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Revision as of 13:04, 13 July 2006 by Bdve (talk | contribs) (rv)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| John Cena | |
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| Born | April 23, 1977 West Newbury, Massachusetts |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | John Cena The Prototype |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (186 cm) |
| Billed weight | 248 lb (112 kg) |
| Billed from | West Newbury, Massachusetts |
| Trained by | Ultimate Pro Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling |
| Debut | 2001 |
John Felix Anthony Cena, Jr. (born April 23, 1977 in West Newbury, Massachusetts), is an American professional wrestler, rap music artist, and currently performs for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the RAW brand. He has released a music CD, You Can't See Me, with real life cousin Tha Trademarc, and has performed live concerts with Tha Trademarc and Bumpy Knuckles.
Before his professional wrestling career, John Cena was a bodybuilder, college football player, a team captain and All-American center for Division III at Springfield College. While at Springfield, he earned a degree in exercise physiology .
Early career
In 2000, Cena first started training to become a wrestler at the California-based Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) where he created his character, The Prototype. WWE signed him to a developmental contract at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) straight out of UPW. During his time in OVW he would appear on a UPN reality television show named Manhunt under the pseudonym "Big Tim Kingman". His role on the show was the lead hunter in which he led the team of hunters going after the contestants with paint ball guns, and after three successful hits on a contestant Cena was then to shave the head of a contestant down the middle (male) or cut off their ponytail (female). He also was to verbally humiliate and degrade the contestants in front of the camera. The show was made in association with WWE, however it was revealed that a lot of the scenes of the "reality TV" show were re-shot to enhance the drama, contests were rigged to get rid of contestants if they were not considered charismatic enough and contestants read from scripts and thus has never been mentioned by WWE in reference to Cena.
World Wrestling Entertainment
2002-2003
Cena's first televised WWE match was against Kurt Angle on June 27, 2002 at the Allstate Arena in Chicago. Angle was giving "free shots" at himself to newcomers. Inspired by Vince McMahon's recent speech to WWE's rising stars, exhorting them to show "ruthless aggression" to earn a place among the legends, Cena took advantage of this opportunity. He almost beat Kurt Angle, kicking out of the Angle Slam and surviving the Ankle Lock submission hold, but ultimately losing to a hard amateur-style pin.
Cena was a typical face, an underdog in each match. After losing with then-babyface Billy Kidman in a tournament match for the WWE Tag Team Championships, Cena turned heel and blamed Kidman for the loss. Shortly after his heel turn, on a Halloween episode of SmackDown!, he performed a freestyle rap in a Vanilla Ice costume to Stephanie McMahon, and his gimmick was changed to that of a white rapper. At first, this gimmick got Cena a lot of heel heat from the fans, but his frequent freestyle raps about other wrestlers helped to gain him a following. During his run as a heel, Cena feuded with the Undertaker and Chris Benoit and also got some backup from the Full Blooded Italians. One of Cena's first trademark symbols was a modified, classic WWF logo (without the "F") with the slogan "Word Life".
Cena also feuded with Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. During that feud, he derived his signature finishing maneuver, the F-U, as a counterpart to Lesnar's similar F-5 move. Later, when Lesnar turned heel, they briefly joined forces. He would also feud with Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero before Cena turned face, betraying Lesnar and feuding with him again. Cena established his signature "you can't see me" catch phrase and hand gesture during this time as well. In a 2003 Survivor Series match, he was on a team led by Kurt Angle with Benoit, John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and Hardcore Holly against Lesnar, Big Show, Nathan Jones, Matt Morgan and A-Train. In the end, Cena hit the F-U on Big Show and got the final pin, leaving him and Benoit as the sole survivors. The two superstars ended their feud there, though they would later fight each other during Cena's run for the WWE United States Championship.
2004
In 2004, Cena's popularity started to increase. He feuded with The Big Show, leading to a WrestleMania XX victory to win the United States Championship. Cena claimed the title by distracting the ref and using his brass knuckles on Big Show then hitting him with the FU. This was his first WWE title. Eventually he was stripped of the title by then-SmackDown! General Manager Kurt Angle. He later won the title back after winning a best-of-5 match series against Booker T. Cena's second title reign was short-lived; he lost the title to the debuting Carlito in Cena's first televised match since regaining the title.
As part of an angle, Cena was attacked in a Boston nightclub by Carlito's bodyguard, Jesús, which kept Cena from wrestling for about a month due to a kidney puncture. In actuality, this event was kayfabe and Cena was actually busy filming The Marine. He returned to wrestling just in time for the 2004 Survivor Series. Upon his return, Cena exacted revenge on Carlito in a SmackDown! match and won the U.S. title back. Afterward, however, Cena was attacked in the ring by Jesus, who hit him in the kidney several times with Cena's own chain.
Cena's United States title reigns were notable for two reasons. His second title reign came after a best-of-5 series of matches - a series of matches similar to the one wrestled by Booker T and Chris Benoit for the World Television Championship in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In addition, Cena wore a modified United States title belt during his third reign as champion. The new belt featured the same colors, but with the face plate fashioned as a spinner.
2005
At the 2005 Royal Rumble, Cena and Batista both went over the top rope at the same time to end the match, but Vince McMahon demanded the match go into sudden death. Cena had Batista in the F-U, but Batista reversed it to win the match. Shortly after, Cena competed in a tournament to become the #1 contender for the WWE Championship, and won the tournament by defeating Kurt Angle at No Way Out. In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 21, where Cena was to face JBL, he lost his United States Championship to JBL's Chief of Staff, Orlando Jordan, with he and JBL blowing up the spinner-style belt the following week. During this feud with JBL, Cena established a name for his fans: the "Chain Gang Soldiers" (often shorted to just "Chain Gang").
On April 3, 2005 at WrestleMania 21 in Los Angeles, Cena defeated JBL to win his first WWE Championship. He then had a custom WWE Championship belt made, just as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin had done with his "smoking skull" belt. Cena's WWE Championship belt is similar to his custom U.S. title belt, featuring a spinner-type WWE logo plate. In the meanwhile, JBL stole the original WWE belt and claimed he was still WWE Champion.
At Judgment Day, Cena successfully defended his title against JBL in a bloody "I Quit" Match. JBL, cornered against a glass pane, quit to avoid getting hit by a tractor trailer's exhaust pipe. He got hit anyway, sending him through the glass pane behind him. Cena was able to reclaim the original WWE Championship belt, though he continued to carry his spinner belt.
On the June 6 episode of WWE RAW, John Cena became the first wrestler drafted in the annual WWE Draft Lottery, with Eric Bischoff drafting him from SmackDown! to RAW. Upon entering RAW, Cena immediately entered an angle with Chris Jericho and Christian. The rivalry between Christian and Cena had already been established when Christian attacked Cena during Jericho's "Highlight Reel" interview segment, while Cena's rivalry with Jericho started when Jericho turned on Cena in a tag-team match against Christian and Tyson Tomko.
Cena defeated Christian and Chris Jericho in a Triple Threat match at Vengeance by knocking Jericho out of the ring and pinning Christian. On the June 27 edition of RAW, Cena teamed with Shawn Michaels and a returning Hulk Hogan for the first time to beat Jericho, Christian and Tyson Tomko.
Cena quickly made enemies with RAW GM Eric Bischoff, delivering the F-U to Bischoff on the July 11 edition of RAW. Bischoff vowed to make Cena's stint on RAW difficult and chose Chris Jericho to contend for Cena's title. On July 25 Cena and Jericho competed in the first ever battle of the bands on RAW. The battle featured Cena's Chain Gang against Jericho's Fozzy. Cena performed but Jericho refused, claiming the audience was biased against him and that Fozzy would not perform until the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view. After a successful title defense against his rival Carlito, Cena also successfully defended his title against Chris Jericho at SummerSlam.
On August 22, in Hampton, Virginia, Cena beat Jericho in a "You're Fired" match for the WWE Championship - despite the General Manager giving Cena a low-blow and handing a pair of brass knuckles to Jericho. After the match, Kurt Angle came into the ring and attacked Cena and Bischoff revealed that Angle was the number one contender for Cena's world title. After several weeks of feuding, both men faced off in the main event of Unforgiven, where Cena lost to Angle by disqualification after hitting him with the WWE title belt, meaning Cena would still be champion.
At that years Taboo Tuesday, Cena again retained his WWE Championship, this time in a Triple Threat match against Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels, by pinning Michaels.
On the November 14, 2005 edition of RAW, Cena paid tribute to Eddie Guerrero, who had recently died. After a main event match with Randy Orton that had Cena delivering the F-U to Orton, Cena took off the Eddie Guerrero "I'm Your Papi" T-shirt he had worn during the match in Eddie's honor. He laid it down on the mat and placed his championship belt on top of it, honoring Guerrero, who was a former WWE Champion.
At the 2005 Survivor Series, Cena successfully defended the WWE Championship against Kurt Angle.
On the December 5, 2005 episode of RAW, Cena made his opinion of Bischoff known during Bischoff's mock trial and helped Vince McMahon fire Bischoff by delivering the F-U to the former RAW GM, effectively ending the hostilities he had with Bischoff and giving Cena the last laugh.
2006
On January 8, 2006, at New Years Revolution, Cena successfully defended his WWE Championship in an Elimination Chamber match against Kane, Kurt Angle, Carlito, Chris Masters and Shawn Michaels. However, after the match, Vince McMahon announced that Cena was going to have to defend the WWE Championship again, this time against Edge, who was cashing in his previously earned Money in the Bank title shot. Edge delivered two spears to a tired Cena, pinning him in short order to win the WWE Championship and end Cena's championship reign at 280 days, matching that of previous champion JBL.
On January 29, Cena defeated Edge at the Royal Rumble to regain the WWE Championship, three weeks to the day after he lost it. Cena went on to retain the WWE title at WrestleMania 22, joining Hulk Hogan, Triple H, Diesel, Eddie Guerrero, and Yokozuna as the only men to retain the WWE Title at a WrestleMania. (Yokozuna retained against Lex Luger at WrestleMania X, but lost the title to Bret Hart in the main event of the show.)
On April 30, at Backlash, Cena successfully defended his WWE Championship title in a Triple Threat match against Triple H and Edge, despite interference from Edge's manager/girlfriend Lita.
On the May 22, 2006 edition of RAW, Rob Van Dam informed Cena that he intended to cash in his Money in the Bank title match contract at the upcoming Extreme Championship Wrestling One Night Stand pay-per-view event.
At One Night Stand, on June 11, John Cena lost his WWE title to ECW's Rob Van Dam. The end of the match came when Edge appeared from under the ring and speared Cena through a table, setting him up for Van Dam's Five Star Frog Splash. With two referees "knocked out" (the first by Cena, the second by Edge) Paul Heyman ran down the entrance aisle and counted the three count giving Van Dam the win. On the next nights RAW Paul Heyman announced that the title change was official, as the match was under "Extreme rules".
In June, at Vengeance 2006 Cena faced off against Sabu, the winner of a Battle Royal set to determine who would seek "revenge" for Cena appearing on the debut of ECW on Sci Fi and challenging anyone in the brand. Cena defeated Sabu after forcing him to tap out to the STF-U. After the match, he met with Rob Van Dam, who gave Cena credit for his recent victory and offered him to a rematch for the WWE Championship on the June 26th RAW. Cena was unable to win the title in that match however due to interference from Edge.
Fan backlash
After the draft lottery which brought him to RAW, Cena's popularity with the fans slowly began to diminish. His three biggest rivalries upon arriving on the program were Christian, Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle, all of whom had overwhelming cult followings. At SummerSlam 2005, when Cena defended the WWE Championship against Chris Jericho, chants of both "Let's go, Cena!" and "Let's go, Jericho!" were clearly audible, a sign that the fans were becoming divided over Cena. Slowly, boos began to emerge during Cena's matches and promos.
Over time, the reactions towards Cena became more and more negative, especially during his feuds with stars such as Kurt Angle. Despite Angle's best attempts to attain heel heat, the fans continued to cheer him and boo Cena. At New Year's Revolution, Cena successfully defended his title in an Elimination Chamber match, much to the displeasure of most of the crowd. The crowd then cheered Edge on when he emerged unexpectedly to cash in his Money in the Bank clause and won the title from Cena.
During this time WWE announcers, most notably Jim Ross, were forced to acknowledge the negative reactions Cena was getting and began to refer to him as a "controversial champion" who was alienating some fans with his "unorthodox style". Jerry Lawler would often suggest that Cena was too young, edgy and original for the older audience to appreciate.
Cena continued to polarize the crowd on the road to WrestleMania 22, during which he was jeered during his main event match with Triple H. Cena was reported as being upset by fans' negativity, although he stated that the fans obviously had a choice in deciding whom they wanted to root for.
Parallels can be drawn between Cena's circumstances and those of Rocky Maivia upon his WWE debut who, despite being pushed as a face, was booed the more he tried to get the fans to side with him.
However, the crowd began to cheer Cena once again after Backlash, most notably because he began to side with the popular face Shawn Michaels in matches against the heel Spirit Squad. After Cena stopped taking part in this angle and moved on to working against Rob Van Dam, there was once again a notable mixture of cheers and boos in most every arena visited, with some being more pro-Cena and some against him.
On June 11, however, he was met with his most hostile crowd yet when he faced Rob Van Dam at One Night Stand. Before his match, he threw his cap into the crowd, a signature antic of his, but the crowd threw it back towards the ring. After throwing his hat he did the same with his T-Shirt, which was also thrown back. Cena picked up the shirt and attempted to throw it into the crowd again, but again it sailed back into the ring. He persisted in throwing his shirt back into the crowd half a dozen times, but the crowd refused to accept it. One fan seemed to want to keep it, but with the rest of the Hammerstein Ballroom chanting "Throw It Back!" he eventually did. The fans then threw rolls of toilet paper at Cena (a reference to the Puroresu tradition of covering main event wrestlers with streamers prior to matches), which lasted until seconds after the match had begun. As the match went on the fans chanted many derogatory things, including, "Fuck you, Cena," "Same old shit," "Cena swallows," and "You can't wrestle." When Cena attempted to play to the crowd by performing moves he was not known for in WWE, the crowd responded with a "You still suck" chant. One of the most notable anti-Cena actions was a large poster which appeared on screen many times that stated; "If Cena Wins, We Riot".
The next few nights, back on RAW Cena was once again met with loud cheers, and he received a significant amount of cheers during his involvement in the premiere episode of ECW on Sci Fi (it should be noted that the ECW premiere was taped before SmackDown!, and the crowd were mostly WWE fans and not ECW fans as at One Night Stand). A later ECW episode, in which Cena did not appear, had a mixed audience of WWE and ECW fans, with WWE fans chanting "We want Cena!" and ECW fans responding with chants of "No we don't!" during the main event.
Outside of wrestling
Music
In addition to his time in the ring, Cena is a rap music artist. He performed his fifth WWE entrance song, "Basic Thugonomics," which was featured on the WWE soundtrack album WWE Originals. His track "Untouchables" was featured on Theme Addict, another WWE soundtrack album. His debut album which he recorded alongside his cousin Tha Trademarc, You Can't See Me features his current entrance theme "My Time is Now". Tha Trademarc is currently working on his own album which will feature John Cena. The first single from the You Can't See Me album was "Bad, Bad Man". The music video for the song, a parody of 1980s culture and the television show The A-Team, premiered on an edition of SmackDown!. WWE premiered the music video for Cena's second single, "Right Now", on the August 8 edition of RAW.
John Cena has worked with several personalities in the Hip-Hop industry, such as Freddie Foxx (Bumpy Knuckles), 7L, Esoteric, Murs (including a music video), E-40 and Chingo Bling. He and Method Man were also featured in SmackDown! magazine and MTV.com. Most recently, Cena and Tha Trademarc are featured on a track by The Perceptionists, "Champion Scratch." Cena has also performed on BBC Two's long running Top of the Pops, becoming the first professional wrestler to perform on the program.
Film
A division of World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE Films produces and fully finances motion pictures under the supervision of Joel Simon, President of the company. Cena's first movie credit will be the lead role in The Marine, a film directed by John Bonito, co-starring Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Walk the Line) and Kelly Carlson (Nip/Tuck). WWE has completed a deal with 20th Century Fox to distribute The Marine theatrically in 2006. In order to promote the movie, Cena began saluting the audience during his RAW appearances.
Fashion
Cena's attire in and out of the ring reflects the old school hip-hop culture that he represents. He previously wore throwback jerseys (during his time as heel, he would wear jerseys of a rival team of the city he was wrestling in; as a face, he would wear jerseys of one of the city's home teams), though he now generally wears "Chain Gang" related merchandise. He has also worn a chain with a lock on it to the ring and the chain was at times utilized as a weapon. This chain has now been replaced by an enormous, chromed and diamond studded "Chain Gang" spinner medallion which is very reminiscent of the ones worn by members of G-Unit.
When Cena was part of the SmackDown! brand, his apparel bearing the suggestive spoonerism "Ruck Fules" was censored when he wore it on camera. They were not censored by UPN, but by WWE to sell more shirts under the premise that it was "too hot for TV."
From late 2004 throughout mid-2006, Cena would wear Livestrong type bracelets on his Reebok Pump sneakers.
Guest appearances
Prior to his WWE debut, Cena made a guest appearance on the Internet stream show Go Sick in 2001 as Bruebaker, an angry, cursing wrestler. He also starred in the short lived, and controversial, UPN reality series "Manhunt" as Big Tim Kingman.
During his WWE career, Cena has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live numerous times.
- He first appeared on the July 23, 2005 episode in order to promote his CD, SummerSlam 2005, and WWE in general.
- He appeared again on March 14, 2006 to promote Saturday Night's Main Event and WrestleMania 22.
Other appearances include Fuse's Daily Download, Fox Sports Net's Best Damn Sports Show Period, G4's Training Camp (with Shelton Benjamin). He's also served as a co-presenter with Hulk Hogan at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards.
Cena was the guest on the October 23, 2005 episode of "Wally's World" on NBC's Bank of America Countdown to Green where he rode with former NASCAR Winston/Nextel Cup competitor Wally Dallenbach, Jr. around Martinsville Speedway, then proceeded to put NBC pit reporter Marty Snider into a submission move. (NBC Universal owns the USA Network, which broadcasts WWE RAW.)
Cena appeared on the November 26, 2005 episode of Mad TV in the opening segment, and in a 24 spoof skit with cast member Bobby Lee.
Cena guest judged on the March 28, 2006 edition of Nashville Star.
Cena appeared as a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on June 21, 2006. When asked about his black eye that he received a few nights ago, Cena said (in a reference to Sabu) that he was "beaten up by a genie".
Five Questions
WWE.com & Cena film a segment called "Five Questions" (formerly known as "Five Questions with the Champ" during Cena's two WWE Title reigns) every week. 5 questions that fans have sent in via e-mail are picked at random, they are then answered by Cena. During the segment, which is run by former wrestler, the Brooklyn Brawler, Cena shows both his serious side and his humorous side.
Wrestling facts
- Finishing and signature moves
- F-U (Standing fireman's carry takeover or fireman's carry powerslam)
- STF-U (Stepover toehold sleeper)
- Five Knuckle Shuffle (Fist drop with theatrics)
- Killswitch / Protobomb (Side release spin-out powerbomb)
- Throwback (Running necksnap)
- Freestyle (Swinging fisherman suplex)
- Flying shoulder block
- Repeating clotheslines
- Fisherman suplex
- Sitout hiptoss
- Signature illegal weapons
- Signature taunts
- Waving his hand in front of his face, horizontally, to signalize to whoever he's doing it in front of that "You can't see me!"
- Pumping up his Reebok Pump sneakers.
- Putting his hands up while spreading them and putting his thumb sideways and his pinky up, meaning "Word Life".
- Occasionally "freestyling" on his opponents before his matches. (more common when he was a heel)
- Saluting the audience.
Championships and accomplishments
- 1-time OVW Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time OVW Southern Tag Team Champion w/ Rico Constantino
- PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the year (2005)
- 2-time WWE Champion
- 3-time WWE United States Champion
Championship Succession
| WWE Championship | ||
| Preceded by: JBL |
First | Succeeded by: Edge |
| Preceded by: Edge |
Second | Succeeded by: Rob Van Dam |
| WWE United States Championship | ||
| Preceded by: The Big Show |
First | Succeeded by: (stripped of the title) |
| Preceded by: Booker T. |
Second | Succeeded by: Carlito |
| Preceded by: Carlito |
Third | Succeeded by: Orlando Jordan |
| UPW Heavyweight Championship | ||
| Preceded by: Smelly |
First | Succeeded by: Smelly |
| PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year | ||
| Preceded by: Brock Lesnar |
First | Succeeded by: Randy Orton |
| OVW Heavyweight Championship | ||
| Preceded by: Levathan |
First | Succeeded by: Nova |
| OVW Southern Tag Team Championship | ||
| Preceded by: Awarded the Title |
First w/ Rico Constantino | Succeeded by: Brock Lesnar and Shelton Benjamin |
Personal information
Cena was inspired to get into professional wrestling by Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold & The Rock and good friends with fellow WWE Superstar Randy Orton . Cena's father, John Cena Sr., works in the pro wrestling business as New England independent wrestling announcer and manager Johnny Fabulous. He is second eldest of five brothers. His brothers are Dan, Matt, Steve and Sean. .
Cena is known to be a fan of cartoons.
Footnotes
- "Article on Manhunt". Retrieved June 13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "Manhunt overview". Retrieved June 13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "Article on Manhunt scandal". Retrieved June 13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "Whatever Happened to Manhunt's "Big Tim"?". Retrieved June 13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "Cena to star in new movie, The Marine". columbiarecords.com. Retrieved January 31.
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References
- "College football career". shopping.yahoo.com. Retrieved January 27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "College academics". biography.ms. Retrieved January 27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "Cena still the champion due to disqualification". www.wwe.com. Retrieved April 4.
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