5 current WWE Superstars and their unusual pre-match rituals

#1. WWE Legend John Cena

John Cena is arguably the greatest Superstar in WWE history. While the WWE Universe might know all of Cena's in-ring moves, many probably have no idea what he does before walking down to the ring.

And with the scribble of a pen, #UniversalChampion @WWERomanReigns' #SummerSlam fate was sealed. @JohnCena @HeymanHustle 📺: #SmackDown, TONIGHT at 8/7c on @FOXTV pic.twitter.com/CDBEbIximT
— WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2021

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The 44-year-old WWE Superstar had an unusual pre-match ritual that he kept practicing for many years. However, he forced himself to stop it later.

"My thing was always Tic Tacs. It's a nervous superstition that I always have before we go on a broadcast. I've had to wean myself off of them. I would eat up to like three boxes a day and it's right in the 20 minutes before broadcast. It's pretty much 10,000 calories and straight sugar," Cena revealed on The Kelly Clarkson Show two years ago.

Cena explained that he developed that ritual because he was worried about the smell of his breath in the ring.

"You're in a small confined space. The ring is 20 by 20 feet and you're with a group of guys. So, you always want to try to smell your best," Cena said.

The 16-time World Champion recently returned to WWE to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. The Leader of the Cenation will go one-on-one with The Tribal Chief at SummerSlam.

Waiting Sunmerslam @JohnCena VS @WWERomanReigns @WWE 👊#50YearsOfMammoottysm💓 pic.twitter.com/Ccc17QEXHM
— Aʙʜɪɴ ɴᴀᴛʜ Vs (@vs_abhinnath) August 7, 2021

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Cena's last televised match came at WrestleMania 36 when he lost against The Fiend Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Fun House match.

About the author

Ahmed Hamdy is an Egyptian journalist with a decade of experience in sports journalism, specializing in pro wrestling and football.

Hamdy kicked off his career as a sports reporter for Al-Ahram Weekly. He then became a producer/reporter for Mal Masr TV program on the Egyptian channel ON TV. In the following years, Hamdy worked as a reporter for several international news outlets, including Deutsche Welle (Germany), As-Safir (Lebanon), and Al-Monitor (U.S.A).

In 2014, Hamdy joined leading Egyptian newspaper Al Masry Al Youm, where he is now a Senior Sports Editor. In addition to all that, the Egyptian also worked as a sports editor for Sport360 and feature writer for Manshoor.com.

Hamdy has covered several sports events throughout the past few years, including WWE's tour in Egypt and the 2019 African Cup of Nations.

The experienced journalist joined Sportskeeda's pro wrestling feature writers team in early 2021. Since then, his work has managed to get millions of reads.

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Edited by Vedant Jain