{"id":33119,"date":"2025-09-10T05:34:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T09:34:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/sin-categoria\/john-cena-from-ruthless-aggression-to-17-time-wwe-champion-his-legacy\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T05:34:05","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T09:34:05","slug":"john-cena-from-ruthless-aggression-to-17-time-wwe-champion-his-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wwe\/john-cena-from-ruthless-aggression-to-17-time-wwe-champion-his-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"John Cena: From &#8220;Ruthless Aggression&#8221; to 17-Time WWE Champion, His Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>The End of an Era: John Cena Retires<\/h2>\nWrestling legend John Cena has announced his definitive retirement for 2025. Each match is a step closer to the end of an iconic career that has marked several generations of fans.\nThis announcement marks the end of a career that began more than two decades ago, with Cena ready to hang up his boots on December 13. Fans will have the opportunity to witness the last chapters of this legend at events such as WWE&#8217;s <strong>Wrestlepalooza<\/strong> in Indianapolis on September 20.\nLet&#8217;s review the different facets that have defined his career.\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Protagonist: Cena&#8217;s Beginnings<\/h2>\n\nIn 2001, WWE signed John Cena, a former college American football player and aspiring bodybuilder. In his early days, Cena was introduced as &#8220;The Prototype&#8221;.\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a1.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0908%2Fespn_cena_1296x729.jpg\" alt=\"John Cena&#039;s 23-year WWE career will come to a close at the end of 2025.\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\nWith a different look than the one that made him famous, Cena sported a shaved haircut and prominent biceps. &#8220;The Prototype&#8221; won the OVW championship in February 2002, which earned him his promotion to the main roster of the WWE.\n<h2>Ruthless Aggression: The WWE Debut<\/h2>\nIn June 2002, on an episode of &#8220;SmackDown&#8221;, Cena made his WWE debut. Kurt Angle, at that moment, issued an open challenge. Cena, confidently, responded.\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0908%2Fr1542723_2499x1811cc.jpg\" alt=\"John Cena confronted Kurt Angle in his WWE debut in 2002.\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\nCena&#8217;s response, with relentless aggression, marked the beginning of a new star.\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Doctor of Thuganomics: Rap and Change<\/h2>\n\nAfter a while, Cena adopted a new persona: a white rapper from Boston. With phrases like &#8220;Word Life&#8221; and his entrance theme &#8220;Basic Thuganomics&#8221;, Cena became an antagonist character.\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a4.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0908%2Fr1542724_2_1578x2500cc.jpg\" alt=\"During John Cena&#039;s first heel turn in 2003, he portrayed a Boston-born rapper.\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\nDespite being a villain, his charisma won him the support of the public. At Survivor Series 2003, Cena already had the crowd on his side, marking the beginning of his rise.\n<h2>The Reign of the &#8220;Spinner Belt&#8221; and the PG Era<\/h2>\nAt WrestleMania XX in 2004, Cena won his first major title in WWE. The customization of the belt, with a &#8220;spinner&#8221; design, became a symbol of his success.\nThe transition to WWE&#8217;s &#8220;PG&#8221; era in 2008 transformed Cena&#8217;s image into a hero for children. Although this generated criticism, Cena remained the face of the company, preaching &#8220;Hustle, Loyalty and Respect&#8221;.\n<h2>Nexus and the Confrontation with The Rock<\/h2>\nIn 2010, the arrival of Nexus marked a disruptive moment. Cena became the group&#8217;s main target.\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a4.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0908%2Fr1542726_2499x1664cc.jpg\" alt=\"John Cena played a key role in the WWE&#039;s Nexus angle in 2010.\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\nIn 2011, The Rock returned to the WWE, and began a rivalry with Cena that culminated at WrestleMania XXVIII, with the match promoted as &#8220;Once in a Lifetime&#8221;.\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0908%2Fr1542727_2500x1675cc.jpg\" alt=\"John Cena and The Rock headlined back-to-back WrestleManias in 2012 and 2013.\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\nAt WrestleMania 29, Cena won the rematch and the WWE title.\n<h2>The United States Open Challenge and Flair&#8217;s Record<\/h2>\nCena initiated the &#8220;John Cena U.S. Open Challenge&#8221;, offering exciting weekly matches. In 2017, Cena tied Ric Flair&#8217;s record of 16 world championships.\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a3.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0908%2Fr1542728_2500x1663cc.jpg\" alt=\"John Cena defeated AJ Styles in 2017 to tie Ric Flair&#039;s record for most world championships.\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\nThis achievement solidified his status as a wrestling legend.\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From Hollywood to the Comeback: The Farewell Tour<\/h2>\n\nAfter tying Flair&#8217;s record, Cena focused on his acting career, participating in movies and series. In 2020, he starred in a cinematic match against &#8220;The Fiend&#8221; Bray Wyatt.\nIn July 2024, Cena announced his retirement for the end of 2025.\n<h2>The Heel Turn, the Reunion with Rhodes, and the Farewell<\/h2>\nIn Elimination Chamber, Cena made a surprising <em>heel<\/em> turn, allying with The Rock and Travis Scott.\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0908%2Fr1542730_2_2500x1937cc.jpg\" alt=\"John Cena turned heel at Elimination Chamber and eventually won the WWE championship for a 17th time.\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\nThis change was brief, and at SummerSlam, Cena faced Cody Rhodes, who defeated him. Cena, regretful, apologized to the fans, marking his return as &#8220;John Cena&#8221; and ending his brief stint as a villain.\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a1.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0908%2Fr1542729_2500x1764cc.jpg\" alt=\"John Cena&#039;s brief heel turn ended before his rematch against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam.\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\nWith the retirement tour underway, Cena prepares for his final matches, leaving an indelible legacy in the history of wrestling.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The End of an Era: John Cena Retires Wrestling legend John Cena has announced his definitive retirement for 2025. Each match is a step closer to the end of an iconic career that has marked several generations of fans. This announcement marks the end of a career that began more than two decades ago, with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[192,168,7578,191],"class_list":{"0":"post-33119","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wwe","8":"tag-john-cena","9":"tag-retirement","10":"tag-wrestlepalooza","11":"tag-wwe"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}