John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena (/ˈsiːnə/; born April 23, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, rapper, actor and reality television show host. He is signed to WWE, where he is a free agent, appearing for both the Raw and SmackDown brands. Cena started his professional wrestling career in 1999 with Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) and won the UPW Heavyweight Championship the following year. Cena signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment, or simply WWE) in 2001, debuting on the WWE main roster in 2002.
From a generic character in 2002, Cena morphed into a rapper for the time period of 2002–2004, which earned him fame within the audience on SmackDown! Cena later transitioned to his current character, which he describes as a "goody-two shoesSuperman". However, Cena was labeled "the most polarizing professional wrestler ever" by industry commentator Jim Ross, as his character has many supporters and detractors. Cena was WWE's franchise player, and its public face, for much of the 2000s and 2010s. Industry veterans John Layfield, Paul Heyman and Kurt Angle have called Cena the greatest WWE star of all time.
Throughout his WWE career, Cena has won 25 championships, with 16 reigns as a world champion (13 times as WWE Champion and three times as WWE's World Heavyweight Champion), an accomplishment only previously achieved by WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair. He is also a five-time United States Champion and a four-time world tag team champion (twoWorld Tag Team and two WWE Tag Team). Furthermore, he is a Money in the Bank ladder match winner (2012), a two-time Royal Rumble winner (2008, 2013) and a three-time Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner (2009, 2010, 2012). Cena has the fourth-highest number of combined days as WWE Champion, behind Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan. He has also headlined WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania, on five different occasions (WrestleManias 22, 23, XXVII, XXVIII and 29) over the course of his career, as well as many others pay-per-view events.
Outside of wrestling, Cena has released the rap album You Can't See Me, which debuted at No. 15 on the U.S. Billboard 200chart, and starred in the feature films The Marine (2006), 12 Rounds (2009), Legendary (2010), The Reunion (2011), Trainwreck(2015) and Sisters (2015). Cena has also made appearances on television shows including Manhunt, Deal or No Deal, MADtv, Saturday Night Live, Punk'd, Psych and Parks and Recreation. He was also a contestant on Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, where he made it to the final round before being eliminated, placing third in the overall competition. Cena is also the host of American Grit on Fox. Cena is involved in numerous philanthropic causes; most notably with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He has granted the most wishes in Make-A-Wish history.
- Finishing moves
- AA – Attitude Adjustment/FU (Standing fireman's carry transitioned into a kneeling takeover, sometimes from an elevated position) – 2003–present
- Killswitch/Protobomb/Protoplex (OVW/UPW) (Spin-out powerbomb) (WWE) – 1999–2003; used as a signature move thereafter
- STF/STFU – 2005–present
- Signature moves
- DDT
- Diving leg drop bulldog
- Dropkick
- Emerald Flowsion
- Five Knuckle Shuffle[2] (Running delayed fist drop, with theatrics, sometimes diving from the top rope)
- Half nelson dropped into a neckbreaker
- Hurricanrana
- Lariat
- Multiple suplex variations
- Belly-to-back
- Fisherman
- Gutwrench
- Side belly-to-belly
- Vertical, sometimes while delaying
- Running leaping shoulder block
- Running one-handed bulldog
- Sitout hip toss
- Sitout powerbomb
- Spinebuster – 2002–2005; used rarely thereafter
- Springboard stunner – 2015–present
- Sunset flip powerbomb – 2015–present
- Throwback (Running neck snap to a bent over opponent) – 2002–2011
- Tornado DDT, usually from the second rope
- Nicknames
- "The Cenation Leader/The Leader of the Cenation"
- "The Chain Gang Soldier"
- "The Champ"
- "The Doctor of Thuganomics"
- "The Face of WWE"
- "The Face That Runs the Place"
- "Fruity Pebbles"
- Managers
- Entrance themes
- "Slam Smack" by R. Hardy (FirstCom Production Music) (June 27, 2002 – November 21, 2002)
- "Insert Bass Here" by DJ Case (FirstCom Production Music) (November 28, 2002 – February 13, 2003)
- "Basic Thuganomics" by John Cena (March 27, 2003 – March 10, 2005; April 5, 2009; March 12, 2012)
- "The Time Is Now" by John Cena and Tha Trademarc (March 17, 2005–present)
- "We Are One" by 12 Stones (October 3, 2010 – November 21, 2010; used while a part of The Nexus)
This is one of his entrance video: