Rare footage of 5 WWE Superstars before they became famous

#2 John Cena

Today, John Cena is quite a big name in Hollywood and is one of the most recognizable wrestlers in history. He made his way to WWE's main roster in 2002. A generic good guy gimmick was ditched later to be replaced by that of a rapper.

Cena suddenly became a popular name on SmackDown. He won his first WWE title at WrestleMania 21 by defeating JBL. It's been 15 years since his first title victory, and he currently has 16 title reigns, tied with the legendary Ric Flair.

Cena, before his WWE stint:

In the above video, Cena can be seen sitting alongside a bunch of other young prospects. He calmly answers a bunch of questions and makes it clear that although he doesn't have any wrestling experience, he is a big fan of the business.

The footage also shows Cena going through some rigorous training. He was soon signed to a contract by WWE, and worked hard for a while in Ohio Valley Wrestling, along with future megastars like Batista, Randy Orton, and Brock Lesnar.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Zaid Khan