John Cena is WWE's crown jewel and has arguably taken over from The Rock as the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. John Cena currently wrestles for WWE's RAW brand and is the WWE Heavyweight Champion at the time of writing (26/10/2006).
John Cena's WWE TV career began on June 27 2002 when he debuted in a match against one of WWE's then most respected superstars, Kurt Angle. Vince McMahon had earlier made a speech prompting young prodigies such as John Cena to show "ruthless aggression" if they wanted to earn legendary status among the greats the business has seen down the years. John Cena most definitely heeded this rally and was very close to causing a major upset, despite eventually succumbing to Angle's talents. Cena was able to endure the notorious Angle Slam and even the ankle lock, but ended up losing at the hands of a typical Angle amateur-esque pin.
John Cena subsequently became a face (connoting crowd favorite), until eventually turning heel by blaming Kidman for their tag-team defeat and causing friction with a fan-favorite. Cena's character evolved furthermore when on a later SmackDown! episode, he performed a freestyle rap to Stephanie McMahon, which reformed his gimmick as a "white boy rapper". At first, this gimmick only served to enhance the heat Cena received from the WWE fans, however his acting skills and comical taunting of other superstars earned him a cult following. This gimmick became more prominent and he also added certain aspects to it, such as implementing the old WWF logo with his own unique imprint alongside it, the phrase "word life".
John Cena went on to achieve bigger and better things in WWE as his reaction from WWE fans became more notable. He entered main event territory when he began a feud with Brock Lesnar over the WWE Heavyweight Championship, with John Cena firmly a face again. Cena trademarked his finisher in direct response to Lesnar's F-5, aptly named the F-U only enhancing the acrimony between the two. A twist of fate later dictacted that the two would align, with Cena once again turning heel as they turned their attentions to Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero. Much to the delight of WWE fans however, John Cena betrayed Lesnar's trust by attacking his partner and using the signature "you can't see me" catch phrase, which made him a firm favorite once again. In 2004, John Cena's popularity appeared to be ever-increasing and he reached the final six of the WWE Royal Rumble pay per view. He was eliminated by the Big Show in the match and went on to start a feud with the giant. Eventually Cena won the WWE United States Championship title from the Big Show at WrestleMania 20, with the use of the infamous brass knuckles and via his signature F-U.
UPW
Cena started training to become a professional wrestler in 2000 at the California-based "Ultimate University" operated by Ultimate Pro Wrestling. Once he was placed into an in-ring role, Cena began using a semi-robotic character known as The Prototype. Some of this period of his career was documented in the Discovery Channel program Inside Pro Wrestling School. While in UPW, Cena held the UPW Heavyweight Championship for just shy of a month in April 2000.
OVW
In 2001, he signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was assigned to its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). During his time there, Cena wrestled as both The Prototype and Mr. P, and held the OVW Heavyweight Championship for three months and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino) for two months.
WWE United States Championship
John Cena has held the United States championship a total of three times throughout his still-fresh career. His first win was March 14, 2004 where he beat the Big Show at Wrestlemania XX, in the Madison Square Garden, New York. Cena gave up a huge amount of size to the Big Show, the match finally saw a close when John Cena hit two FU's and hit Big Show with a foreign object to get the win. He lost the title on July 24th, 2004 to Booker T. John Cena captured his second taste of gold in WWE on October 3rd, 2004, where he won it from his rival - Booker T in a best of 5 series match. Each superstar won two matches, making the last one the decider, John Cena was able to counter the scissors kick, and reverse it with his own FU to win and pick up his second United States championship. John Cena's reign was short, lasting only four days, in which he lost to the debuting Carlito. Furious after his loss to Carlito, John Cena went on the hunt, only to get stabbed at a Boston Nightclub and put on the shelf for one month - this made Cena more angry and more vicious. John Cena made it back in time for Survivor Series, where him and Carlito were on opposing sides, before the match even began, John Cena chased Carlito out of the arena. John Cena got his wish on the following Smackdown on November 18th, 2004 where he totally annihilated Carlito and went onto win his third United States championship, which he then customized as a spinner belt. John Cena eventually lost the belt on March 3rd, 2005 where he lost it to Orlando Jordan, who later destroyed the custom spinner belt and replaced it with the original.
WWE Championship
John Cena was just one elimination away from winning the Royal Rumble, unfortunately for Cena - he got eliminated by Batista, just missing out on the main event WWE championship match at Wrestlemania 21. Fortunately for Cena he went onto win a Number one contender's match against Kurt Angle, Orlando Jordan and Booker T, which guaranteed him a shot at the champion at Wrestlemania. In the up-and-coming weeks to Wrestlemania, JBL did everything he could to take John Cena out, including helping his cabinet member Orlando Jordan defeat John Cena for the United States championship. Although, at Wrestlemania it was Cena who proved to be victorious when he beat JBL for the title and began his first reign as WWE champion. He would lose this title in January of 2006, against the ever opportunist Edge who cashed in his money in the bank contract after John Cena had just been through an elimination chamber. Edge's reign was short lasting, as he lost the belt to John Cena a mere three weeks later when the Chain Gang Soldier made Edge tap out at the Royal Rumble, 2006. John Cena would go past Wrestlemania defeating Triple H, he would also go past Backlash. However, it was when he came to the very hostile ECW One Night Stand where he would lose the title to the ECW Original Rob Van Dam. John Cena's old rival Edge would capture the title from Rob Van Dam just a month later, and Edge put his own spin on things by having an "R" replace the WWE sign. He would then proceed to throw John Cena's title in the river. All of this finally led up to a match between Edge and Cena in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at Unforgiven 2006, where Cena would FU Edge from the ladder through two tables and then proceed to capture the belt. He lost it a year and one month on, when he suffered a Pectoral injury, and was stripped of the title. Near two years later -- John Cena reclaimed the gold which he never lost. After coming up short at SummerSlam (2009) due to match restarts and antics used by WWE's resident Viper -- Randy Orton, Mr. McMahon would proceed to make the "ultimate submission" match. John Cena facing off against Randy Orton in an "I Quit" match. Through a brutal, brutal match. Orton using every possible weapon against John, even using handcuffs to his advantage. John would however power through and lock in a modified version of the STF to seal the victory. Little over a month later, John Cena would again drop the belt to Orton after a brutal Hell in a Cell in which Orton utilized the "punt" to guarantee victory. It became evident to the two that this could keep going back and forth -- there had to be a decider. John Cena and Randy Orton took part in arguably one of the most testing matches that the ring has ever contested. Cena and Orton agreed to take part in a "Anything Goes Iron-Man Match," which would decide who is the best of the best, where if Cena lost he would have to be traded to another brand. Needless to say a pumped up Cena garnered the respect of many when he beat Orton, 7-6 falls after enduring RKO's, being thrown through LED screens, nearly being blown up and more. Cena would seal the victory in the ending moments of the match and ultimately secure his spot as Champion by driving Orton through the announce table with a thunderous Attitude Adjustment and an STF to end the match. Unfortunately, despite the long-road spent enduring gruelling matches with Randy Orton, John Cena wouldn’t be able to hold on to the title long. It was at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs that Cena would lose to the most unlikely opponent in Sheamus, a young up-start in the WWE looking to make a name for himself. It was at Elimination Chamber 2010 where Cena would next taste the gold when he outlasted five other superstars in the gruelling Elimination Chamber match, where it came down to he and Triple H. Cena was able to withstand the power of the King of Kings and add his eighth heavyweight championship reign. Almost instantly, John Cena’s road to the championship seemed wasted when the music of “The Animal” Batista echoed throughout the arena with Vince McMahon announcing an impromptu match which signified the end of Cena’s reign. It was on the Grandest Stage of ‘em All where Cena would get his deserved rematch with Batista and thankfully, Cena would come out on top this time locking in an STF and making The Animal tap out. At the Fatal-4-Way event a few months later, Cena would be forced to put the title up for grabs in a Fatal-4-Way match against Edge, Randy Orton and Sheamus. Nexus would show, just days after destroying Cena and making a huge impact on the WWE Universe, and cost Cena the championship whilst the cowardly Sheamus would pick up the scraps and get the victory. It wouldn’t be until Extreme Rules of 2011 where John Cena would be able to add another reign to his already impressive number of nine world title reigns. It would be when he faced off against John Morrison and The Miz in a steel-cage match where he would drive Miz to the canvas with a thunderous Attitude Adjustment from the top-turnbuckle for the three-count.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
After months of promos and months of Chris Jericho being the face of Raw, John Cena made a triumphant return at Survivor Series 2008 to battle an old enemy - Jericho. John Cena made a return in Boston, MA. to claim what was rightfully his - the World Heavyweight Championship, in a hatred, action fuelled match up, John Cena successfully hit the FU for the 1, 2, 3 victory. John Cena lost the belt at No Way Out 2009, when the Ultimate Opportunist Edge found a loop-hole into the Elimination Chamber match, after having just lost his belt two hours earlier. John Cena was quickly eliminated from the match after he was hit with a barrage of finishers. Just a month later however, Cena would face off against two of his old rivals: Edge and the Big Show in a triple threat on the "Grandest Stage of them all" WrestleMania. Where he would display an amazing feat. of strength, hoisting up both Edge and Show on his shoulders at the same time and delivered a crushing Attitude Adjustment to both and sealed the victory with a 1, 2, 3. A month later at Backlash, John Cena faced off against Edge once again: this time in a Last Man Standing Match, where they literally threw everything at each other. The end was coming and Cena was in control, until an old rival: the Big Show made his presence felt when he choke slammed Cena into a 7,000 watt search light. Cena, unable to get up was counted for 10 and the Rated-R-Superstar's reign begun.
WWE Tag Team Championship(s)
John Cena would also hold the Tag team championships with his Wrestlemania 23 opponent - Shawn Michaels, they captured the belts on January 29th, 2007 when they beat Rated RKO for the titles on an episode of Raw. However, their reign as Tag team champions came to a close as the night after WrestleMania, bitter from defeat Shawn Michaels turned on John Cena and cost them the titles to the Hardys. On August 4th edition of Raw, Cena would yet again capture the gold. This time with his enemy Batista, where in a heated match up they defeated the team of Rhodes and Dibiase with Batista finishing the match with a Batista Bomb for the 1, 2, 3. The next week however, Batista and John proved they could not co-exist when they lost the World Tag Team Championships back to Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase. It would be another odd-pairing when Cena regained the Tag Team Championships; when he teamed with Nexus’ David Otunga at the Bragging Rights 2010 event in an impromptu match and pick up the victory against Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes. They would lose the Tag Team Championships the next night when David Otunga would be forced to lie down and be pinned by fellow Nexus members Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater.
WWE Royal Rumble
John Cena narrowly come close to winning the Royal Rumble in 2005, however he was the last eliminated, and he was eliminated by Batista. However, things would take a turn in 2008, as he would be the surprise number 30 entrant and go on to just him and Triple H, he would then eliminate Triple H to be crowned Royal Rumble winner 2008.
John Cena's WWE TV career began on June 27 2002 when he debuted in a match against one of WWE's then most respected superstars, Kurt Angle. Vince McMahon had earlier made a speech prompting young prodigies such as John Cena to show "ruthless aggression" if they wanted to earn legendary status among the greats the business has seen down the years. John Cena most definitely heeded this rally and was very close to causing a major upset, despite eventually succumbing to Angle's talents. Cena was able to endure the notorious Angle Slam and even the ankle lock, but ended up losing at the hands of a typical Angle amateur-esque pin.
John Cena subsequently became a face (connoting crowd favorite), until eventually turning heel by blaming Kidman for their tag-team defeat and causing friction with a fan-favorite. Cena's character evolved furthermore when on a later SmackDown! episode, he performed a freestyle rap to Stephanie McMahon, which reformed his gimmick as a "white boy rapper". At first, this gimmick only served to enhance the heat Cena received from the WWE fans, however his acting skills and comical taunting of other superstars earned him a cult following. This gimmick became more prominent and he also added certain aspects to it, such as implementing the old WWF logo with his own unique imprint alongside it, the phrase "word life".
John Cena went on to achieve bigger and better things in WWE as his reaction from WWE fans became more notable. He entered main event territory when he began a feud with Brock Lesnar over the WWE Heavyweight Championship, with John Cena firmly a face again. Cena trademarked his finisher in direct response to Lesnar's F-5, aptly named the F-U only enhancing the acrimony between the two. A twist of fate later dictacted that the two would align, with Cena once again turning heel as they turned their attentions to Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero. Much to the delight of WWE fans however, John Cena betrayed Lesnar's trust by attacking his partner and using the signature "you can't see me" catch phrase, which made him a firm favorite once again. In 2004, John Cena's popularity appeared to be ever-increasing and he reached the final six of the WWE Royal Rumble pay per view. He was eliminated by the Big Show in the match and went on to start a feud with the giant. Eventually Cena won the WWE United States Championship title from the Big Show at WrestleMania 20, with the use of the infamous brass knuckles and via his signature F-U.
UPW
Cena started training to become a professional wrestler in 2000 at the California-based "Ultimate University" operated by Ultimate Pro Wrestling. Once he was placed into an in-ring role, Cena began using a semi-robotic character known as The Prototype. Some of this period of his career was documented in the Discovery Channel program Inside Pro Wrestling School. While in UPW, Cena held the UPW Heavyweight Championship for just shy of a month in April 2000.
OVW
In 2001, he signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was assigned to its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). During his time there, Cena wrestled as both The Prototype and Mr. P, and held the OVW Heavyweight Championship for three months and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino) for two months.
WWE United States Championship
John Cena has held the United States championship a total of three times throughout his still-fresh career. His first win was March 14, 2004 where he beat the Big Show at Wrestlemania XX, in the Madison Square Garden, New York. Cena gave up a huge amount of size to the Big Show, the match finally saw a close when John Cena hit two FU's and hit Big Show with a foreign object to get the win. He lost the title on July 24th, 2004 to Booker T. John Cena captured his second taste of gold in WWE on October 3rd, 2004, where he won it from his rival - Booker T in a best of 5 series match. Each superstar won two matches, making the last one the decider, John Cena was able to counter the scissors kick, and reverse it with his own FU to win and pick up his second United States championship. John Cena's reign was short, lasting only four days, in which he lost to the debuting Carlito. Furious after his loss to Carlito, John Cena went on the hunt, only to get stabbed at a Boston Nightclub and put on the shelf for one month - this made Cena more angry and more vicious. John Cena made it back in time for Survivor Series, where him and Carlito were on opposing sides, before the match even began, John Cena chased Carlito out of the arena. John Cena got his wish on the following Smackdown on November 18th, 2004 where he totally annihilated Carlito and went onto win his third United States championship, which he then customized as a spinner belt. John Cena eventually lost the belt on March 3rd, 2005 where he lost it to Orlando Jordan, who later destroyed the custom spinner belt and replaced it with the original.
WWE Championship
John Cena was just one elimination away from winning the Royal Rumble, unfortunately for Cena - he got eliminated by Batista, just missing out on the main event WWE championship match at Wrestlemania 21. Fortunately for Cena he went onto win a Number one contender's match against Kurt Angle, Orlando Jordan and Booker T, which guaranteed him a shot at the champion at Wrestlemania. In the up-and-coming weeks to Wrestlemania, JBL did everything he could to take John Cena out, including helping his cabinet member Orlando Jordan defeat John Cena for the United States championship. Although, at Wrestlemania it was Cena who proved to be victorious when he beat JBL for the title and began his first reign as WWE champion. He would lose this title in January of 2006, against the ever opportunist Edge who cashed in his money in the bank contract after John Cena had just been through an elimination chamber. Edge's reign was short lasting, as he lost the belt to John Cena a mere three weeks later when the Chain Gang Soldier made Edge tap out at the Royal Rumble, 2006. John Cena would go past Wrestlemania defeating Triple H, he would also go past Backlash. However, it was when he came to the very hostile ECW One Night Stand where he would lose the title to the ECW Original Rob Van Dam. John Cena's old rival Edge would capture the title from Rob Van Dam just a month later, and Edge put his own spin on things by having an "R" replace the WWE sign. He would then proceed to throw John Cena's title in the river. All of this finally led up to a match between Edge and Cena in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at Unforgiven 2006, where Cena would FU Edge from the ladder through two tables and then proceed to capture the belt. He lost it a year and one month on, when he suffered a Pectoral injury, and was stripped of the title. Near two years later -- John Cena reclaimed the gold which he never lost. After coming up short at SummerSlam (2009) due to match restarts and antics used by WWE's resident Viper -- Randy Orton, Mr. McMahon would proceed to make the "ultimate submission" match. John Cena facing off against Randy Orton in an "I Quit" match. Through a brutal, brutal match. Orton using every possible weapon against John, even using handcuffs to his advantage. John would however power through and lock in a modified version of the STF to seal the victory. Little over a month later, John Cena would again drop the belt to Orton after a brutal Hell in a Cell in which Orton utilized the "punt" to guarantee victory. It became evident to the two that this could keep going back and forth -- there had to be a decider. John Cena and Randy Orton took part in arguably one of the most testing matches that the ring has ever contested. Cena and Orton agreed to take part in a "Anything Goes Iron-Man Match," which would decide who is the best of the best, where if Cena lost he would have to be traded to another brand. Needless to say a pumped up Cena garnered the respect of many when he beat Orton, 7-6 falls after enduring RKO's, being thrown through LED screens, nearly being blown up and more. Cena would seal the victory in the ending moments of the match and ultimately secure his spot as Champion by driving Orton through the announce table with a thunderous Attitude Adjustment and an STF to end the match. Unfortunately, despite the long-road spent enduring gruelling matches with Randy Orton, John Cena wouldn’t be able to hold on to the title long. It was at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs that Cena would lose to the most unlikely opponent in Sheamus, a young up-start in the WWE looking to make a name for himself. It was at Elimination Chamber 2010 where Cena would next taste the gold when he outlasted five other superstars in the gruelling Elimination Chamber match, where it came down to he and Triple H. Cena was able to withstand the power of the King of Kings and add his eighth heavyweight championship reign. Almost instantly, John Cena’s road to the championship seemed wasted when the music of “The Animal” Batista echoed throughout the arena with Vince McMahon announcing an impromptu match which signified the end of Cena’s reign. It was on the Grandest Stage of ‘em All where Cena would get his deserved rematch with Batista and thankfully, Cena would come out on top this time locking in an STF and making The Animal tap out. At the Fatal-4-Way event a few months later, Cena would be forced to put the title up for grabs in a Fatal-4-Way match against Edge, Randy Orton and Sheamus. Nexus would show, just days after destroying Cena and making a huge impact on the WWE Universe, and cost Cena the championship whilst the cowardly Sheamus would pick up the scraps and get the victory. It wouldn’t be until Extreme Rules of 2011 where John Cena would be able to add another reign to his already impressive number of nine world title reigns. It would be when he faced off against John Morrison and The Miz in a steel-cage match where he would drive Miz to the canvas with a thunderous Attitude Adjustment from the top-turnbuckle for the three-count.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
After months of promos and months of Chris Jericho being the face of Raw, John Cena made a triumphant return at Survivor Series 2008 to battle an old enemy - Jericho. John Cena made a return in Boston, MA. to claim what was rightfully his - the World Heavyweight Championship, in a hatred, action fuelled match up, John Cena successfully hit the FU for the 1, 2, 3 victory. John Cena lost the belt at No Way Out 2009, when the Ultimate Opportunist Edge found a loop-hole into the Elimination Chamber match, after having just lost his belt two hours earlier. John Cena was quickly eliminated from the match after he was hit with a barrage of finishers. Just a month later however, Cena would face off against two of his old rivals: Edge and the Big Show in a triple threat on the "Grandest Stage of them all" WrestleMania. Where he would display an amazing feat. of strength, hoisting up both Edge and Show on his shoulders at the same time and delivered a crushing Attitude Adjustment to both and sealed the victory with a 1, 2, 3. A month later at Backlash, John Cena faced off against Edge once again: this time in a Last Man Standing Match, where they literally threw everything at each other. The end was coming and Cena was in control, until an old rival: the Big Show made his presence felt when he choke slammed Cena into a 7,000 watt search light. Cena, unable to get up was counted for 10 and the Rated-R-Superstar's reign begun.
WWE Tag Team Championship(s)
John Cena would also hold the Tag team championships with his Wrestlemania 23 opponent - Shawn Michaels, they captured the belts on January 29th, 2007 when they beat Rated RKO for the titles on an episode of Raw. However, their reign as Tag team champions came to a close as the night after WrestleMania, bitter from defeat Shawn Michaels turned on John Cena and cost them the titles to the Hardys. On August 4th edition of Raw, Cena would yet again capture the gold. This time with his enemy Batista, where in a heated match up they defeated the team of Rhodes and Dibiase with Batista finishing the match with a Batista Bomb for the 1, 2, 3. The next week however, Batista and John proved they could not co-exist when they lost the World Tag Team Championships back to Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase. It would be another odd-pairing when Cena regained the Tag Team Championships; when he teamed with Nexus’ David Otunga at the Bragging Rights 2010 event in an impromptu match and pick up the victory against Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes. They would lose the Tag Team Championships the next night when David Otunga would be forced to lie down and be pinned by fellow Nexus members Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater.
WWE Royal Rumble
John Cena narrowly come close to winning the Royal Rumble in 2005, however he was the last eliminated, and he was eliminated by Batista. However, things would take a turn in 2008, as he would be the surprise number 30 entrant and go on to just him and Triple H, he would then eliminate Triple H to be crowned Royal Rumble winner 2008.
