The Legacy of John Cena: A Journey Through His Eras in WWE
John Cena’s entrance theme announces that “my time is now,” but 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 wrestler in WWE. Each match brings him closer to hanging up the “jorts” on December 13, including his participation in WWE’s first Wrestlepalooza in Indianapolis on September 20.
For those joining the farewell tour now, and for those who want to relive an extraordinary career inside and outside the ring, we present a tour of the different stages of John Cena.
The Prototype
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. There were no “jorts”, no chains, and no famous “you can’t see me”. Instead, he sported a platinum blonde buzz cut and big biceps. Cena was introduced as “The Prototype”, proclaiming to be “50% man and 50% machine” in his intentionally robotic promos. At best, he looked like a video game character from a “Street Fighter” clone; at worst, he resembled Ludvig Borga.
The Prototype won the OVW championship in February 2002 and was called up to the WWE main roster, where he fortunately dropped the dye and became… ruthless.
Ruthless Aggression
In a June 2002 edition of “SmackDown”, Kurt Angle headed to the ring while the fans chanted “you suck” during his entrance theme, years before they did the same with Cena’s theme. Vince McMahon had inaugurated the “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.
Wearing matching red and black pants and boots, he entered the ring, radiating confidence. Angle asked: “Who the hell are you?” Cena replied: “I am John Cena.”Angle responded: “John Cena, eh? Tell me: What quality do you possess that makes you think you can come out here and face the best in the business?”. Cena responded with a guttural voice, similar to McMahon’s: “Ruthless aggression!”. Then, Cena hit Angle and attacked him. The audience supported Cena in his impromptu match, although Angle achieved a pinfall victory. But the result didn’t matter. A star had been born.
The Doctor of Thuganomics
In the following months, Cena wrestled in singles and tag team matches, but did not fulfill the promise of his “Ruthless Aggression” moment. In fact, Cena revealed in a 2020 episode of the WWE Network series, “WWE Ruthless Aggression,” that he believed WWE was going to fire him at the end of 2002. During a European tour, Cena, with a hidden talent for rhyming, joined a group of wrestlers who improvised rap on the bus. Stephanie McMahon, then on the creative team, asked Cena to add freestyle to his character. Thus, the following iteration of Cena emerged: a white rapper born in Boston, who wore oversized sports jerseys, loose “jorts,” and a chain with a padlock.His catchphrase? “Word Life”. His entrance theme? “Basic Thuganomics”, written and performed by Cena. Perhaps even more shocking: Cena was a heel! He became a loathsome antagonist to fan favorites, from Rikishi to Brock Lesnar, whom Cena would face in his first WWE championship match. However, the fans began to support him. At Survivor Series 2003, Cena had the audience in the palm of his hand.
A few months later, Cena clinched the WWE championship belt for the first time.
The Reign of the “Spinning Belt” (First World Title)
Cena opened WrestleMania XX at Madison Square Garden in 2004, winning his first major title in WWE. He won the United States title twice more before WrestleMania 21 in Los Angeles in 2005, where he fought for the SmackDown championship against John Bradshaw Layfield. Cena used his finishing move, then called “F-U”, to become world champion for the first time.
The next step: making that title spin. When Cena won the United States title for the third time, he customized the belt, creating a “spinner” on the front plate. Traditionalists were horrified. But that didn’t stop Cena from transforming his world title into a spinner. It became an essential part of Cena’s iconography and a best-selling replica of the belt for fans.
Face of the PG Era
Cena was very popular at this point. He had the magnetism of The Rock and the antagonism of Steve Austin. This brings us to July 22, 2008. It was then that WWE programming went from its TV-14 attitude to the TV-PG rating, suitable for families. Cena was positioned as the “babyface” who ran the place. His edges were polished to make him a clown suitable for children. Cena preached “Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect”.
The cynical fans’ negative reaction eventually came. They mocked Cena’s in-ring ability, calling his skills “The Five Moves of Doom.” This spawned the “Cena Wins LOL” meme. But their hate wasn’t universal. Cena had very vocal supporters, many of them younger fans. This led to a chant that still resonates in 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, Wade Barrett entered through the ramp while Cena was fighting CM Punk. Suddenly, six NXT runners-up stormed the ring and attacked everyone in sight. Nexus’s arrival in WWE was the coolest debut of a faction since the heyday of the New World Order. They were disruptors targeting the establishment, and that establishment was John Cena. They attacked him, seriously endangering the WWE “babyface”.
The most memorable thing about this era for Cena was how memorable it could have been. Cena won, stifling any momentum for the Nexus invasion angle. Whether Cena was the driving force behind that booking, the Nexus angle helped fuel a growing criticism that Cena would “bury” his opponents.
Twice in a Lifetime vs. The Rock
The Rock returned to WWE in 2011 after a seven-year absence and was announced as the host of WrestleMania XXVII. Cena and The Rock began to verbally argue. At WrestleMania, Cena fought The Miz for the WWE Championship. The match ended in a double count-out. The next night on “Raw”, Cena challenged The Rock to a match. He accepted and said it would take place a year later at WrestleMania XXVIII. Cena lost. The following year, Cena won the 2013 Royal Rumble, which gave him the right to challenge for the WWE title at WrestleMania. Cena won and obtained the WWE title for the thirteenth time.
John Cena’s U.S. Open Challenge
Cena lost the world title at SummerSlam in 2013 to Daniel Bryan and in 2014 to Brock Lesnar. Cena began issuing “John Cena’s U.S. Open Challenge”, inviting all opponents to fight for the title. This led to a fun weekly spectacle. This era was notable for one of Cena’s losses for the U.S. title at SummerSlam in 2015. He faced the WWE world champion, Rollins.
Tying the Record
Cena’s opportunity to break that record has not only defined his recent years in wrestling, but has also helped him win over the fans. Cena faced SmackDown World Champion AJ Styles in San Antonio. He won and tied Flair’s record. Cena celebrated and then went to the crowd, where he found a young fan wearing a Make-A-Wish Foundation shirt. Cena placed the belt around the fan’s shoulder and posed with him. In 2022, he entered the Guinness Book of Records for granting the most wishes in the organization’s history.
Dinner Goes to Hollywood
After tying Flair’s record, the following seven years saw Cena go from a wrestling superstar to a capital “S” superstar. His acting career took off. In 2021, Cena joined Dominic Toretto’s universe in the ninth film of the “Fast & Furious” franchise and put on a metal helmet to play the DC Comics antihero, Peacemaker. Peacemaker was a role that Cena took 15 years to achieve. Wrestlers were always underestimated actors, but Cena revealed layers that had never been glimpsed before. Cena faced the late Bray Wyatt’s “The Fiend” character in a “Firefly Fun House” match.
Cena had gone to Hollywood, even if he hadn’t turned “heel”. Yet.
Retreat Tour
After helping Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania XL 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 a wrestler in the ring.
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. Cena won the match when Rollins, previously eliminated by Punk, returned to interfere. Cena won the match when Rollins, previously eliminated by Punk, returned to interfere.
The Heel Turn
At the end of Elimination Chamber, Rhodes came to the ring to meet face to face with his WrestleMania challenger. The Rock appeared with rapper Travis Scott to demand an answer about “give me your soul.” Cena hit Rhodes with a low blow and led an attack against the champion with The Rock and Travis Scott. Cena turned heel after two decades as a babyface. On “Raw” in Brussels, Belgium, Cena criticized the fans for what he called “an abusive relationship” for most of his career.
Cena entered as a villain but ended up with more crowd support than Rhodes. Thanks to Travis Scott’s interference, Cena defeated Rhodes and broke Flair’s record with his seventeenth world championship. Cena’s heel turn is among the most impactful moments in wrestling history.
The Change to Face
Cena defended his title against Randy Orton and Punk before being confronted by Rhodes for a rematch at SummerSlam. On the “SmackDown” before SummerSlam, Cena faced Rhodes to thank him for finally making him see reason. Cena declared that 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. Cena will retire with the only person who really matters: as John Cena.
