John Felix Anthony Cena (born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE since 2001 and is a record 17-time world champion as recognized by WWE. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers ever.
Cena moved to California in 1998 to pursue a bodybuilding career and switched to professional wrestling in 1999, making his debut for Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW). In 2001, he signed with WWE (then WWF). He was assigned to its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he won the OVW Heavyweight Championship and OVW Southern Tag Team Championship. After moving up to WWE's main roster on SmackDown in 2002, he became a breakout success after adopting the character of a villainous trash-talking rapper. After winning his first WWE Championship in 2005, he underwent a gimmick change into a heroic character, which he described as a "goody-two shoes Superman". Cena led the company as its franchise player and public face from the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s. His face run from 2003 to 2025 is the longest in the history of WWE.
Cena has held the WWE Championship 13 times and the World Heavyweight Championship three times. He is also a five-time WWE United States Champion, a two-time WWE Tag Team Champion, a two-time World Tag Team Champion, a two-time Royal Rumble winner, and a one-time Money in the Bank winner. He has headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-views, including its flagship event WrestleMania six times (22, 23, 27, 28, 29 and 41). His career has been met with 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.
Cena's first starring film role was in The Marine (2006), and he gained praise for his performances in Trainwreck (2015), Ferdinand (2017), Blockers (2018), and Bumblebee (2018). He starred in F9 (2021) and Fast X (2023) and portrayed Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad (2021) and the eponymous television series (2022–present). He released his only studio album, You Can't See Me, in 2005, which peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200. Outside of his work in entertainment, Cena is known for his involvement in charitable causes and has granted the most wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation at over 650.
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