Batista. He was named one of four contenders for CM Punk's World Heavyweight Championship in the Championship Scramble match at Unforgiven on September 7, but was unable to compete due to suffering a legitimate herniated disc in his neck at SummerSlam, which required surgery. He underwent successful surgery to repair the injury.

Cena made his in-ring return at Survivor Series on November 23, defeating Chris Jericho for his first World Heavyweight Championship. He retained the title against Jericho at Armageddon on December 14. After defeating JBL at Royal Rumble on January 25, 2009, Cena lost the championship at No Way Out on February 15 to Edge, who attacked Kofi Kingston and took his place in the Elimination Chamber match. Cena won his rematch for the title at WrestleMania 25 on April 5 in a triple threat match involving Big Show. He lost the championship back to Edge in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash on April 26 after interference from Big Show, who chokeslammed Cena through a spotlight. Cena defeated Big Show at Judgment Day on May 17 and in a submission match at Extreme Rules on June 7 by applying the STF. During Cena's feud with Big Show, The Miz challenged him to a match on the April 27 episode of Raw, but as Cena was out due to injury, The Miz claimed an unofficial win via forfeit and continued to do this over the following weeks, until Cena defeated The Miz at The Bash on June 28.

Cena as WWE Champion in 2010

At Night of Champions on July 26, Cena was pinned by Orton in a triple threat match for the WWE Championship involving Triple H after interference from Rhodes and DiBiase. The next night on Raw, Cena won a beat the clock challenge to earn another shot at the title at SummerSlam on August 23, where Orton used underhanded tactics to retain. At Breaking Point on September 13, Cena defeated Orton in an "I Quit" match to win his fourth WWE Championship. He lost the title back to Orton in a Hell in a Cell match on October 4 at Hell in a Cell, but regained it at Bragging Rights on October 25 in a sixty-minute Anything Goes Iron Man match. Cena retained the title against both Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a triple threat match at Survivor Series on November 22 but lost it to Sheamus on December 13 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a tables match. The next night on Raw, Cena competed in a tournament to crown the 2009 Superstar of the Year, defeating CM Punk in the first round and Orton in the finals later that night to win the honor. His rematch for the title against Sheamus on the December 28 episode of Raw ended in a disqualification victory for Cena.

At Royal Rumble on January 31, 2010, Cena competed in the titular match, making it to the final two where he was eliminated by the returning Edge. Cena regained the title at Elimination Chamber on February 21 in the eponymous match, but his reign was cut short after Mr. McMahon made him defend the title immediately against Batista, who emerged victorious. Cena defeated Batista to regain the title at WrestleMania XXVI on March 28 and successfully defended it against Batista in a Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules on April 25 and an "I Quit" match at Over the Limit on May 23 to end their feud.

Storyline with The Nexus (2010–2011)

See also: The Nexus

Cena being forced to read a public address by Wade Barrett while a member of The Nexus in November 2010

On the June 7 episode of Raw, during a match against Punk, Cena was attacked by all eight former contestants of the first season of NXT, with Wade Barrett as their leader. This group, later referring to itself as The Nexus, made Cena lose the WWE Championship to Sheamus at Fatal 4-Way on June 20 and a steel cage match against Sheamus on July 18 at Money in the Bank. Cena then formed an alliance with Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth, Bret Hart and The Great Khali, who was replaced by former Nexus member Daniel Bryan, defeating The Nexus at SummerSlam on August 15.

At Hell in a Cell on October 3, Cena faced Barrett with the stipulations that if he were to lose, he would join The Nexus, and if he were to win, The Nexus would disband. Cena lost to Barrett and reluctantly joined The Nexus. On October 24, Cena and fellow Nexus member David Otunga defeated Rhodes and Drew McIntyre to win the WWE Tag Team Championship at Bragging Rights. Later that night, he was forced to help Barrett defeat Orton in a WWE Championship match; Barrett won by disqualification, but not the title. The next night on Raw, Cena and Otunga lost the titles to fellow Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel, when Barrett ordered Otunga to lie down and lose the titles.

At Survivor Series on November 21, Cena officiated another WWE Championship match between Barrett and Orton; per stipulation, if Barrett did not win the championship, Cena would be "fired" from the WWE. Cena was fired (kayfabe) after Orton retained against Barrett. The next night on Raw, Cena gave a farewell speech before again costing Barrett the title by interfering in his rematch with Orton. A week later, Cena invaded Raw, first as a spectator, but then attacked members of the Nexus, explaining he would still take them down one by one despite not being employed. On the December 13 episode of Raw, Cena was rehired by Barrett in exchange that he would face him on December 19 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a chairs match, which Cena won.

Cena at WWE Tribute to the Troops in December 2010

On the January 17, 2011 episode of Raw, Cena faced CM Punk, who had assumed leadership of The Nexus and renamed the stable as The New Nexus, in a match which ended in a no contest after Cena was attacked by the debuting Mason Ryan, who later joined The New Nexus. Cena competed in the Royal Rumble match on January 30, which saw Cena eliminate most of the members of The New Nexus, ending their feud. He was eliminated by WWE Champion The Miz, who was not part of the match. Cena won the titular match at Elimination Chamber on February 20 to face The Miz at WrestleMania XXVII for the WWE Championship.

Feuds with The Rock and CM Punk (2011–2013)

Cena and The Rock agree to face each other at WrestleMania XXVIII in April 2011

On the February 21 episode of Raw, Cena replied in rap form to comments made by The Rock the previous week, as he returned as the announced guest host of WrestleMania. That night, Cena and The Miz defeated Slater and Gabriel to become the new WWE Tag Team Champions. However, their rematch clause was immediately invoked, and Gabriel and Slater won the titles back after The Miz attacked Cena, making their reign the shortest in the title's history. After weeks of insults, Cena and The Rock finally met on the March 28 episode of Raw, where, after a verbal confrontation, and a brief attack by The Miz and Alex Riley, Cena attacked The Rock with the Attitude Adjustment. At WrestleMania on April 3, Cena and The Miz fought to a double countout, but The Rock restarted the match and performed a Rock Bottom on Cena, allowing The Miz to retain the title. The next night on Raw, Cena, in response to The Rock "screwing" him out of the title, agreed to face him in the main event of WrestleMania XXVIII, the first WrestleMania match to be set up one year in advance. At Extreme Rules on May 1, Cena defeated The Miz and John Morrison in a triple threat steel cage match to become WWE Champion. Cena successfully defended the title against The Miz on May 22 at Over the Limit in an "I Quit" match and R-Truth on June 19 at Capitol Punishment.

After CM Punk announced he was leaving the company due to his contract expiring after Money in the Bank, Cena lost the WWE Championship at the event on July 17 to Punk, who left the company with the title. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awarded the match five stars, Cena's first and only five star match. On the July 25 episode of Raw, after Rey Mysterio won the WWE Championship in a tournament, Cena challenged and defeated Mysterio for the title later that night, only to be interrupted by Punk, who also claimed to be champion. Cena lost to Punk at SummerSlam on August 14 in a championship unification match after special guest referee Triple H missed Cena's foot on the rope. At Night of Champions on September 18, Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio for his tenth WWE Championship, but lost it back to Del Rio at Hell in a Cell on October 2 in a triple threat Hell in a Cell match also involving Punk. Cena lost his rematch to Del Rio at Vengeance on October 23 in a Last Man Standing match due to interference by The Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth). After weeks of The Miz and R-Truth attacking Cena and employees, Cena was allowed to choose his partner to face them on November 20 at Survivor Series. Cena chose The Rock as his partner, and they defeated The Miz and R-Truth; after the match, The Rock gave Cena a Rock Bottom.

Cena and The Rock face off at WrestleMania XXVIII in April 2012

Cena then began a feud with Kane, who cited his disgust for Cena's "Rise Above Hate" slogan and claimed that Cena would need to embrace the hate to defeat The Rock at WrestleMania. Cena fought Kane to a double countout at Royal Rumble on January 29, 2012 before defeating him in an Ambulance match on February 19 at Elimination Chamber. At WrestleMania XXVIII on April 1, Cena lost to The Rock in the main event after attemping to hit the People's Elbow on The Rock, who countered with a Rock Bottom for the pinfall.

Brock Lesnar faces off with Cena after his return in April 2012

The following night on Raw SuperShow, Cena invited The Rock to the ring to congratulate him on his victory, however, his call was answered instead by the returning Brock Lesnar, who attacked Cena with an F-5. Raw and SmackDown General Manager John Laurinaitis revealed that he signed Lesnar to bring "legitimacy" to the WWE and for Lesnar to become its "new face". At Extreme Rules on April 29, Cena defeated Lesnar in an Extreme Rules match. He lost to Laurinaitis at Over the Limit on May 20 after interference from Big Show. At No Way Out on June 17, Laurinaitis was fired after Cena defeated Big Show in a steel cage match with both their jobs on the line. The following night on Raw SuperShow, Cena defeated Laurinaitis and David Otunga in a handicap match to end the feud.

On July 15, Cena won the WWE Championship Money in the Bank ladder match at Money in the Bank, earning a contract for a shot at the WWE Championship anytime within a year. On July 23, on Raw 1000, Cena cashed in his contract on Punk and won by disqualification after Big Show interfered, becoming the first person to cash in a Money in the Bank contract and not win a title. Cena failed to win the title from Punk in a triple threat match involving Big Show at SummerSlam on August 19 and fought Punk to a draw at Night of Champions on September 16. After being sidelined with a legitimate arm injury, Cena returned at Survivor Series on November 18, but was pinned by Punk in a triple threat match also involving Ryback. Cena then feuded with Dolph Ziggler over an alleged relationship with AJ Lee and lost to Ziggler in a ladder match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 16 for Ziggler's World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank contract, after AJ turned on Cena. The following night on Raw, Cena and Vickie Guerrero faced Ziggler and AJ in a mixed tag team match which ended in a disqualification after Cena was attacked by the debuting Big E Langston. Cena ended his feud with Ziggler after defeating him on the January 7 episode of Raw and in a steel cage match the following week, despite interference from AJ and Langston in both matches.

On January 27, 2013, Cena won his second Royal Rumble match, announcing that he would pursue the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 29. At Elimination Chamber on February 17, Cena, Ryback and Sheamus lost to The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins). On the February 25 episode of Raw, Cena defeated Punk to retain his number one contendership to the WWE Championship. At WrestleMania on April 7, Cena defeated The Rock in their rematch to win his eleventh WWE Championship. Cena then began a rivalry with Ryback, during which he suffered a legitimate achilles tendon injury but retained the title in a Last Man Standing match (which ended in a no contest) at Extreme Rules on May 19 and a Three Stages of Hell match on June 16 at Payback. He defeated Mark Henry via submission to retain the title on July 14 at Money in the Bank. At SummerSlam on August 18, Cena lost the WWE Championship to Daniel Bryan with Triple H as the special guest referee, ending his reign at 133 days. The following night on Raw, Cena announced he would undergo surgery for a triceps tear and would be out for four to six months.

World championship pursuits and reigns (2013–2015)

Cena returned at Hell in a Cell on October 27, defeating Alberto Del Rio to win his third World Heavyweight Championship. He retained the title the next night on Raw against Damien Sandow and Del Rio on November 24 at Survivor Series. Cena next challenged then-WWE Champion Randy Orton to unify their respective championships, leading to a Tables, Ladders and Chairs title unification match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 15, which Cena lost. Cena failed to win the now-unified WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Orton at Royal Rumble on January 26, 2014 and in the Elimination Chamber match at the titular event on February 23 after being distracted by The Wyatt Family.

I know how John Cena feuds tend to work. He loses one match, then wins the next two or three. Look at Rusev and Bray Wyatt as examples. These feuds don't really help talent. They're established... as definitively below Cena. This is a running theme in WWE booking. [Kevin] Owens is... worse off than he would have been if he had never had the second and third matches with Cena.

— Pro Wrestling Dot Net analyst Will Pruett in July 2015

Following the event, Bray Wyatt accepted Cena's challenge for a match at WrestleMania XXX on April 6 to prove that Cena's heroic act was a façade characteristic of "this era of lies" and turn Cena into a "monster". At WrestleMania, Cena defeated Wyatt despite interference from Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. The feud continued based on the story that Wyatt was capturing Cena's fanbase, exemplified by Wyatt leading a children's choir to the ring on the April 28 episode of Raw, where they later donned sheep masks. At Extreme Rules on May 4, Wyatt defeated Cena in a steel cage match after repeated interference from the rest of the Wyatt Family members and a demonic child. At Payback on June 1, Cena defeated Wyatt in a Last Man Standing match after burying him under multiple equipment cases, ending their feud.

At Money in the Bank on June 29, Cena won the ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He retained the title at Battleground on July 20 in a fatal four-way match against Orton, Kane and Reigns. At SummerSlam on August 17, Cena lost the title to Lesnar in a squash match after sixteen suplexes and two F-5s, ending his reign at 49 days. In their rematch at Night of Champions on September 21, he failed to regain the title after Rollins attacked him, causing a disqualification. At Hell in a Cell on October 26, Cena defeated Orton in a Hell in a Cell match to become the number one contender for the championship.

Cena as WWE Champion in July 2013

The next night on Raw, Cena rejected The Authority's offer to join forces, resulting in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination tag match between Team Cena (Cena, Ziggler, Rowan, Big Show and Ryback) and Team Authority (Rollins, Kane, Harper, Henry and Rusev) at Survivor Series on November 23. Big Show turned on Cena, causing his elimination, but Ziggler eventually won the match for Team Cena with help from the interfering Sting. Per the stipulation, The Authority were stripped from power and only Cena could bring them back. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 14, Cena defeated Rollins in a tables match to retain his number one contendership to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and face Lesnar for the title at Royal Rumble. On the December 29 episode of Raw, Rollins and Big Show held guest host Edge hostage, forcing Cena to reinstate The Authority. They added Rollins to the title match at Royal Rumble and "fired" Ziggler, Ryback and Rowan for joining Team Cena, but Cena won their jobs back by defeating Rollins, Big Show and Kane in a handicap match. At Royal Rumble on January 25, 2015, Cena was unsuccessful in capturing the title.

Cena after defeating Rusev for the United States Championship at WrestleMania 31 in March 2015

United States Champion (2015–2016)

Cena then began feuding with United States Champion Rusev and failed to win the title at Fastlane on February 22 after passing out from his submission, the Accolade. Rusev had hit Cena with a low blow following a distraction by his manager Lana. Cena challenged Rusev to a rematch, which was declined, and Stephanie McMahon decreed that Cena would not compete at WrestleMania 31 unless Rusev agreed to a rematch. On the March 9 episode of Raw, Cena attacked Rusev, refusing to release the STF submission hold, causing Lana to grant Cena the match. Cena defeated Rusev at WrestleMania on March 29 to win his fourth United States Championship, marking Rusev's first pinfall loss in the main roster.

Cena issued weekly open challenges for the title, culminating in successful defenses against the likes of Dean Ambrose, Stardust, Bad News Barrett, Kane, Sami Zayn, Neville, Zack Ryder and Cesaro. He retained his title against Rusev in a Russian Chain match on April 26 at Extreme Rules and an "I Quit" match on May 17 at Payback, ending their feud. The following night on Raw, Cena was attacked by then-NXT Champion Kevin Owens, setting up a Champion vs. Champion match at Elimination Chamber on May 31, which Owens won. Cena defeated Owens in a rematch at Money in the Bank on June 14 and at Battleground on July 19 to retain the United States Championship and end their feud.

Cena resumed his feud with then-WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, with Rollins refusing Cena's challenges for the title. On the July 27 episode of Raw, The Authority forced him to defend the title against Rollins, successfully doing so despite suffering a legitimate broken nose. At SummerSlam on August 23, Cena lost to Rollins in a "Winner Takes All" match for both the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the United States Championship after guest host Jon Stewart attacked him with a steel chair, ending his reign at 147 days. He won his fifth United States Championship from Rollins on September 20 at Night of Champions (a record in the WWE ownership era of the title) and retained the title against him in a steel cage match on October 3 at WWE Live from Madison Square Garden. At Hell in a Cell on October 25, Cena lost the title to the returning Alberto Del Rio in an open challenge. After defeating Del Rio by disqualification in a title rematch on the December 28 episode of Raw, Cena underwent shoulder surgery on January 7, sidelining him for an undisclosed length of time.

Feud with AJ Styles (2016–2017)

Cena returned at WrestleMania 32 on April 3, 2016, helping The Rock fend off The Wyatt Family. Cena then made his full return on the Memorial Day edition of Raw on May 30, four months earlier than had been expected for his type of injury. He was confronted by AJ Styles, only to be betrayed by Styles, who joined his former The Club teammates Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in attacking Cena. On June 19, at Money in the Bank, Cena lost to Styles after interference from Gallows and Anderson. At Battleground on July 24, Cena, Enzo Amore and Big Cass defeated The Club in a six-man tag team match after Cena pinned Styles. During the 2016 WWE draft on July 19, Cena was drafted to the SmackDown brand. At SummerSlam on August 21, Cena again lost to Styles. With Styles later winning the renamed WWE World Championship, Cena challenged him and Dean Ambrose in a triple threat match for the title on October 9 at No Mercy, but lost after being pinned by Styles, which came after Ambrose and Cena simultaneously made Styles submit, therefore restarting the match. Cena took a sabbatical from WWE to film American Grit season 2.

On January 29, 2017, Cena defeated Styles at Royal Rumble to win the WWE Championship and tie Ric Flair for the most recognized world title reigns at 16. He lost the title in an Elimination Chamber match at the titular event on February 12 to Bray Wyatt and failed to regain it two nights later on SmackDown Live in a triple threat match also featuring Styles. Cena then began a feud with The Miz, with The Miz accusing Cena of being a hypocrite because of his movie commitments, while Cena accused The Miz of stealing other wrestlers' moves and personalities. The Miz's wife Maryse then slapped Cena before Cena and his girlfriend Nikki Bella sent The Miz and Maryse retreating. Cena and Bella defeated them in a mixed tag team match at WrestleMania 33 on April 2, after which Cena proposed marriage to Bella, which she accepted.

Free agent (2017–2019)

Cena in March 2018

In July 2017, WWE dubbed Cena a "free agent" during the Superstar Shake-up, meaning he could work for both the Raw and SmackDown brands. Cena defeated Rusev in a flag match at Battleground on July 23, Baron Corbin at SummerSlam on August 20, and lost to Roman Reigns on September 24 at No Mercy. Cena returned to SmackDown the next month after Commissioner Shane McMahon named him as the final member of Team SmackDown for the men's 5-on-5 elimination match against Team Raw at Survivor Series on November 19, where Cena was eliminated by Kurt Angle and Team SmackDown was defeated.

Cena failed to win the Royal Rumble on January 28, 2018, an Elimination Chamber match to determine the number one contender for the Universal Championship on February 25 at the titular event, and a six-pack challenge for the WWE Championship on March 11 at Fastlane. On April 8, at WrestleMania 34, Cena was quickly defeated by The Undertaker. He defeated Triple H on April 27 at the Greatest Royal Rumble and teamed with Bobby Lashley to defeat Elias and Kevin Owens at Super Show-Down on October 6. He was scheduled for a match at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on November 2, but refused to work the event following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Cena returned to WWE television on the January 1, 2019 episode of SmackDown, where he and Becky Lynch defeated Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega in a mixed tag team match. On the January 14 episode of Raw, Cena lost to Finn Bálor in a fatal four-way match also involving Drew McIntyre and Corbin to determine the number one contender for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble. Cena was scheduled to compete in the Royal Rumble on January 27, but was taken out due to an in-storyline ankle injury supposedly suffered during the match.

Part-time performer (2019–2024)

He appeared at WrestleMania 35 on April 7 in his "Doctor of Thuganomics" persona and interrupted Elias' concert, performing his finisher on Elias (calling it by its original name of the F-U) after insulting him. On the July 22 episode of Raw titled Raw Reunion, he engaged in a rap battle with The Usos.

Cena returned to WWE again on the February 28, 2020 episode of SmackDown, seemingly announcing his retirement before he was confronted by "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt, who challenged him to a match at WrestleMania 36, which Cena accepted. On Night 2 of WrestleMania on April 5, rather than a traditional wrestling match, the two fought in a surreal cinematic-style match called a Firefly Fun House match, showcasing moments from Cena's and Wyatt's history. Wyatt ultimately defeated Cena, after which his motionless body vanished from the middle of the ring.

Cena face to face with The Rock at WrestleMania XL in April 2024

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cena was unable to appear at WrestleMania 37, marking the first time he missed a WrestleMania in nearly 20 years, as he had wrestled or appeared at the event every year since his first appearance in 2003. At the time, Cena was in Canada filming the HBO Max series Peacemaker and couldn't travel to Tampa, Florida for WrestleMania 37 without facing a two-week quarantine, which would have shut down production on the series. He made his return to WWE programming at Money in the Bank on July 18, 2021, confronting Roman Reigns after the latter retained his Universal Championship against Edge in the main event. After initially being scheduled to face Finn Bálor for the title, Cena hijacked a contract signing on the July 30 episode of SmackDown so he would challenge Reigns at SummerSlam on August 21, where Cena failed to win the title.

Cena returned on the June 27 episode of Raw, which marked the 20th anniversary of his main roster in-ring debut. He cut a promo recalling all his memories and thanking the fans for their support, also making appearances backstage with The Street Profits, Ezekiel, Theory, Seth "Freakin" Rollins, and Omos. On the December 30 episode of SmackDown, Cena and Kevin Owens defeated The Bloodline's Reigns and Sami Zayn. On the March 6, 2023 episode of Raw, Cena accepted Theory's challenge for a United States Championship match at WrestleMania 39. On Night 1 of WrestleMania on April 1, Cena lost to Theory. At Money in the Bank on July 1, Cena made a surprise appearance and was confronted by Grayson Waller after Cena stated that WrestleMania should come to the United Kingdom. Waller then attacked Cena, who retaliated by hitting the Attitude Adjustment on Waller.

At Payback on September 2, Cena served as the host and special guest referee for the match between LA Knight and The Miz. On the September 15 episode of SmackDown, Cena was attacked on The Grayson Waller Effect by Jimmy Uso and his Bloodline partner Solo Sikoa, before AJ Styles saved Cena. They were set to sign a contract for a tag team match at Fastlane on October 7, but Styles was left unable to compete after a backstage assault from the Bloodline. Knight eventually signed a contract to join Cena in the match, and they defeated Uso and Sikoa at Fastlane. On the October 20 episode of SmackDown, Cena teased retirement before calling out anyone to face him, leading to Sikoa coming out and brawling with Cena, setting up a match between the two at Crown Jewel on November 4, which Cena lost after nine Samoan Spikes.

On Night 2 of WrestleMania XL on April 7, 2024, Cena appeared during the main event between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns to aide Rhodes and take out Sikoa and Reigns with Attitude Adjustments. Afterwards, The Rock appeared and performed a Rock Bottom on Cena. The next night on Raw, Cena competed in his first match on Raw since January 2019, where he teamed with Raw Tag Team Champions Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) to defeat Judgment Day members Finn Bálor, JD McDonagh, and Dominik Mysterio.

Retirement tour and heel turn (2024–present)

Cena entering his final Royal Rumble match at the 2025 Royal Rumble event in February 2025

Cena made a surprise appearance at Money in the Bank on July 6, 2024 to announce his retirement from in-ring action at the end of 2025. At the Raw premiere on Netflix on January 6, 2025, Cena announced he would compete in the Royal Rumble match at the namesake event on February 1, where he scored three eliminations, but was ultimately the last competitor eliminated by the winner Jey Uso. In the Royal Rumble post-show press conference, Cena announced he would compete in the Elimination Chamber match at the eponymous event on March 1.

Cena won the Elimination Chamber match by last eliminating CM Punk via technical submission, tying Triple H's record for the most Elimination Chamber victories at four and earning an Undisputed WWE Championship match against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41. After the match, Cena viciously beat up Rhodes and aligned himself with The Rock, turning heel for the first time since 2003. In subsequent appearances, he criticized the fans and their treatment of him over the years, and vowed to "ruin" wrestling and retire as champion. In the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 41 on April 20, Cena defeated Rhodes with help from The Rock's ally Travis Scott to win the Undisputed WWE Championship, his record 17th world championship.

On the Raw after WrestleMania 41, whilst gloating about his title win, Cena was attacked by Randy Orton, setting up a title match at Backlash on May 10, where Cena controversially defeated Orton to retain the title after interference from R-Truth. In the post-show press conference, Cena hit R-Truth with an Attitude Adjustment when the latter interrupted him, setting up a match between them on May 24 at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIX, where Cena defeated R-Truth with a low blow. He later interfered in the main event between Jey Uso and Logan Paul for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Uso won with an assist from a returning Rhodes, setting up a tag team match between Cena and Paul against Uso and Rhodes at Money in the Bank on June 7, which Cena and Paul lost after interference from R-Truth.

On the June 9 episode of Raw, Cena was confronted by CM Punk, leading to a match for the title being scheduled on June 28 at Night of Champions. R-Truth (now going under the name "Ron Killings") would attack Cena twice on the June 13 episode of SmackDown, leading to a match being setup between the two on the following week's episode of SmackDown.

Professional wrestling style and persona

In-ring style

Cena performing his finishing move, a fireman's carry slam known as the "Attitude Adjustment", on Kane

Cena's original gimmick, known as the "Doctor of Thuganomics", portrayed a white rapper who wore jerseys, backwards hats, and a chain with a padlock around his neck. First as "The Prototype", and later under his real name, Cena sometimes used underhanded tactics to score victories, occasionally using his chain as a weapon behind the referee's back. He often rapped before his matches, insulting his opponents, events that happened in the media and the crowd. He also performed "rap battles", where he and his opponent took turns rapping on each other. In 2006, shortly after his debut film, The Marine, his wrestling character shifted from that of a rapper to a young military upstart, wearing dog tags and cargo shorts to the ring and also performing a salute to the crowd. Cena said in a 2011 interview with WWE.com that "every night when I do that salute, it's also a sign of respect to the men and women that don the uniform of the Armed Forces."

During WWE's change from TV-14 to TV-PG in mid-2008, the name of Cena's finishing move, the "FU", was changed to the "Attitude Adjustment" and his finishing submission move, the "STFU", was renamed the "STF" to fit with WWE's new policies. During his career, he has been known for ending his matches with a sequence of moves, dubbed the "Five Moves of Doom". The moves typically go in the following order: two flying shoulder blocks, protobomb, "Five Knuckle Shuffle", and "Attitude Adjustment".

Cena has portrayed a heroic character throughout his WWE career, except for a villainous run from 2002 to 2003 and his recent heel turn at Elimination Chamber in 2025. His signature ring gear includes jean shorts, sneakers, wristbands, and armbands. He also wears a variety of T-shirts and baseball caps, which commonly include one of his catchphrases: "Never Give Up", "You Can't See Me", "Hustle, Loyalty, Respect", and "Respect. Earn it". He has a history of returning from both real and scripted injuries much sooner than expected. ESPN reporter David Shoemaker said in April 2016, "Never underestimate Cena's recuperative abilities. He's somewhere on the recovery scale between German platelet-rich plasma therapy and Deadpool". Fellow wrestler Big Show said he felt most stable being lifted by Cena, despite Cena being over 200 lbs lighter and almost a foot shorter—a testament to Cena's functional strength.

Fashion

Cena's T-shirt (left) next to The Miz's ring gear (right) in 2012

During his WWE career, Cena has used his attire in an attempt to reflect the most current fashions and styling within the hip hop culture that his character represents. Cena started out wearing "throwback jerseys" and Reebok pumps 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 WrestleMania 21, when it was replaced with a chromed and diamond studded "Chain Gang" spinner medallion matching his spinner title belt.

Around the time The Marine was released, Cena began wearing more military related attire, including camouflage shorts, dog tags, a Marine soldier cap, and a WWE produced shirt with the legend "Chain Gang Assault Battalion". Shortly after WrestleMania 23, 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".

Legacy

Cena has been called the greatest professional wrestler of all time by his peers Kurt Angle, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, and veteran industry personality Paul Heyman. Timothy Bella of The New York Times described Cena as "perhaps the last of the monocultural, crossover stars, following the likes of Hulk Hogan, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and the Rock." WWE chairman Vince McMahon said he regarded Cena as the WWE's Babe Ruth. Bleacher Report named Cena one of the 10 greatest WWE wrestlers of all time.

In 2012, WrestleMania XXVIII, headlined by the John Cena vs. The Rock main event, became the highest drawing event in WWE history with 1,217,000 buys. The event held the record for the highest grossing live event in WWE history as of 2012, grossing $8.9 million.

Acting career

Further information: John Cena filmography

Film

Cena with members of the United States Marine Corps at the premiere of his film The Marine in October 2006

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. 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.

Cena filming on the set of 12 Rounds in March 2008

His second film, also produced by WWE Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox 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 beginning on September 10, 2010, for a limited time. It was released on DVD on September 28. 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 imaginary father. The movie was first aired on Nickelodeon in September 2010.

In 2015, Cena made appearances in the comedy films Trainwreck, Sisters and a cameo in Daddy's Home. In 2017, Cena starred in the war drama The Wall and lent his voice for the animated films Surf's Up 2: WaveMania and Ferdinand. He also appeared in Daddy's Home 2, reprising his role in a larger capacity than the 2015 film. In 2018, Cena starred in the comedy Blockers and had a leading role in the Transformers spin-off prequel, Bumblebee. In 2019, he starred in Playing with Fire, playing the role of smokejumper superintendent Jake Carson. In 2020, he voiced Yoshi, a polar bear, in the adventure comedy film Dolittle.

In 2019, Cena was cast in Justin Lin's F9, playing Jakob Toretto, the brother of Vin Diesel's character Dominic Toretto. During the film's promotional tour in 2021, Cena referred to Taiwan as "a country". He subsequently posted an apology on social media as China considers Taiwan a part of China.

Cena also was cast as Christopher Smith / Peacemaker in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, a role originally intended for Dave Bautista. In 2023, he reprised his role as Jakob Toretto in Fast X, which premiered in theaters on May 19. He was also the voice of Rocksteady in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which was released on August 2.

Guest appearances

Before his WWE debut, Cena made an appearance on the webcast Go Sick as Bruebaker, an angry, cursing wrestler in 2001.

During his WWE career, Cena appeared on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! three times. He 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.

Cena in December 2008

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 WrestleMania 23. Two months later, he and Bobby Lashley appeared on the NBC game show Deal or No Deal as "moral support" to longtime WWE fan and front row staple, Rick "Sign Guy" Achberger. Edge and Randy Orton also appeared 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, 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, in which he 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 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 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 will 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 Cena 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, saying they felt the true answer to the question began with the phrase "my answer to that question". However, they did 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. Cena guest starred as Ewan O'Hara, brother of Juliet O'Hara, in an episode of the fourth season of the comedy drama Psych. He also guest starred as himself in the seventh episode of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana Forever. On August 17, 2015, Cena guest co-hosted Today on NBC. Three nights later, Cena made an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Cena hosted two seasons of American Grit on Fox, a reality television series with 10 episodes. 16 men and women were split into four teams, where challenges were given. A US$1 million prize was given to the winning team. American Grit premiered on Fox on April 14, 2016, and the finale of season 1 aired on June 9. Cena hosted the ESPN ESPY Awards on July 13. On December 10, Cena was the guest host of Saturday Night Live on NBC.

On January 24, 2017, Nickelodeon announced that Cena would host the 2017 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards ceremony on March 11. On January 11, 2018, it was announced that he would be hosting the awards ceremony again on March 24, becoming the third host behind Whitney Houston and Rosie O'Donnell to host the ceremony in back to back years. Two days later, the game show Keep It Spotless premiered with Cena as an executive producer. In addition, he was cast on Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as the voice of the villain Baron Draxum. On February 14, 2019, it was announced that Cena would host a revival of Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader on the network, which premiered on June 10.

In 2021, Cena co-hosted the TV game show Wipeout. In March 2024, an almost completely nude Cena appeared onstage at the 96th Academy Awards to present the award for best costume design in reference to a streaker interrupting the ceremony in 1974.

Music career

John Cena
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	2004–2005, 2014, 2022
Labels	Columbia, WWE

In addition to his wrestling career, Cena is a rapper. He performed his fifth WWE theme song, "Basic Thuganomics", 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 a remix for the song "H-U-S-T-L-E" 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, among 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", that premiered on WWE Monday Night Raw on August 8, 2005. Cena and Tha Trademarc were later featured on a track by the Perceptionists called "Champion Scratch". Cena was featured on T-Boz's postponed album, Still Cool.

In October 2014, Cena was featured on two songs with rapper Wiz Khalifa for his two singles "All Day" and "Breaks" for the soundtrack to the WWE 2K15 video game.

Cena is a self-taught pianist, starting to learn the instrument in 2016. In 2022, he performed a piano rendition of Mötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home" for the Peacemaker soundtrack, playing it onscreen as his Peacemaker character in a poignant scene to close the episode "Murn After Reading".

Discography

Studio albums

• You Can't See Me (2005)

Soundtrack albums

• Peacemaker (2022)

Other ventures

Endorsements

Cena signing merchandise for a young fan

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 following January. 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 fellow WWE wrestlers Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes. The campaign features motivational videos. After Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson called Cena "Fruity Pebbles" during their feud, in reference to Cena's colorful merchandise, Cena appeared on the box of Fruity Pebbles cereal in 2013.

He was the pace car driver for the 58th annual Daytona 500. On October 13, 2016, Cena made his debut as the voice of Ernie the Elephant in a new commercial campaign launched by Wonderful Pistachios. He was named to Adweek's "Creative 100" and received praise for his performance. In 2020, Cena and Honda announced a partnership, with Cena becoming the new voice of Honda.

Philanthropy

Cena posing with children

Cena has granted over 650 wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses through the Make-A-Wish Foundation—the most in Make-A-Wish history, with his first wish dating back to 2002. The Guinness Book of World Records confirmed that not only had Cena granted this many wishes by mid-2022, but that second place was fewer than 200. In 2009, Cena received the Chris Greicius Celebrity Award.

From late 2011 until WrestleMania XXVIII, Cena wore a black "Rise Above Hate" T-shirt promoting WWE's "Be a Star" anti-bullying campaign. In September and October 2012, Cena wore pink and black with the phrase "Rise Above Cancer" in partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

In July 2016, Cena appeared in a public service announcement, "We Are America", sponsored by the Ad Council as part of its "Love Has No Labels" campaign.

Cena made a $1 million donation to Black Lives Matter in June 2020 as part of the #MatchAMillion initiative made popular by K-pop band BTS.

In popular culture

See also: Unexpected John Cena

His catchphrase "You Can't See Me" originates from 2005 when Cena was under production for his new theme song, during which he was dared by his little brother to do the yayo dance on TV, which consists of moving your head while looking into the palm of your hand. Cena accepted the dare, but did it in reverse by waving his hand in front of his face instead to make it look more visible to his brother. Over time, this evolved into his signature catchphrase "You Can't See Me". In mid-2015, Cena was the subject of the Internet meme "Unexpected John Cena", also known as simply "Unexpected Cena" or "IT'S JOHN CENA". He has also been the subject of many memes due to his "You can't see me" catchphrase, such as being invisible in photos.

On May 10, 2021, Cena posted a video on his Weibo account, in which he sat in a car and ate ice cream while promoting the upcoming film Fast & Furious 9. In the video, Cena speaks Mandarin and sings into the ice cream cone as if it were a microphone. The video was viewed by millions of users and inspired the creation of the meme "Bing Chilling", a mishearing of bīngqílín (冰淇淋), which means ice cream and is said repeatedly in the video.

Personal life

Cena with then-fiancée Nikki Bella in March 2018

Cena resides in Land O' Lakes, Florida which is located in the Tampa Bay area. He has often said that he does not want children because he would not want to be an absentee parent due to focusing on his career.

While promoting his 2009 film 12 Rounds, Cena announced his engagement to Elizabeth Huberdeau. They were married on July 11, 2009. Cena filed for divorce on May 1, 2012, and the divorce was finalized on July 18 of that year. Later that year, he began dating fellow wrestler Nikki Bella. They became engaged on April 2, 2017, when Cena proposed to her at WrestleMania 33, but ended their relationship in April 2018; they had been planning to marry the following month, on May 5.

Cena began dating engineer Shay Shariatzadeh in early 2019, and they were married on October 12, 2020, in a private ceremony in Tampa, Florida. The two had met during the production of Cena's 2019 film Playing with Fire, which was filmed in Vancouver, where Shariatzadeh was working.

Cena started learning Mandarin Chinese in 2016 to help the WWE expand its reach, and he spoke in Mandarin at a press conference in China.

In December 2017, the Ford Motor Company sued Cena for breach of the contract under which he had bought his 2017 Ford GT. Ford alleged that he had sold it for a profit shortly after receiving it, instead of keeping the car for at least two years as agreed. Ford and Cena settled the dispute on June 19, 2018. While most of the settlement's details were not disclosed, it was reported that Cena had agreed to apologize to Ford, and that Ford had agreed to donate the amount they had received in the settlement to charity.

From July to November 2018, Cena lived in Yinchuan, China, to work with Jackie Chan on the film Hidden Strike. While there, he also created a show on WWE's YouTube channel in which he highlighted his trips to local markets and other stores.

On March 31, 2025, Cena revealed he previously had skin cancer.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2017	CinemaCon	Action Star of the Year	—	Won
2017	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Male Athlete	—	Nominated
2018	People's Choice Awards	The Comedy Movie Star of 2018	Blockers	Nominated
2019	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Action Movie Actor	Bumblebee	Nominated
2020	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite TV Host	Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?	Nominated
2022	Critics' Choice Super Awards	Best Actor in a Superhero Movie	The Suicide Squad	Nominated
2022	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Movie Actor	F9	Nominated
2022	MTV Movie & TV Awards	Best Comedic Performance	Peacemaker	Nominated
2022	Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards	Best Actor in a Streaming Series, Comedy		Nominated
2023	Critics' Choice Super Awards	Best Actor in a Superhero Series		Nominated

Video games

Video game credits

Year	Title	Notes
2003	WWE WrestleMania XIX	Video game debut
	WWE Raw 2
	WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain
2004	WWE Day of Reckoning
	WWE Survivor Series	Cover athlete
	WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw
2005	WWE WrestleMania 21
	WWE Aftershock
	WWE Day of Reckoning 2	Cover athlete
	WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006
2006	WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007	Cover athlete
2007	WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008	Cover athlete
2008	WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009
2009	WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010	Cover athlete
2010	WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011	Cover athlete
2011	WWE All Stars	Cover athlete
	WWE '12
2012	WWE WrestleFest
	WWE '13
2013	WWE 2K14
2014	WWE 2K15	Cover athlete
	WWE SuperCard
2015	WWE Immortals
	WWE 2K16
2016	WWE 2K17
	Marvel Avengers Academy	Hulk
2017	WWE Champions
	WWE Tap Mania
	WWE 2K18
	WWE Mayhem
2018	WWE 2K19
2019	WWE 2K20
2020	WWE 2K Battlegrounds	Cover athlete
2022	WWE 2K22
	Fortnite
2023	WWE 2K23	Cover athlete
	Mortal Kombat 1	Peacemaker
2024	WWE 2K24
2025	WWE 2K25

Championships and accomplishments

Cena has held the WWE Championship a record 14 times.

Three reigns as World Heavyweight Champion bring Cena's total to 17 world championships.

As a five-time United States Champion, Cena has the most reigns under the WWE banner.

Cena is a four-time Tag Team Champion in WWE, including two World Tag Team Championships.

Professional wrestling

• The Baltimore Sun
  • Best Feud of the Decade (2010) vs. Edge
  • Match of the Year (2007) vs. Shawn Michaels on April 23 at Raw
  • Wrestler of the Year (2007, 2010)
  • Feud of the Year (2010) vs. The Nexus
• Ohio Valley Wrestling
  • OVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rico Constantino
• Guinness World Records
  • Longest WWE face run before turning heel (7,786 days)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Feud of the Year (2006) vs. Edge
  • Feud of the Year (2011) vs. CM Punk
  • Match of the Year (2007) vs. Shawn Michaels on Raw
  • Match of the Year (2011) vs. CM Punk at Money in the Bank
  • Match of the Year (2013) vs. Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam
  • Match of the Year (2014) vs. Bray Wyatt in a Last Man Standing match at Payback
  • Match of the Year (2016) vs. AJ Styles at SummerSlam
  • Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2003)
  • Most Popular Wrestler of the Decade (2000–2009)
  • Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2004, 2005, 2007, 2012)
  • Wrestler of the Year (2006, 2007)
  • Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006, 2007 and 2013
• Rolling Stone
  • Best Promos (2015) tied with Kevin Owens
  • Best Storyline (2015) vs. Kevin Owens
  • WWE Match of the Year (2015) vs. Kevin Owens at Money in the Bank
• Sports Illustrated
  • Muhammad Ali Legacy Award (2018)
  • Ranked No. 4 of the top 10 wrestlers in 2017
  • Ranked No. 4 of the 20 Greatest WWE Wrestlers Of All Time
• Ultimate Pro Wrestling
  • UPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
  • WWE Championship (14 times, current)
  • World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
  • WWE United States Championship (5 times)
  • WWE Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with The Miz (1) and David Otunga (1)
  • World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Batista (1) and Shawn Michaels (1)
  • Money in the Bank (2012 – WWE Championship contract)
  • Royal Rumble (2008, 2013)
  • WWE Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament (2003, 2005)
  • Slammy Award (11 times)
    • Game Changer of the Year (2011) – with The Rock
    • Hero in All of Us (2015)
    • Holy $#!+ Move of the Year (2010) – Sending Batista through the stage with an Attitude Adjustment off the top of a car (occurred at Over the Limit, accepted by Wade Barrett on Cena's behalf)
    • Insult of the Year (2012) – To Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero: "You're the exact opposite. One enjoys eating a lot of nuts and the other is still trying to find his"
    • Kiss of the Year (2012) – with AJ Lee
    • Match of the Year (2013, 2014) – vs. The Rock for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 29, Team Cena vs. Team Authority at Survivor Series
    • Superstar of the Year (2009, 2010, 2012)
    • OMG Moment of the Year (2025) – turning on Cody Rhodes at Elimination Chamber: Toronto
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Best Box Office Draw (2007)
  • Best Gimmick (2003)
  • Best on Interviews (2007)
  • Feud of the Year (2011) vs. CM Punk
  • Match of the Year (2011) vs. CM Punk at Money in the Bank on July 17
  • Most Charismatic (2006–2010)
  • Most Charismatic of the Decade (2000–2009)
  • Wrestler of the Year (2007, 2010)
  • Worst Feud of the Year (2012) vs. Kane
  • Worst Worked Match of the Year (2012) vs. John Laurinaitis at Over the Limit
  • Worst Worked Match of the Year (2014) vs. Bray Wyatt at Extreme Rules
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2012)

Other awards and honors

• NCAA Division III All-American
• Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame inductee (Class of 2015)
• Make-A-Wish Foundation Chris Greicius Celebrity Award
• Make-A-Wish Foundation Special Recognition Award (for being the first to grant 300 wishes)
• Guinness World Records - Most wishes granted through the Make-A-Wish Foundation (650+)
• 2014 Sports Social TV Entertainer of the Year
• 2014 Rumble Royalty Hall of Game Award
• 2014 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Grand Marshal
• 2016 USO Legacy of Achievement Award
• 2024 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award

External links

• John Cena on WWE.com
• John Cena at IMDb 
• John Cena on Twitter
• John Cena's profile at WWE.com , Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database