Who is John Cena?

John Cena is an American wrestler, actor, and former rapper. Born in Massachusetts in 1977, Cena is regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers ever. Cena signed with the WWE in 2001 and is still actively involved with the company today, albeit on a part-time basis.

Cena has been acting since 2006 and now has upwards of 20 film credits to his name. Known for mainly action roles, Cena has also lent his voice to various animation and CGI projects, including Scooby-Doo! Wrestlemania Mystery and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

While wrestling and acting are what Cena is most well known for, he also had a short music career in 2004-05. As a rapper, Cena recorded a studio album, You Can’t See Me, in 2005. Cena has put his rapping talents to use in his wrestling career, performing some of his own entrance songs and recording tracks for WWE soundtrack albums. In 2014, Cena rapped on two tracks featured in the WWE 2K15 video game. Along with wrestling, acting, and rapping, Cena is also known for his philanthropy, specifically with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Stunning WWE Career

John Cena was a wrestling fan as a young boy. He would create championship belts for himself and his brothers. After graduating from Springfield College in 1999 with a degree in exercise physiology and body movement, Cena was interested in pursuing a career as a bodybuilder but quickly switched to professional wrestling. Cena began wrestling for an organization called Ultimate Pro Wrestling. He was scouted and signed up by the WWE (it was known as the WWF at the time) in 2001.

Cena first appeared in a main WWE show on SmackDown in 2002. Since then, Cena has attained fame through his success in the wrestling arena. Some highlights of his WWE career include being a 13-time WWE champion – a record. He has also won multiple other titles, such as the WWE Heavyweight Championship and WWE Tag Team Championship. Cena’s wrestling skills saw him headline the WWE’s flagship event, WrestleMania, five times. He is a two-time Royal Rumble winner and three-time heavyweight champion.

Beginning as a trash-talking rapper, Cena transitioned into a face character after he won the WWE championship in 2005. With his new good guy persona, Cena would become the public face of the WWE for the next decade. According to WWE statistics, Cena stands 6’1” tall and weighs 251 pounds. His finishing move is called the ‘Attitude Adjustment.’ 

Music, Acting, and Charity Work

Cena indulged in some music-making as his WWE career was beginning to take off. As mentioned above, he released a studio album in 2005 and occasionally flexes his musical talents by recording his wrestling entrance music. In various recording sessions, Cena has collaborated with other hip-hop artists, Murs, E-40, Chingo Bling, T-Boz and Wiz Khalifa.

Cena’s main pursuit outside of the wrestling ring has been his acting roles. The wrestler’s first motion picture, The Marine (2006), was produced by WWE Studios. 12 Rounds (2009) was Cena’s next big screen starring role. Like The Marine, 12 Hours is also an action film produced by WWE Studios. In 2010, Cena starred in another WWE Studios production – a sports movie titled Legendary.

Cena then began to vary the types of films he appeared in. He has since appeared in comedies Trainwreck, Sisters,Daddy’s Home (all 2015), and Blockers (2018); children’s film Fred: The Movie (2010); and lent his voice to animated projects Surf’s Up 2: Wavemania Ferdinand (both 2017) and Dolittle (2020). Cena has also remained in action roles, appearing in parts 9 and 10 of The Fast & Furious franchise, along with a role in the 2021 movie The Suicide Squad.

Dating back to 2002 – before he was well known – Cena has been involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Foundation helps to fulfill the wishes of children who have critical illnesses. Cena holds the record for most wishes granted within the Foundation – granting over 650 wishes between 2002 and mid-2022. The Guinness Book of World Records verified this record last year. Over the years, Cena has also supported anti-bullying campaigns and Breast Cancer Awareness.

John Cena is an admirable role model with great wrestling skills, generosity of time and money, and the ability to adapt to various acting roles. Although his wrestling involvement may be winding down slightly, it will be interesting to see which projects Cena gets involved with in the coming months. It will also be interesting to see how his role with the WWE evolves this year.

Colin Morrison

A boxing fan since his teenage years, Morrison began writing about the sport in July 2016. He appreciates all styles of boxing and has nothing but respect for those who get in the ring for our entertainment. Morrison is from Scotland and can be found on Twitter @Morrie1981.

See author's posts