John Cena

Professional wrestler John Cena took home the United States WWE Championship, defeating The Big Show in March 2004 in Wrestlemania XX.
John Cena was born April 23, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts. Calling himself "The Prototype," he captured the UPW title in 2000. In 2001 he signed a contract to work at Ohio Valley Wrestling. He captured the OVW heavyweight title in February 2002, then made his WWE debut that June. Two years later, he took the United States Championship. Since then he has notched many wins and titles.
Professional wrestler, actor. Born John Felix Anthony Cena on April 23, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts, the second of John, Sr. and Carol Cena's five boys.

At an early age, Cena showed a passion for sports and working out. By the time he was 15 he was a regular gym rat and, after graduating high school, Cena headed off to Springfield College in Massachusetts to study exercise physiology and prove his worth on the football field. At Springfield, Cena turned himself into a Division III All-American offensive lineman and team captain.

In 2000, the new college graduate left the Bay State despite his father's wishes, seeking a new life in California as a body builder. It wasn't an easy transition for the 6-foot 1-inch aspiring star. He had just $500 in his pocket to make it across country and get settled. To make ends meet, he folded towels and cleaned toilets at a Gold's Gym in Venice Beach. And because he couldn't afford an apartment, he shacked up in his 1991 Lincoln Continental.
But the turning point came in early 2000, during a casual conversation Cena had with a wrestler at Gold's who encouraged the gym employee to take classes at Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), a former World Wrestling Entertainment developmental company.

For Cena, the suggestion of making a go of it as a wrestler wasn't an entirely outlandish idea. His father, John, Sr. (a.k.a. Johnny Fabulous) made a living as a wrestling announcer and businessman. As a kid growing up in suburban Massachusetts, the younger Cena spent many hours glued to the television set as he watched his wrestling heroes such as Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior and Shawn Michaels go at it in the ring.

As a wrestler himself, Cena's ascension was rapid. Calling himself "The Prototype," the ambitious Cena captured the UPW title on April 27, 2000, in San Diego, California. Over the course of the next year, Cena drew the attention of WWE executives, and in 2001 the young enterntainer signed a developmental contract with the company to work at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).
Cena captured the OVW heavyweight title in February 2002, then made his WWE debut that June when he signed up with the Smackdown roster. Just two years later, Cena took home the United States Championship, defeating The Big Show in March 2004 in Wrestlemania XX.

In the years since, Cena has notched many wins and titles. In 2007, he became the first wrestler to ever come up victorious against Edward "Umaga" Fatu.

Along the way Cena, whose good looks and sculpted body have earned him the title "The Marky Mark of Wrestling", has greatly increased his celebrity. Like Hogan, Cena has proven that his showmanship in the ring crosses over into venues outside of it.

In 2004, John Cena's status as a celebrity began to develop. Cena won the United States Championship from Big Show. Not too long later, Cena lost the title but he gained it back soon. Cena then lost the title again to fellow WWE superstar, Carlito. During that time, Cena apparently got stabbed in the kidney by one of Carlito's bodyguard. This resulted him to stay out of action for a month.

In 2005 and 2006 respectively, Cena has made a few controversies. He had a feud with champion John Bradshaw Layfield, manager Eric Bischoff and fellow wrestler Chris Jericho. Cena also made feuds with Edge and Umaga at that time. But even so, some friendships were formed. Cena is said to be friends with Carlito after they won a match with Jeff Hardy against Edge, Randy Orton and Johnny Nitro.

The year 2007 became a big year for Cena as he got involved in a wrestling match with Britney Spears' ex and rap star, Kevin Federline. John ended up losing that match thanks to some assistance from Umaga to Kevin Federline. Later that night, Cena took revenge by body slamming Kevin Federline backstage. The year 2007 also started pretty well for John Cena as he became the first person to defeat the Samoan Bulldozer, Umaga that year. The Chain Gang Soldier also teamed up with Shaun Michaels defeating the RKO tag team, Randy Orton and Edge. The match ended up with Cena and Michaels winning.

As of October 2007, Cena lost his WWE Championship title because of an injury. While wrestling against Mr. Kennedy, Cena tore his pectoral muscle while executing a hip toss. Eventhough he finished the match and completed the rest of the scripted event, check up the next day found out that John's pectoral major muscle was torn completely from the bone, requiring seven months to a year rehabilitation. Because of not being able to perform, WWE's CEO, Vince McMahon stripped him off the title and ended his reign.

In the year 2008, Cena made an unannounced return to action on January 27 as the final participant of the Royal Rumble match. He won the match, and the traditional WrestleMania title shot. Cena also had a match against JBL, which he defeated at Judgment Day and then at One Night Stand in a First Blood match. However, JBL defeated him at the New York City Parking Lot Brawl. In the month of August, Cena had to replaced by Rey Mysterio after it was announced Cena had suffered a herniated disk in his neck which will require surgery and he will be out of action indefinitely. According to reports, Cena underwent successive surgery to repair the herniated disk in his neck with Doctor Joseph Maroon on August 25.

Aside from wrestling, John has also made his own name in the movie business. In 2006, a WWE franchise movie titled The Marine was released with John playing the lead character, John Triton. The movie received mix reviews due to the poor storyline and discrimination to the US Marines. Even so, fans queued up to watch the movie as this was John's first big screen appearance.

The WWE wrestler also adds recording artist to his resume as he released his debut rap album "You Can't See Me" which debuted at #15 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The album was recorded with his cousin Tha Trademarc. The album features his entrance theme song, 'The Time Is Now' & a host of other singles performed by Cena & one the songs he performed with popular rap band Estoric & a number of other songs Cena performed with famous rapper Bumpy Knuckles. Cena is the only professional wrestler to ever perform on BBC Two's long running TV show Top of the Pops.

While still being active with WWE, Cena made a couple of guest appearances Jimmy Kimmel Live! twice to promote his album. He has also appeared on popular shows like Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Fuse's Celebrity Playlist, Fox Sports Net's The Best Damn Sports Show Period, MADtv, G4's Training Camp and two appearances on MTV's Punk'd. He also served as a co-presenter, with Hulk Hogan, at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, as a guest judge during the third week of the 2006 season of Nashville Star, and appeared at the 2007 Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards 2007.

In fashion, The Champ has also made a few trademarks. Cena is often seen with knee-high denim jeans and throwback jerseys when he first started on WWE. Lately, Cena has been wearing a lot of Chain Gang merchandise. When his movie, The Marine was released, John was seen to be adding more military-inspired clothing to his outfit to promote his movie.

Cena graduated from Springfield College, Massachusetts with degrees in exercise physiology and human anatomy. He applied for 60 colleges and he got accepted by 58 of them but in the end, he chose Springfield College. He is the second eldest of five brothers and is said to be a family guy when he is not wrestling. His good friends are fellow wrestlers, John Hennigan, Batista, Randy Orton, Carlito, Jeff and Matt Hardy among whom he will have to fight with.

John Cena is definitely going to be a big inspiration to all whether in wrestling, fashion, music or even movies as his participation in the industry is already more than regular celebrity. With all he has achieved, fans can definitely expect to see more of this WWE superstar in the coming future.

Also recently he has completed his new movie 12 Rounds produced by WWE Films. This movie was said to be completed when John suffered from his injury in 2007.

Through the production wing of WWE, Cena has starred in two action films, The Marine (2006) and 12 Rounds (2009), the latter featuring the wrestler trying to save his girlfriend from a gang of terrorists in New Orleans.

In addition, Cena, who has long had an affinity for hip-hop culture, became a recording artist when his rap album, You Can't See Me, hit record stores in 2005. The recording debuted on the U.S. Billboard chart at No. 15. His credits also include appearances on NBC's Celebrity Apprentice.

In 2015, Cena received critical praise for his acting skills in the hit comedy Trainwreck, directed by Judd Apatow and written by the film's star Amy Schumer. Cena played Schumer's sensitive muscle-bound boyfriend. “I got my chance to throw my sense of humor out into the world, and at the same time play this hulky guy who’s a softy, which in real life I’m a very emotional guy,” Cena told Business Insider.

In his personal life, Cena married his girlfriend, Elizabeth Huberdeau, in July 2009. In May 2012, Cena filed for divorce, allegedly shocking Huberdeau. Their messy separation played out in the media, but they eventually settled in July of that year.