John Felix Anthony Cena, born April 23, 1977, is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper who is currently signed to WWE.
With the most world championship reigns in WWE history, Cena is regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
Early life and Education
Cena was born on April 23, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts, to Carol and John Joseph Cena.
His mother is of English and French-Canadian descent, and his father, a former Chaotic Wrestling ring announcer, is of Italian lineage.
He is the grandson of baseball player Tony Lupien.
He is the second oldest of five brothers: Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean. Growing up, he was a lover of wrestling and would make championship belts out of cardboard for himself and his brothers.
He is Natalie Enright Jerger’s cousin and was raised Roman Catholic.
Cena was teased and beaten at school and asked for a weightlifting bench when he was 12 years old.
Cena attended Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts, before transferring to Cushing Academy, a private preparatory boarding school in Ashburnham, Massachusetts.
He then attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was an NCAA Division III All-American center and captain of their college football team, wearing the number 54.
He graduated from Springfield College in 1999 with a degree in exercise physiology and body movement, after which he pursued a bodybuilding career and worked as a limousine driver.
Cena earned $6 per hour working in the Gold’s Gym store.
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Career
Cena began wrestling training at Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he also created the character The Prototype.
Cena made his WWE debut on June 27, 2002, in a match against Kurt Angle, which he lost.
John Cena’s star prominence began to grow in 2004. Cena defeated Big Show to win United States Championship.
Not long after, Cena lost the belt, but he quickly regained it.
Cena later lost the title to Carlito, a fellow WWE superstar.
During that time, Cena got stabbed in the kidney by one of Carlito’s bodyguards. As a result, he was out of action for a month.
Kurt Angle, John “Bradshaw” Layfield, and veteran industry personality Paul Heyman have all named Cena the greatest professional wrestler of all time.
Cena’s debut film, The Marine, was produced by WWE Studios, a division of WWE that develops and finances motion movies.
Cena has won the WWE World Heavyweight title nine times, the WWE tag team title twice, the World Heavyweight title three times, and the tag team title twice.
Cena is a rapper in addition to being a wrestler.
He performed “Basic Thuganomics,” his fifth WWE theme song, which was included on the WWE soundtrack album WWE Originals.
He also recorded “Untouchables” for the WWE soundtrack album ThemeAddict: The Music, Vol. 6.
You Can’t See Me, Cena’s debut album, was recorded alongside his cousin Tha Trademarc.
The film grossed $18.7 million in ten weeks in theaters. When the film was released on DVD, it performed much better, grossing $30 million in the first twelve weeks.
Personal Life
Cena currently resides in Land o’ Lakes, Florida.
He has stated several times that he does not want children since he does not want to be an absentee parent while focusing on his career.
Cena announced his engagement to Elizabeth Huberdeau while promoting his 2009 film 12 Rounds. On July 11, 2009, they married.
Cena filed for divorce on May 1, 2012. He began dating fellow wrestler Nikki Bella later that year.
They were engaged on April 2, 2017, after Cena proposed to her during WrestleMania 33, however, their relationship ended in April 2018.
Cena married his girlfriend Shay Shariatzadeh, whom he had been dating since early 2019, in a private wedding on October 12, 2020, in Tampa, Florida.
The two met while filming Cena’s 2019 film Playing with Fire in Vancouver, where Shariatzadeh works.
