The Untold Truth Of John Cena

John Cena's time in the WWE almost ended as soon as it began. As he shared in the "Ruthless Aggression" documentary, what he was doing in the ring early in his career "just wasn't working" and he was set to get the chop during the company's "Christmas cuts." However, that all changed after he started freestyle rapping with other wrestlers on the tour bus. In the doc (via Sportskeeda), he said his rhymes eventually caught Stephanie McMahon's attention. "She was like 'would you like to do this on television', I said 'absolutely,'" Cena recalled. With that, the Doctor of Thuganomics character, a rapper who would rattle off rhymes when he wasn't grappling, was born. As the WWE recounted, Cena would go on to release a real-deal rap album called "You Can't See Me" in 2005 with his cousin "Tha Trademarc," and it reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200..

The wrestler eventually stopped laying down bars, telling GQ that rap is "a young man's game." And while he has pivoted away from being "the rap guy," he said, "I've never lost my connection to hip-hop, I just don't know what's popular today."

Then, at the 2019 WrestleMania event, Cena delighted audiences when he reprised his early role. Wearing a gigantic chain around his neck post-match, Cena explained in a WWE interview, "I wanted to do something that would be a nice surprise and a bit of entertainment."

For higher education, John Cena stayed in his hometown state of Massachusetts to attend Springfield College. While at school, he studied exercise physiology to better understand weightlifting and, as he told Men's Journal, "just to know the basics." He went on to explain that with "a general knowledge about how the body works, you can tell when your body's worn and when it's not, what you can take, what the human body is capable of." And even though he focused on weightlifting and understanding his body, Cena still felt he was unequipped to play football. According to the future wrestler, "I was way too small."

After college, Cena worked as a limo driver for a short stint. Reflecting on this gig in a 2021 interview with Bloomberg, he revealed that his performance in the gym didn't exactly translate well to the road. "I was not a good limo driver — on my first pickup, I was three hours late," Cena remembered. According to the wrestler, he "never traveled" and didn't understand how to navigate to and from Boston Logan International Airport — arguably an important skill for a limo driver in the Boston area. 

And though he went on to be a famous Hollywood actor, Cena imagined he could have gone a different route career-wise. He told Men's Journal that if he never made it big, "I would be teaching somewhere — most likely either U.S. History or physical education, and I would be coaching football." Or alternatively, Cena felt he would "be involved somehow in the armed services" like the Marines.

John Cena is one of five brothers in his family. And perhaps unsurprising given his future career as a wrestler, he and his siblings fought with each other often as kids. He told Seth Meyers that he'd been "chased with a chainsaw, with kitchen knives, set on fire" by his brothers. And just in case all of that wasn't creative enough, he said something once happened with a beehive and mustard? "There was certainly competition to define our identity — wanting to be heard. All that comes along with being a sibling," John said to The Sun about his brothers.

Years later and the boys were still going head-to-head with each other. During an interview with Jimmy Fallon, the wrestler said that he shelled out for an open bar for his brother Mark Cena's wedding. "That's my gift to the bride and groom that nobody would have to pay for anything," John said. But he went on to explain that this gesture turned out to be "a mistake when my brother Dan and I got into a fistfight in the middle of the dance floor and closed the wedding down." The melee stunned the bride's family, but it was old hat for the Cenas — and no, it didn't spark a family feud. As John said when he and Dan appeared on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," his police officer sibling is "a wonderful brother."

One of the greatest rivalries in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment was between John Cena and The Rock, as recapped in a video by WWE. But Cena later admitted the feud went too far outside of the ring. In a Q&A (via The Sun), Cena confessed about Dwayne Johnson, "I said some things that were less than nice. He said some things that were less than nice." He previously criticized Johnson for pursuing a career in acting... which is a career he also ended up pursuing. 

Cena now takes issue with his own remarks. As he said in Sports Illustrated, "For me to not be able to see Dwayne's vision on what he wanted to do personally, and how his personal success could affect a growing global brand, that was just ignorant on my part."

Cena grew to respect and love the times he had in the ring with The Rock, telling Men's Journal, "[Johnson] tends to bring out the best in everyone. And that's, I guess, thinking about it in retrospect, that's why I admire him so much." And in a 2021 video for Esquire, he called The Rock an "electrifying" wrestler who pushes his opponents "to be at his level." He also had nice things to say about Dave Bautista, another wrestler-turned-actor. Even when Bautista said he never wanted to be in the same film with other wrestlers, Cena said he respected the decision to pave his own way in film.

Fans of John Cena might be perplexed by his Instagram account. Often, the actor posts seemingly random photos, with no context or captions to help make sense of it all. In an interview for Esquire, Cena revealed what's really going on behind his posts. With each picture, Cena said he purposely provides "no explanation, for interpretation of the audience." That said, he did add, "Please don't get me wrong, there is a method and value to every single thing that I post on Instagram. But if I tell you, it ruins what I'm trying to do." While fans may pull their own interpretations from his posts, he laughed, "You'll never figure it out." You can't see me-aning.

On the flip side, he uses his Twitter to promote positivity and messages of encouragement. While speaking with Complex, Cena revealed that he got into Twitter for therapeutic reasons. After "understanding the value of self-love," he used the social media platform as a way to show his vulnerable side, where he could broadcast his "journal-type thoughts." And he found similar positive messages from BTS fans — the BTS Army — regarding the album "Love Yourself." As Cena told Complex, "BTS allowed me to realize that I'm not alone." The wrestling legend then became more interested in BTS' music for their catchy pop sound and songs with "good boom-bap beats."

To help maintain his impressively big physique, John Cena takes a holistic approach to wellness. He explained to Men's Journal that in terms of his diet, he consumes "a lot of meal replacements just due to time constraint." The wrestler explained that while he doesn't typically prepare his own meals, "I eat well." Cena added, "I just don't make bad decisions. I stay away from fried foods [and] desserts." He shared a similar story in an interview for "Good Morning America." Cena believes consistency is the key to long term health and wellness, but he did reveal that he doesn't only eat healthy foods. As far as a guilty pleasure goes, Cena said he is "like the cookie monster."

Of course, Cena works out with weights but he also likes more mindful practices. For example, he told People, "I do 35 to 40 minutes of uninstructed yoga at the end of every workout." And whether practicing yoga or lifting heavy heights, Cena said he won't "take my phone with me. I'm present." The wrestler explained how stretching and mobility have been important to his routine. And Cena compared the human body to a car, with indicators to potential problems that shouldn't be ignored. While this may seem like a lot to take on, he keeps his health and fitness plan simple: "Get enough rest and make good choices."

Outside of wrestling and acting, John Cena became an author. As he said on "Good Morning America" in 2020, he created the children's book series "Elbow Grease" about cartoon monster trucks after noticing that "a lot of young kids and families" made up his fanbase and "really attached" to his motto, "Never give up." He continued, "So as my in ring career dwindles and I'm not as prevalent, I wanted to continue to send that message." One might say "Elbow Grease" will car-ry on his legacy. 

Cena said that while the books are about monster trucks, there are "underlying themes of perseverance, self-worth, managing emotions, confronting fear, being okay with who you are" as well as nods to "grit, which is a really essential topic that needs to be discussed if you're gonna have any long-term success in life." Not bad points to drive home.

And he does not stop there. When the WWE Superstar stopped by New York City BookCon in 2019, he shared that including a female mechanic in the series is a "casual" way to tackle expectations surrounding gender roles and indicate that "anyone can do anything." He also noted that the books show that winning isn't everything, but staying true to who you are is crucial. As the movie star told the audience, "It's okay to be different. And it's okay to be you."

In 2016, John Cena was the highest paid wrestler for the WWE, with Forbes reporting he earned $9.5 million that year for his time in the ring. And "Cena not only has the biggest base salary of any weekly performer, but he also blows away the competition when it comes to merchandise sales." In addition to his big payouts from the WWE, Cena also was in successful films like "Daddy's Home" and "Bumblebee," which further added to his bank account. Then add in revenues from his book series and other ventures like sponsorships and commercials (the new voice of Honda, anyone?). All combined, Cena was worth $60 million as of 2021, estimates Celebrity Net Worth.

With some of that money, Cena purchased many cool cars. One of the craziest is the InCENArator, a custom Corvette created by the Parker Brothers that was featured on SyFy's "Dream Machines." According to Top Gear, "Cena's only instruction to the brothers was to 'make it look like it's from the year 3000.'" They sure ran with that, equipping the ride with a flamethrower, as well as "a glass clamshell opening roof and jet-turbine inspired 24-inch rims." In addition to the InCENArator, Cena owns other supercars like the Ford GT, according to GQ. But as the publication noted, "the odd one out" is his 1991 Lincoln Continental — the same one he used to live in when first moving to Los Angeles.