John Cena

John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler born in West Newbury, Massachusetts, on April 23, 1977. Before stepping into wrestling, he had a passion for bodybuilding and pursued a career in the sport. He signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 2001 and has been performing as a part-timer since 2019. Over a career spanning more than two decades, Cena became the face of the company after winning several WWE Championships (13). Along with the WWE Championship, he has also won various other titles such as the World Heavyweight Championship (thrice), the United States Championship (5 times), and the World Tag Team Championship, among others, during his in-ring career. Also known for his charity work, the 16-time world champion has granted 650 wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a Guinness World Record (as of February 2025). The renowned Major League Baseball (MLB) player Tony Lupien was his maternal grandfather.

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Early life

John Cena was born on April 23rd, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts. John Joseph Cena and Carol Cena (née Lupien) are the parents of John, while his siblings are Matt, Dan, Steve, and Sean. His mother is of English and French-Canadian lineage, while his father has an Italian heritage and worked at Chaotic Wrestling as an in-ring announcer. John Cena is the second oldest son of his parents.

Cena attended the Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts. After a few years, he moved to the Cushing Academy, in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. Following graduation, Cena attended Springfield College, Massachusetts, and became an NCAA Division III All-American center and skipper of their football team. He graduated college in 1999 with a degree in body movement and exercise physiology.

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After graduation, Cena pursued a career in bodybuilding while working as a limousine driver. He worked in the Gold's Gym store for $6 an hour. Cena started his wrestling training in 1999 at Ultimate University under Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), run by Rick Bassman.

In his initial years, John Cena portrayed the personality of a semi-robotic cyborg known as The Prototype. His journey in Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) was highlighted in the Discovery Channel program 'Inside Pro Wrestling School'. In UPW, Cena held the Heavyweight Championship for nearly a month.

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Professional wrestling career

In October 2000, Cena made his unofficial debut in a dark match on SmackDown, losing to Mikey Richardson. However, he went on to win his next dark match against Aaron Aguilera. In 2001, Cena signed a developmental contract and was placed at the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), the company's developmental territory. Still fighting under the moniker Prototype or Mr. P, he held the Heavyweight Championship at OVW for three months, along with the tag team championship for two months with Rico Constantino. He was called up to the main roster in June 2002 but continued to wrestle for OVW until September. Cena belongs to the famed 'OVW 4', which was promoted to the main roster in 2002. The other members of 'OVW 4' are Dave Bautista, Randy Orton, and Brock Lesnar.

The in-ring debut of Cena

Cena made his official debut in WWE after an open challenge by Kurt Angle on SmackDown. Cena declared he possessed “Ruthless Aggression,” as described by Vince McMahon. He narrowly lost the match through a basic roll-up pin. However, his efforts were lauded by senior wrestlers like Billy Kidman, Farooq, Rikishi, and The Undertaker. His real shot at fame came after feuding with Chris Jericho, whom he defeated in an upset at the Vengeance pay-per-view. Later, he then partnered up with Kidman for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship but lost to Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit in the first round. After the defeat, Cena attacked Kidman as he blamed him for the loss. This was his first and only time attacking a teammate in WWE.

In 2003, Cena ignited a feud with Brock Lesnar and started using one of his signature moves, FU, named to mock Lesnar's F-5. Along with Lesnar, he also faced several big names like The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, and Chris Benoit.

At Wrestlemania XX, Cena won his first singles championship against Big Show, where he attacked the giant with a chain to pick up the win and become the United States Champion. In 2005, Cena competed in the Royal Rumble Match, where Batista eliminated him to win the bout. At Wrestlemania 21, he wrestled John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) for the WWE Championship and won, kickstarting his first World Title reign.

Cena was drafted to RAW, where he defeated Randy Orton, Edge, Shawn Michaels, and Bobby Lashley to retain his title. He then suffered a pectoral muscle injury in October 2007 and was out of action for six months. Cena returned at the Royal Rumble 2008 and eliminated Triple H to earn a title shot at Wrestlemania. However, he lost the triple threat match against Orton and Triple H. In 2009, he faced Orton in several matches. Orton defeated Cena on most of the matchups with the help of his teammates, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase. However, Cena went on to win his first World Heavyweight Title in November 2008 at Survivor Series from Jericho but lost the title to Edge two months later at No Way Out in February 2009.

Cena, shifting his focus towards the WWE Championship, got involved in a title match against Triple H and Randy Orton at Night of Champions, where he lost. A defiant Cena won the championship at Bragging Rights in October 2009. He then defended the title against a debuting Sheamus in December, where he suffered a shock loss. At the Elimination Chamber in February 2010, Cena regained the title but lost to Batista later that night, setting up a match between the two at Wrestlemania 26. Cena defeated Batista at Wrestlemania and later lost the title at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. The following year, he had a feud with a faction named Nexus where he was attacked by the group formed by Wade Barrett. This led to a match with Barrett, which Cena lost. He vowed to get revenge on the faction. Cena's several attacks on the group members led to a match with Wade Barrett at TLC, where the latter lost, putting an end to the Nexus.

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Cena faced CM Punk in the Money in the Bank match in January 2011. He then locked horns with The Rock in WrestleMania XXVIII where the Great One defeated him. After WrestleMania, he came face to face with the returning Brock Lesnar. He clashed with Lesnar at Extreme Rules where Cena picked up the win. Cena renewed his feud with The Rock after winning the 2013 Royal Rumble. He faced The Rock in a rematch at Wrestlemania 29 and defeated the Brahma Bull.

At Summerslam 2013, Cena lost the WWE Championship to Daniel Bryan. He had a feud with the Bulgarian Brute Rusev for the United States Championship and defeated Rusev in multiple bouts, enjoying a successful reign for months. Cena frequently issued open challenges for his title on RAW. Later, he battled Seth Rollins and lost the title at Summerslam 2015. Cena began to wrestle as a part-timer in WWE and made sporadic appearances. Cena Challenged WWE Champion AJ Styles and dethroned him at the Royal Rumble 2017, becoming a record-tying 16-time WWE Champion. He also challenged The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 34, where he lost to the legend in a squash match.

In 2021, Cena returned to confront Roman Reigns at Money in the Bank, challenging Reigns to a match at Summerslam 2021. Cena and Reigns had a back-and-forth match only for the returning Hollywood star to suffer a defeat.

John Cena's first championship

In 2004, Cena lost out to Big Show in the Royal Rumble but defeated him on the next opportunity he got, at WrestleMania XX. The victory secured him his first United States Championship. He successfully defended the title for almost four months. But his title was stripped off him when Cena accidentally knocked over Kurt Angle (the General Manager of SmackDown! at the time) from his wheelchair. However, he then won it back from Booker T. at No Mercy, only to lose it again. This time he was defeated by debutant Carlito Caribbean Cool, and the duo started feuding. Allegedly, Cena was stabbed in the kidney by Carlito’s bodyguard. However, this kayfabe injury was used to allow Cena to take a break to shoot his debut film The Marine. On his return, he won the title back from Carlito and defeated his bodyguard in a street fight match.

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John Cena WWE champion

Despite winning the US Championship back from Carlito, Cena didn't keep it for long as he lost it to cabinet member Orlando Jordan, after WWE Champion JBL, interfered in the match, hitting Cena with his title belt. Cena instead developed a feud with the champion and eventually defeated him twice, at WrestleMania and an “I Quit” match. He eventually lost the title to Edge in the first pay-per-view of 2006, where Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, and took advantage of a worn-out bloodied Cena, who had just won the Elimination Chamber match.

Edge held on to the title by using means such as disqualification and brass knuckles, but was eventually defeated by Cena in January 2007. Cena was then involved in a Champion of the Champions match where three of the WWE brand's champions were to fight it out in a Triple Threat match. He lost after interference from non-wrestler Kevin Federline. In 2007, Cena successfully defended his title but suffered a legitimate torn pectoral muscle which required surgery. His rehabilitation period was estimated to be around seven months to a year. As a result, he was stripped of his title. In 2008, he suffered another injury in the neck, which also required surgery. The following year, Cena regained his title from JBL but lost it to the new superstar of RAW, Sheamus.

At the 2010 Royal Rumble, Cena went on to defeat some of the biggest stars in the WWE franchise, including Sheamus, Triple H, and Randy Orton to win back the title. He was immediately challenged by Batista upon winning the title, and a tired Cena lost. But Cena won it back from Batista at WrestleMania. He was then forced to join Nexus and win the Tag Team Championship with David Otunga. In 2013, Cena became one of the few wrestlers to have won multiple Royal Rumble events. He also won the World Heavyweight Championship from Del Rio but lost it to Randy Orton, who defeated him twice. In 2017, Cena had a feud with AJ Styles at Royal Rumble. He went on to defeat AJ Styles and became a WWE Champion for the 16th time, equalling the record of the WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair.

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John Cena's WWE return

From 2019, Cena has been termed as a free agent, working both for RAW and SmackDown. During this time, he also had personal and in-ring issues, including his breakup with Nikki Bella and his WrestleMania loss to The Undertaker. A returning Cena challenged Roman Reigns for the universal championship. However, he lost the bout at Summerslam.

The Cenation Leader returned to Monday Night RAW on 27th June 2022, to celebrate his 20th anniversary with the WWE Universe. After almost 6 months, John Cena announced digitally, on the 9th December episode of SmackDown, that he is going to return to WWE on the last SamckDown of the year, i.e. 30th December 2022. He teamed up with Kevin Owens to face Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn, which Owens and Cena won.

On RAW XXX, John Cena was announced as the cover athlete for WWE 2K23. Cena returned to WWE on the March 6th episode of RAW, where the US Champion Austin Theory challenged him to a match. Cena, who was initially reluctant, accepted the challenge, thus setting up a contest at WrestleMania Hollywood for the United States Championship. Theory won the match, marking Cena's third straight loss at The Grandest Stage of Them All.

John Cena returned in August and announced that he would serve as the host for WWE Payback 2023. At the event, he was the special guest referee in the LA Knight vs. The Miz matchup, which the former won. The next week, Cena flew to India where he teamed up with Seth Rollins to defeat The Imperium at Superstar Spectacle. He then shifted his focus to The Bloodline's Solo Siko and Jimmy Uso, whom he challenged to a tag team match at WWE Fastlane 2023, where Knight and Cena won. Following the event, John Cena confronted a returning Roman Reigns, acknowledging that Reigns' title run was perhaps one of the greatest achievements in WWE's history. However, he also introduced someone whom he believed could dethrone Roman Reigns. He introduced LA Knight as Reigns' opponent, while Solo Sikoa chose Cena as his next opponent. Solo Sikoa and John Cena faced each other at Crown Jewel 2023, where Sikoa won.

John Cena made a surprise appearance at WrestleMania XL and helped Cody Rhodes by taking out Sikoa and Roman with his finishing move. Later, The Rock appeared and hit Cena with Rock Bottom. The next night on RAW, Cena wrestled his first Raw match since 2019, as the partner of the Awesome-Truth to beat Finn Balor, JD McDonagh, and Dominik Mysterio.

John Cena's final appearances

At Money in the Bank 2024, John Cena made a surprise appearance to reveal his retirement from in-ring competition. He shared that WrestleMania 41 will be his last WrestleMania appearance. However, he revealed his intention to keep wrestling until the end of 2025. On the debut episode of Raw on Netflix, Cena announced his entry into the Royal Rumble and promised fans that he would emerge victorious. Cena was lastly eliminated by the eventual winner Jey Uso and finished second in the Rumble. He later announced his participation in the Elimination Chamber 2025.

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John Cena's championships and accomplishments

John Cena's physical attributes

John Cena's net worth 2025

According to Celebrity Net Worth, WWE Superstar and Hollywood actor John Cena is worth USD 80 million as of February 2025.

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John Cena's family

John Joseph Cena (father)

John Joseph Cena or John Cena Sr. was born in Massachusetts USA on June 16, 1944. He is of Italian descent and had worked in the pro wrestling industry before his son's entry. John Joseph worked as an announcer in Chaotic Wrestling and went by the name Johnny Fabulous. Further, Cena Sr. has made multiple appearances in WWE, especially during the heated feud between his son John Cena, and his arch nemesis Randy Orton.

Carol Cena (mother)

John Cena's mother, Carol Cena, was born in November 1947 and is of English and French-Canadian descent. In 2016, she appeared in a commercial for Hefty garbage bags with her son, John Cena (via People).

John Cena's siblings

John Cena has four siblings. He is one of the five sons of John Cena Sr. and Carol Cena. He has an elder brother named Stephen Cena and the other three brothers are younger than him. They are Dan, Matt, and Sean Cena.

John Cena's wife

John Cena married Shay Sharietzadeh on October 12, 2020, in Florida, United States. They hosted a wedding celebration in July 2022, according to People. Sharietzadeh was born in Iran and worked in Canada, for a company called Sonatype as a product manager as per People. According to John Cena's 2024 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Cena and Sharietzadeh met at a restaurant in Vancouver.

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Before marrying Sharietzadeh, Cena was married to Elizabeth Huberdeau. The two were married in 2009 and parted ways in 2012. Cena started dating fellow WWE Superstar Nikki Bella after his divorce. The two got engaged on national television when Cena proposed to Bella at WrestleMania 33. However, they ended their relationship in 2018.