John Cena

For the song, see John Cena (song).

John Cena
Cena in 2024
Born
John Felix Anthony Cena

(1977-04-23) April 23, 1977 (age 47)
West Newbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma materSpringfield College
Occupations
  • Actor
  • professional wrestler
  • rapper
Years active1999–present (wrestler)[a]
2002–2005, 2014 (rapper)[b]
2006–present (actor)
Spouses
Elizabeth Huberdeau
​
​
(m. 2009; div. 2012)​
Shay Shariatzadeh
​
​
(m. 2020)​
Relatives
Ring name(s)John Cena[3]
The Prototype[4]
Juan Cena
Mr. P[5]
Billed height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[6]
Billed weight251 lb (114 kg)[7]
Billed from"Classified"[8]
West Newbury, Massachusetts[7]
Los Angeles, California
Trained byChristopher Daniels[9]
Mike Bell[9]
Tom Howard[9]
Fit Finlay[10]
DebutNovember 5, 1999[11]
John Cena's voice
John Cena on Mortal Kombat 1
Signature

John Felix Anthony Cena (/ˈsiːnə/ SEE-nə; born April 23, 1977)[12] is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE since 2001, but has performed part-time since 2018.[13][14] A record 16-time world champion as recognized by WWE alongside Ric Flair,[c] he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.[15][16][17]

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.[18][19] 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.[20][21] After winning his first WWE Championship in 2005, he underwent a face turn into a clean-cut heroic character, which he described as a "goody-two shoes Superman".[22] He led the company as its franchise player[23] and public face from the mid-2000s to the late 2010s.[24]

Cena has held the WWE Championship a record 13 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 headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-views, including its flagship event WrestleMania five times (22, 23, 27, 28 and 29). His career has been 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.[23]

Cena's first starring film role was in The Marine (2006) and he subsequently gained praise for his performances in Trainwreck (2015), Ferdinand (2017), Blockers (2018), and Bumblebee (2018).[25] He starred as Jakob Toretto 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. Outside of his work in entertainment, he is known for his involvement in charitable causes, most notably granting the most wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation at over 650.[26]

  1. ^ "John Cena's farewell to WWE leaves fans with many questions: Why now?". MARCA. July 7, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "John Cena bids farewell to WWE after legendary career". www.geo.tv. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference MyLifeDVD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference CenaHist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ br/"John Cena on Wrestlingdata.com". Wrestlingdata. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  6. ^ "John Cena Explains Why Brock Lesnar Made It to the NFL & Not Him | CLUB SHAY SHAY". YouTube. August 25, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "WWE Profile - John Cena". ESPN. August 1, 2021. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  8. ^ "UPW: John "Prototype" Cena". Ultimate Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on April 17, 2008. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
  9. ^ a b c "John Cena". Cagematch. Archived from the original on July 11, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  10. ^ "WWE Legend Who Trained John Cena and Randy Orton Owns Conor McGregor in One Line". Essentially Sports. May 4, 2022. Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  11. ^ https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=691&page=4&s=2200
  12. ^ "John Cena". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 23, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  13. ^ "John Cena's farewell to WWE leaves fans with many questions: Why now?". MARCA. July 7, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  14. ^ "John Cena bids farewell to WWE after legendary career". www.geo.tv. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference :13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Baker, Will J. "Ranking the 25 Greatest Wrestlers of All Time". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  17. ^ Levin, David. "The 100 Greatest Wrestlers of All Time". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference OVWTitle was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference OVWTT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Truitt, Brian (March 10, 2015). "'Flintstones' adds to John Cena's kid appeal". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  21. ^ Powell, Jason (February 22, 2011). "WWE News: The story of John Cena's rap character creation recalled by a former WWE creative team member". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on February 26, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  22. ^ Golianopoulos, Thomas (April 1, 2016). "A Candid Q&A With John Cena: WWE's Polarizing Company Man". Complex. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  23. ^ a b Fowler, Matt (November 2, 2012). "Top 50 Wrestlers of All Time". IGN. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  24. ^ "Editors' choice: Who will be the next John Cena?". WWE. July 31, 2015. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  25. ^ Miller, Rachel (March 4, 2011). "WWE: Why John Cena Is the Face of the WWE and Why He Shouldn't Turn Heel". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on March 9, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  26. ^ Adams, Matt (September 27, 2022). "John Cena breaks Make A Wish Foundation record with 650 wishes granted". NPR. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2022.


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