The Legacy of John Cena: A Journey Through His Eras
John Cena’s entrance theme announces that “my time is now.” However, that time is coming to an end. Cena, at 48 years old, announced last summer that 2025 would mark the end of his career as an active WWE wrestler. Each match brings him closer to hanging up the jorts, including his participation in WWE’s first Wrestlepalooza in Indianapolis on September 20th.
For those joining the farewell tour and for those wishing to relive a remarkable career, both in and out of the ring, we present the John Cena Eras Tour.
The Protagonist
In 2001, WWE hired John Cena, a former All-American American football player from NCAA Division III, aspiring bodybuilder, and son of an independent wrestling manager. Without the jorts, without chains, without the famous “you can’t see me”. Cena was “The Prototype”, proclaiming to be “50% man and 50% machine” during his intentionally robotic promos. Over time, Cena won the OVW championship in February 2002, which earned him his promotion to the main WWE roster, where he abandoned his look and became… ruthless.
Ruthless Aggression
In a June 2002 edition of “SmackDown”, Kurt Angle came to the ring while the fans chanted “you suck”. Former WWE owner Vince McMahon had started an “Ruthless Aggression” era, encouraging wrestlers to conquer all opponents. Angle issued an open challenge to the locker room, but only to an opponent he had not wrestled before.
“I am John Cena.”
John Cena
Cena, with his gaze fixed on Angle, responded with aggression. Cena hit Angle and launched himself at him. The crowd supported Cena in his impromptu match with Angle. A star had been born.
The Doctor of Thuganomics
Cena became a white rapper from Boston, who fans immediately mocked with signs referencing Vanilla Ice. He wore oversized sports jerseys, baggy jorts, and a chain with a padlock. His catchphrase was “Word Life” and his entrance theme was “Basic Thuganomics”, which Cena wrote and performed.Cena became an antagonist for fan favorites, from Rikishi to Brock Lesnar, with whom Cena would wrestle in his first WWE championship match. At Survivor Series 2003, Cena had the crowd in his hand as he criticized Lesnar and his team, with fans waving signs with a new Cena catchphrase: “You can’t see me”. A few months later, Cena would tie a WWE championship belt around his jorts for the first time.
The Reign of the “Spinning Belt”
Cena began his acting career, and became the third best wrestler turned actor, behind Dave Bautista and Dwayne Johnson. Cena defeated The Big Show to open WrestleMania XX at Madison Square Garden in 2004, his first major title in WWE. He would win the United States title two more times before WrestleMania 21 in Los Angeles in 2005, when Cena wrestled for the SmackDown championship against John Bradshaw Layfield.
Cena used his finishing move, the “F-U”, to become world champion for the first time. Then, he customized the belt to his own aesthetic: creating a “spinner” on the front plate, like the rims of a tricked-out Chevy Impala. It became an essential part of Cena’s iconography.
Face of the PG Era
Cena had the magnetism of The Rock and the antagonism of Steve Austin. On July 22, 2008, WWE programming shifted from its TV-14 attitude to the TV-PG rating, family-friendly and sponsor-friendly. Cena was positioned as the “babyface” leading the place. Two decades after Hulk Hogan propelled the then WWF by telling fans to take their vitamins and say their prayers, Cena was the superhero of the “PG Era”, preaching “Hustle, Loyalty and Respect”.
The reaction of cynical fans finally arrived. They mocked Cena’s in-ring ability, calling his skillset “The Five Moves of Doom.” This led to a routine chant that resonates in today’s arenas: Cena fans chanting “Let’s Go Cena!” and those who hate him responding with “Cena sucks!”
The Nexus
In 2010, WWE created a new program called “NXT”. On June 7, 2010, Barrett entered the ring while Cena was fighting CM Punk. Suddenly, six NXT runners-up burst through the barricades around the ring and attacked everyone in sight. The arrival of Nexus in WWE was the coolest debut of a group since the heyday of New World Order. They attacked Cena with attacks, putting the WWE “babyface” in serious danger, at least for a few months.
The Nexus angle helped fuel growing criticisms that Cena would “bury” opponents and torpedo careers to stay strong. Punk would face Cena for several years, including some championship matches. But not at WrestleMania. That was reserved for facing The Great One head-to-head.
Twice in a Lifetime vs. The Rock
The Rock returned to WWE in 2011 and was announced as the host of WrestleMania XXVII. Cena and The Rock began to verbally argue remotely, and when they met in the ring on an episode of “Monday Night Raw” in March, Cena hit The Rock with an Attitude Adjustment. Cena chose to fight The Rock, blaming the loss to The Rock at WrestleMania in Miami for his own career spiral.
His match at WrestleMania XXVIII in Miami in April 2012 was billed as “Once in a Lifetime”. Cena was winning this match before losing in a rather poetic way. After a career of mocking his opponents, an exasperated Cena tried to finish The Rock with a satirical “People’s Elbow” before the Brahma Bull rose from the mat, delivered a Rock Bottom and pinned Cena. The following year was certified funk for Cena. His fortunes changed when he won the 2013 Royal Rumble, which gave him the right to challenge for a WWE title at WrestleMania. Cena got his revenge, and the WWE title for the thirteenth time.
Cena lost the world title at SummerSlam in 2013 to Daniel Bryan and in 2014 to Brock Lesnar. Cena began issuing “John Cena’s United States Open Challenge”, inviting all opponents to challenge for the title. This led to fun weekly theater as fans anticipated which entrance themes would play. This era was notable for one of Cena’s United States title losses at SummerSlam in 2015.
Matching the Record
Cena defeated AJ Styles in 2017 to tie Ric Flair’s record for the most world championships. The crowd loudly celebrated the achievement, which Cena sold by embracing referee Charles Robinson. Cena soaked up the adulation and then entered the crowd, where he located a young fan wearing a Make-A-Wish Foundation t-shirt. Cena covered the fan with the belt and posed with him. In 2022, he entered the Guinness Book of World Records for granting the most wishes in the organization’s history, with 650 and counting. After tying Flair’s record, the next seven years saw Cena transition from a wrestling superstar to a capital “S” Superstar.
In 2020, he faced Bray Wyatt’s “The Fiend” character in a “Firefly Fun House” match, a psychedelic cinematic battle that spanned several eras of WWE history and served as a deconstruction of Cena’s character. After helping Cody Rhodes in his WrestleMania XL main event against Roman Reigns last April, Cena made a surprise appearance at Money in the Bank in July. He had an announcement to make: at the end of 2025, he would retire from being an in-ring wrestler.
Cena declared that he would compete in the 2025 Royal Rumble to win a title opportunity. Cena won the match when Rollins, previously eliminated by Punk, returned to interfere with a stomp. Cena would face Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
The Heel Turn
At the end of Elimination Chamber, Rhodes went to the ring to meet face to face with his WrestleMania challenger and to address whether he would give his eternal soul to The Rock. Rhodes told The Rock to do something that certainly illustrated that WWE is no longer in the “PG Era”. Cena hit Rhodes with a low blow and then led an attack against the champion with The Rock and Travis Scott.
Cena cut promos on the fans, using those decades of divided crowd reactions to accuse them of taking it for granted. Cena defeated Rhodes and broke Flair’s record with his 17th world championship.
The Face Turn
Cena defended his title against Randy Orton and Punk before being confronted by Rhodes for a rematch at SummerSlam. Cena declared that was the night “John Cena returned to WWE.” Rhodes pinned Cena for the title at SummerSlam after a match that earned praise. Cena handed him the belt and embraced him, this time without any nefarious deception. Cena will retire with the only personality that really matters: as John Cena.
