John Cena
 |
| John Cena |
He has the fourth-highest number of combined days as WWE World Heavyweight Champion, behind Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, and Hulk Hogan. He has also headlined WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania, on five occasions (WrestleManias 22, 23, XXVII, XXVIII, and 29) over the course of his career. Outside of wrestling, Cena has released the rap album You Can't See Me, which debuted at No.15 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and starred in the feature films The Marine (2006), 12 Rounds (2009), Legendary (2010), The Reunion (2011), and Trainwreck (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 was born on April 23, 1977 in West Newbury, Massachusetts,the son of Carol and John Cena, Sr.He is the second oldest of five brothers: Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean.His maternal grandfather was baseball player Tony Lupien.After graduating from Cushing Academy, Cena attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts.In college he was a NCAA Division III All-American center on the college football team,wearing the number 54,which is still used on some of his WWE merchandise.He graduated from Springfield in 1998 with a degree in exercise physiology,after which he pursued a career in bodybuilding and worked as a driver for a limousine company.
Professional wrestling career
Cena started training to become a professional wrestler in 1999 at Ultimate Pro Wrestling's California-based "Ultimate University" operated by Rick Bassman. 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.
On October 10, 2000, while billed as The Prototype, Cena made his World Wrestling Federation debut on a WWF SmackDown taping in a dark match against Mikey Richardson, where he was defeated.He received another tryout on January 9, 2001 at a WWF SmackDown taping in Oakland, California, this time defeating Aaron Aguilera. Cena wrestled again in a dark match at WWF SmackDown tapings on March 13. Through 2001, Cena would receive 4 more tryouts with the WWF as he wrestled multiple enhancement talent wrestlers in both WWF house shows and dark matches. Through the early months of 2002, Cena constantly found himself on the losing side of the matches he wrestled in. Yet again wrestling in house shows and dark matches, losing to the likes of Shelton Benjamin and Tommy Dreamer, he had his televised debut against Kurt Angle on August 26 of that same year.
Rise to superstardom (2004–2005)
In early 2004, Cena participated in the Royal rumble match at the 2004 Royal Rumble,making it to the final six before being eliminated by Big Show and the Match being won by Chris Benoit.The Royal Rumble elimination led to a feud with Big Show,which Cena won the United States Championship from Big Show at WrestleMania XX.The reign ended almost four months later, when he was stripped of the belt on July 8 by Angle after he accidentally knocked him over, thus attacking an official.Cena won the championship back defeating Booker T in a best of five series that culminated at No Mercy,only to lose it to the débuting Carlito Caribbean Cool the next week.After the loss to Carlito, 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 Cena was filming The Marine.Immediately on his return in November, Cena won the United States Championship back from Carlito.
Cena took part in the 2005 Royal Rumble match, making it to the final two. Cena and Batista went over the top rope at the same time, ostensibly ending the match. The match was restarted in which Batista eliminated Cena to win.The next month, Cena defeated Kurt Angle to earn a spot in the SmackDown brand's WrestleMania 21 main event match,beginning a feud with WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and his Cabinet in the process. In the early stages of the feud, Cena lost his US belt to Cabinet member Orlando Jordan,Cena defeated JBL at WrestleMania winning the WWE Championship, giving Cena his first world championship.Cena then had a spinner WWE Championship belt made,while JBL took the original belt and claimed to still be WWE Champion, until Cena reclaimed the original belt in an "I Quit" match at Judgment Day.
Cena was drafted to the Raw brand on June 6, 2005, becoming the first wrestler selected in the annual draft lottery.Cena immediately entered a feud with Eric Bischoff, after refusing to participate in the "war" against the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) roster at One Night Stand.With Bischoff vowing to make Cena's stint on Raw difficult, he hand picked Jericho to take Cena's championship from him.During their feud, even though Cena was portrayed as the fan favorite and Jericho as the villain, a vocal section of live crowds, nonetheless, were cheering Jericho during their matches.Crowds started to heavily boo Cena during his next feud with Kurt Angle,who took over as Bischoff's hand-picked number-one contender after Cena defeated Jericho in a You're Fired match on the August 22 Raw.Cena held on to his championship through his feud with Angle, losing to him by disqualification at Unforgiven and pinning him at Survivor Series.The feud with Angle also 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 Raw.
Cena at Tribute to the Troops in 2010
On the December 27 episode of Raw, The Nexus, minus Barrett, announced they were under new management and offered to bury the hatchet with Cena, to which he refused. The Nexus attacked Cena, leaving a Nexus armband in the ring during the process. As the group retreated, CM Punk, who had attacked Cena with a steel chair twice the week before, came to the ring to apparently attack Cena, but instead put on the armband left behind to symbolically announce his allegiance with The Nexus, becoming leader the following week by manipulating Barrett's banishment from the group.On the January 17 episode of Raw, Cena returned and faced Punk in a match, which ended in a no-contest after Cena was attacked by the debuting Mason Ryan, who later joined the Nexus. Cena competed in the 2011 Royal Rumble match at the pay-per-view, which saw Cena eliminate most of the Nexus, ending his feud with the stable.
Brock Lesnar faces off with Cena after his return in April 2012
The following night on Raw, Cena addressed The Rock, admitting defeat and accepting the loss at WrestleMania; Cena then called The Rock the greatest WWE wrestler ever and invited The Rock to the ring so that he could congratulate him. However, Cena's call was answered instead by the returning Brock Lesnar, who then attacked Cena with an F-5.This resulted in Cena feuding with the Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis, who revealed that he signed Lesnar to bring "legitimacy" to WWE and for Lesnar to become its "new face".On April 29 at Extreme Rules, Cena defeated Lesnar in an Extreme Rules match.The next night on Raw, Cena was confronted and then attacked by Laurinaitis, who declared himself Cena's opponent at Over the Limit.Cena lost to Laurinaitis after Big Show interfered. Laurinaitis added that Cena would face Show at No Way Out and, dependent on the winner, either Cena or Laurinaitis would be fired.Cena won the match, then hit the Attitude Adjustment on Laurinaitis through the announce table. Vince McMahon then fired Laurinaitis.
At Money in the Bank, Cena won his first Money in the Bank ladder match over Big Show, Chris Jericho, Kane and The Miz, earning a contract for a shot at the WWE Championship anytime within a year.At Raw 1000, Cena cashed in his contract on CM Punk, and won the match by disqualification after Big Show interfered, becoming the first person to cash in a Money in the Bank contract and not win a title.Show continued to attack Cena until The Rock arrived to make the save.The following week on Raw, a WWE Championship number one contenders match between Cena and Show ended in a no contest due to interference from Punk. Following this, both men were entered in the championship match at SummerSlam by Raw General Manager AJ Lee.At the event, Cena was unsuccessful as Punk would go on to retain the title once more.Over the next few weeks, Cena continued feuding with Punk by refusing to call him "best in the world" and fighting him to a draw at Night of Champions on September 16.On September 20, Cena was sidelined with a legitimate arm injury, rendering him inactive.Because of his injury, Cena was replaced by Ryback in a Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell.On the November 5 Raw, Cena and Ryback were announced as part of a Triple Threat match for Punk's WWE Championship at Survivor Series, while also starting a feud with Dolph Ziggler over an alleged relationship with AJ Lee.At the pay-per-view on November 19, Punk pinned Cena in the match to retain the championship.Cena continued to feud with Ziggler and on December 16, at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, lost to him in a ladder match for his World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank contract, after AJ turned on Cena.The following night on Raw, Cena teamed with Vickie Guerrero to face Ziggler and AJ in a mixed tag team match, however, the match ended in a disqualification after Cena was attacked by the débuting Big E Langston.Cena then defeated Ziggler on the January 7, 2013 episode of Raw in a singles match, and again in a steel cage match the following week, despite interference from AJ and Langston in both matches.
On January 27, Cena entered the Royal Rumble match at #19 and won after last eliminating Ryback, becoming the fourth wrestler (after Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin) to win multiple Rumble matches.The following night on Raw, Cena announced that he would pursue the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 29, after which, he would be assaulted by The Shield.The following week on Raw, Cena would gain vengeance on the Shield when he, along with Ryback and Sheamus, attacked the stable.This culminated in a six-man tag team match on February 17 at Elimination Chamber, where the Shield emerged victorious.On the February 25 Raw, Cena defeated CM Punk to reaffirm his status as number one contender for the Rock's WWE Championship.Cena then returned to his rivalry with The Rock, with Cena blaming his personal and professional troubles on his loss to the Rock the previous year, going so far as admitting his own vanity had cost him the match.On April 7 at WrestleMania 29, Cena defeated Rock in their rematch to win his eleventh WWE Championship.The following night on Raw, Cena began a rivalry with Ryback, after he saved Cena from a post-match assault from Mark Henry only to attack Cena himself.During his feud with Ryback, Cena suffered a legitimate achilles tendon injury,while also battling the Shield and facing them in losing efforts.On May 19 at Extreme Rules, Cena retained the WWE Championship against Ryback in a Last Man Standing Match after Ryback rammed Cena and himself into the electric backdrop at the top of the ramp, resulting in a no contest.On June 16 at Payback, Cena defeated Ryback in a 3 Stages of Hell match to retain the WWE Championship, with Cena losing the Lumberjack match and winning the Tables match and the Ambulance match.The following night on Raw, Cena was attacked by the returning Mark Henry, who feigned his "retirement", with World's Strongest Slam, sparking a rivalry between the two.On July 15 at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Cena defeated Henry via submission to retain the WWE Championship.The next night on Raw, new Raw general manager Brad Maddox announced that he would allow Cena to choose his own opponent for SummerSlam. Later in the night, after taking an informal poll of the live audience, he chose Daniel Bryan.On August 18 at the pay-per-view, Cena lost the WWE Championship to Bryan, with Triple H as the special guest referee, ending his reign at 133 days.The following night on Raw, Cena announced that he would undergo surgery for a triceps tear and would be out for four to six months.
Pro Wrestling Dot Net analyst Will Pruett in July 2015
After Elimination Chamber, Bray Wyatt accepted Cena's challenge for a WrestleMania match,Wyatt wanted to prove that Cena's heroic act was a facade characteristic of "this era of lies" while further wanting to turn Cena into a "monster".At WrestleMania XXX, Cena successfully resisted the urge to become a "monster" and overcame interference from Luke Harper and Erick Rowan to defeat Wyatt.The feud continued after WrestleMania based on the story that Wyatt was capturing Cena's fanbase, which was exemplified by Wyatt leading a children's choir to the ring on the April 28 episode of Raw, with the children later putting on sheep masks.At Extreme Rules, Wyatt defeated Cena in a Steel cage match, after repeated interference from the rest of the Wyatt Family and a demonic child.Cena's feud with Wyatt continued with a Last Man Standing match being set up for Payback. At the pay-per-view, Cena buried Wyatt under multiple equipment cases to win the match.
On the June 16 episode of Raw, Cena defeated Kane in a Stretcher match to qualify for the ladder match at Money in the Bank for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. At the pay-per-view, Cena won the title, which would be his 15th world championship.Cena then retained the title at Battleground in a four-way match against Roman Reigns, Randy Orton and Kane.At SummerSlam, Cena lost the championship to Brock Lesnar in a Squash match, during which Lesnar hit Cena with sixteen suplexes and two F-5s, ending his reign at only 49 days.Cena invoked his title rematch clause against Lesnar for Night of Champions, nearly winning before Seth Rollins attacked him to cause a disqualification.Cena then began feuding with Dean Ambrose for the right to face Rollins at Hell in a Cell, but Ambrose got that right after beating Cena in a No Holds Barred Contract on a Pole match. Cena would instead face Randy Orton in a Hell in a Cell match to determine the number one contender to face Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which Cena won.
On October 27 episode of Raw, Cena rejected the Authority's offer to join forces. This resulted in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination tag match between Team Cena and Team Authority at Survivor Series.Cena's team consisted of Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Erick Rowan and Ryback; At Survivor Series, Big Show turned on Cena, causing Cena's elimination, but Ziggler eventually won the match for Team Cena with the interfering Sting's help.
Thus as per the match stipulation, the Authority were stripped from power and only Cena could bring them back.At TLC: Tables, Ladders, Chairs and Stairs, Cena defeated Rollins in a Tables match to retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship #1 contender status. It was then announced that Cena would face Lesnar for the title at the Royal Rumble.On the December 29 episode of Raw, Rollins and Big Show held guest host Edge hostage, forcing Cena to reinstate the Authority.
United States Champion
On the January 5 episode of Raw, The Authority added Rollins to the title match at the Royal Rumble involving Cena and Lesnar and Ziggler, Ryback and Rowan were fired for joining Team Cena at Survivor Series.On the 19 January episode of Raw, Cena won a handicap match against Rollins, Big Show and Kane to retain his title shot at the Royal Rumble and win back the jobs of Ziggler, Ryback and Rowan. At the Royal Rumble, Cena was unsuccessful in capturing the title.
Following the Royal Rumble, Cena began feuding with the United States Champion Rusev. In the beginning of the feud, Cena was depicted as an "old veteran". At Fastlane, Rusev won after Cena passed out to Rusev's submission, the Accolade, after Rusev hit Cena with a low blow following a distraction from his manager Lana.In the following weeks, Cena challenged Rusev to a rematch, which was declined. Stephanie McMahon decreed that Cena would not compete at WrestleMania 31 unless Rusev agreed to a match.On the March 9 episode of Raw, Cena attacked Rusev, refusing to release the STF submission hold even though Rusev tapped out. This continued until Lana granted Cena a title rematch at WrestleMania against Rusev.At the event, Cena pinned Rusev to win the United States Championship for the fourth time, marking Rusev's first pinfall loss.
The following night on Raw, Cena announced that he would issue an open challenge each week on Raw with his United States Championship on the line; he successfully defend his title against the likes of Dean Ambrose, Stardust, Bad News Barrett, Kane, Sami Zayn, Neville, Zack Ryder and Cesaro. Cena retained the title against Rusev in a Russian Chain match at Extreme Rules and a "I Quit" match at Payback.The following night, Cena was attacked by NXT Champion Kevin Owens, setting up a Champion vs. Champion match between Cena and Owens at Elimination Chamber. Owens defeated Cena, but Cena defeated Owens in a rematch at Money in the Bank.Cena then defeated Owens at Battleground to retain the United States Championship and end the feud.
Cena then resumed his feud with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, with Rollins refusing Cena's challenges for the title. The Authority instead forced Cena to defend the United States Championship against Rollins. Cena defeated Rollins despite suffering a broken nose during the match.Cena then faced Rollins in a "Winner Takes All" match at SummerSlam, for both the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the United States Championship. Rollins defeated Cena after guest host Jon Stewart, appearing to side with Cena, instead attacked Cena with a steel chair, ending Cena's reign as United States Champion at 147 days.On the August 31 edition of Raw, Cena invoked his rematch clause to face Rollins for the United States Championship at Night of Champions, where he defeated Rollins to win the title for the fifth time, a record in the WWE ownership era of the title.Cena then retained the title against Rollins following night on Raw and then in a steel cage match at WWE Live from Madison Square Garden.At Hell in a Cell, Cena lost the title to the returning Alberto Del Rio in an open challenge.Following Hell in a Cell, Cena announced he was taking time off, and is expected to return in December.
0 comments:
Post a Comment