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.[8] He is widely regarded as the
greatest professional wrestler of all time.[9]
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.[10] 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".[11] Cena led the company as its
franchise player and public face from the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s.[12][13] 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.[14]
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.[12]
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.[15]
Early life
John Felix Anthony Cena was born in West Newbury, Massachusetts, on April 23, 1977,
[1][6] to Carol (née Lupien) and former Chaotic Wrestling ring announcer John
Joseph Cena.[6][16] He has one older brother named Dan and three younger brothers
named Matt, Steve, and Sean.[16] His maternal grandfather was baseball player Tony
Lupien and his maternal great-grandfather was businessman Ulysses J. Lupien.[17] 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.[1] A childhood fan of
wrestling, he would create championship belts out of cardboard for himself and his
brothers.[16]
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.[16][17][18] 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.[19][20] He also worked in the store area of Gold's Gym.[21]
Professional wrestling career
Ultimate Pro Wrestling (1999–2001)
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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.[6][22] He started wrestling in local flea markets,[16]
[21] 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."[17] Some of this period of his career was documented in
the Discovery Channel program Inside Pro Wrestling School.[23] He held the UPW
Heavyweight Championship in April 2000 and wrestled for the UPW until March 2001.
[6][24]
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.[25] 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.[26]
In 2001, Cena signed a developmental contract with the WWF and was assigned to its
developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).[6] He continued to wrestle as
The Prototype and held both the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern
Tag Team Championship with Rico Constantino.[18][22] Throughout early 2002, Cena
competed on WWF house shows against the likes of Shelton Benjamin and Tommy
Dreamer.[27] 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.[3] 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.[3] 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".[22]
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.[18][6][28] He began feuding with Chris
Jericho, defeating him on July 21 at Vengeance.[6][29]Soon after, he was stablished
as a heel character and feuded with Billy Kidman.[30][31][32]
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.[33] 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.[10][6] 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".[34] 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.[6]
At Royal Rumble on January 19, 2003, he entered his first Royal Rumble match at
number 18, but was eliminated by The Undertaker.[35] 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,[36][37][38] which
he lost.[39] After losing to Kurt Angle at No Mercy on October 19,[40] Cena became
a fan favorite when he joined Angle as a member of his team on November 16 at
Survivor Series.[41]
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,[42] 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.[43] At
WrestleMania on March 14, Cena defeated Big Show to win the United States
Championship, his first singles championship in WWE.[44] 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,[45][46]
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.[47] 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,[48][49] only to drop it to the debuting Carlito Caribbean Cool the following
week on SmackDown!.[50] 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.[6] After returning on November 14 at Survivor Series,
[51] Cena won the United States Championship back from Carlito on the November 18
episode of SmackDown!.[52] He retained the title against Jesús at Armageddon on
December 12 in a street fight.[53]
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.[54] At No Way Out
on February 20, Cena defeated Angle to earn a spot in the SmackDown! brand's
WrestleMania 21 main event match,[55] 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.[56] At WrestleMania 21 on April 3, Cena defeated JBL to win the WWE
Championship, his first world championship.[57] Now with a spinner WWE Championship
belt, JBL took the original title belt and claimed he was still the WWE Champion,
[6] until Cena defeated him in an "I Quit" match at Judgment Day on May 22 to
retain the title.[58]
Cena was drafted to the Raw brand on the June 6 episode of Raw, becoming the first
wrestler selected in the annual draft lottery.[59] 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.[60] At Vengeance on June 26, Cena retained the title against Christian
and Chris Jericho in a triple threat match.[61] 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.[6]
On August 21, at SummerSlam, Cena defeated Jericho to retain the title.[62] 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.[63] Cena held on
to the WWE Championship, losing to Angle by disqualification on September 18 at
Unforgiven,[64] pinning Shawn Michaels in a triple threat match involving Angle at
Taboo Tuesday on November 1,[65] and pinning Angle on November 27 at Survivor
Series.[66] 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.[67]
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,[6][68] which Cena won back on January 29 at Royal Rumble.[68] 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.[69][70] 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.
[71]
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.[72] 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,[71] he introduced his
own version of Cena's "custom" title belt, this one with his logo placed on the
spinner.[6] 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.[73] Cena
returned with his version of the spinner title belt on the next night's Raw.[74]
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.[75] 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.[6] At Cyber Sunday, Cena lost the match
after Federline hit him with the World Heavyweight Championship.[71] On the January
1 episode of Raw, Cena was pinned by Federline with an assist from Umaga.[76] At
New Year's Revolution on January 7, 2007, Cena defeated Umaga to end his undefeated
streak and retain the WWE Championship.[77] On January 28, Cena retained the title
against Umaga in a Last Man Standing match at the Royal Rumble.[78]
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.[79] At WrestleMania 23 on April 1, Cena retained the WWE
Championship against Michaels.[80] 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.[81] Cena retained the WWE
Championship against Michaels, Or
