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Producer · Actor

1977-04-23 · West Newbury, Massachusetts, USA · Male

72 series in the catalog

John Felix Anthony Cena ( SEE-nə; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor, former professional wrestler, and former rapper. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Cena wrestled for WWE for 24 years, becoming a record-setting 17-time world champion, before transitioning fully into his acting career.

Cena began professional wrestling in 1999 and signed with the World Wrestling Federation in 2001 (renamed WWE in 2002), where he began in its then-developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). After debuting on the main roster on WWE SmackDown! in 2002, he rose to prominence as a brash heel rapper, before becoming the company's franchise player from the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s. He wrestled on a part-time schedule from 2017 until his retirement in 2025. His run as a face from 2003 to 2025 was the longest continuous portrayal of a heroic character in WWE history.

Cena held numerous championships and accomplishments in WWE, including the WWE Championship a record 14 times and the World Heavyweight Championship three times. He is the 35th Triple Crown and 25th Grand Slam champion, won the Royal Rumble match twice, the Elimination Chamber match four times, the Money in the Bank match once, and headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming events. Cena's full-time career received mixed critical and audience reception, with praise for his character work and promotional skills but criticism for his perceived over-representation and on-screen dominance relative to other wrestlers. In contrast, his later career was more positively received.

Cena began acting in 2006 and has done both comedy and action films, receiving praise for his roles in Trainwreck (2015), Blockers (2018), and The Suicide Squad (2021). He has also starred in films such as The Marine (2006), Bumblebee (2018), and F9 (2021), as well as portraying the title character in the superhero series Peacemaker (2022–2025). In music, he released the rap album You Can't See Me in 2005, which peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200. Cena is also known for his charity work, granting more than 650 wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the most in the organization's history.

Early life

John Felix Anthony Cena was born in West Newbury, Massachusetts, on April 23, 1977, to Carol and John Joseph Cena. He has four brothers named Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean. Cena's maternal grandfather was baseball player Tony Lupien, a son of businessman Ulysses J. Lupien, and he is cousins with computer scientist Natalie Enright Jerger. Cena was educated at Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts, before moving to Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. He then attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was an NCAA Division III All-American center and football team captain. After graduating in 1999 with a degree in exercise physiology and kinesiology, he pursued a bodybuilding career and worked as a limousine driver. He also worked at Gold's Gym.

Professional wrestling career

Ultimate Pro Wrestling (1999–2001)

In 1998, Cena moved to California to train for professional wrestling at Ultimate Pro Wrestling's (UPW) Ultimate University, operated by Rick Bassman. He adopted a semi-robotic persona called "the Prototype", wrestling at local events and holding the UPW Heavyweight Championship in 2000. His early career was partially featured in the Discovery Channel documentary Inside Pro Wrestling School. Cena remained with UPW until March 2001.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE (2000–present)

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2000–2002)

On October 10, 2000, Cena made his unofficial World Wrestling Federation (WWF) debut in a dark match on WWE SmackDown! as the Prototype. He signed a developmental contract in 2001 and was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), WWF's developmental territory, where he held the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship with Rico Constantino. While competing in OVW, Cena also wrestled in WWF dark matches and house shows before being called up to the main roster in June 2002. He continued to appear in OVW until September and made a final appearance there in November under the name Mr. P.

Doctor of Thuganomics (2002–2004)

Cena made his official WWE television debut on June 27, 2002, answering Kurt Angle's open challenge on SmackDown! and declaring he possessed "ruthless aggression". Even though he lost the match against Angle, Cena was praised for his efforts in the match. Cena soon feuded with Chris Jericho, defeating Jericho at Vengeance on July 21. On the October 24 episode of SmackDown!, Cena attacked Billy Kidman after losing to him, turning heel for the first time in his WWE career. After the heel turn, Cena adopted a rapper persona inspired by a backstage freestyle overheard by Stephanie McMahon and Paul Heyman. Debuting the "Doctor of Thuganomics" character, Cena began performing freestyle raps in promos and wore jerseys and hats as part of his gimmick, along with the slogan "Word Life". Cena was briefly paired with enforcer B-2 and then Red Dogg until Red Dogg was sent to the Raw brand in February. At the Royal Rumble on January 19, 2003, Cena made his first appearance in the Royal Rumble match but was eliminated by the Undertaker. Cena then entered a number-one contender tournament for the WWE Championship, defeating Eddie Guerrero, the Undertaker, and Chris Benoit before losing to champion Brock Lesnar at Backlash on April 27. Cena continued high-profile feuds with the Undertaker, losing to him at Vengeance on July 27, and Angle, losing to him at No Mercy on October 19. He eventually turned face on the November 6 episode of SmackDown!, joining Angle's team at Survivor Series on November 16, where Team Angle defeated Team Lesnar (Brock Lesnar, A-Train, Big Show, Matt Morgan, and Nathan Jones).

At the Royal Rumble on January 25, 2004, Cena participated in the Royal Rumble match and was eliminated by Big Show, and then lost a Triple Threat match to determine the number one contender to the WWE Championship to Angle (also involving Big Show) No Way Out on February 15. At WrestleMania XX on March 14, Cena defeated Big Show to win the United States Championship, his first singles title in WWE. Cena retained the title at Judgment Day on May 16 against René Duprée, and then at The Great American Bash on June 27 against Booker T, Réne Duprée, and Rob Van Dam, before being stripped of it on the July 8 of SmackDown! after accidentally knocking over Angle, who had become General Manager, during his title defense against Booker T. Cena regained the title by defeating Booker T in a best of five series that began at SummerSlam on August 15, and concluded at No Mercy on October 3, but Cena lost the United States Championship days later to Carlito Caribbean Cool on the October 7 episode of SmackDown!. Their storyline escalated when Cena was (kayfabe) stabbed in a nightclub by Carlito's bodyguard Jesús, an angle used to explain his absence while filming The Marine. Cena returned at Survivor Series to team with Eddie Guerrero, Big Show, and Rob Van Dam to defeat Angle, Luther Reigns, Mark Jindrak, and Carlito in a Survivor Series match on November 14, and regained the title on the November 18 episode of SmackDown!, then defeated Jesús in a street fight at Armageddon on December 12.

WWE Champion (2005–2007)

At the Royal Rumble on January 30, 2005, Cena and Batista were the final two participants and were eliminated simultaneously by one another. After a restart, Batista won. Cena defeated Kurt Angle at No Way Out on February 20 in the finals of a tournament to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21 on April 3, beginning a feud with champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL). Although Cena lost his United States Championship to Orlando Jordan on the March 3 episode of SmackDown!, Cena defeated JBL at WrestleMania to win his first WWE Championship. Cena…