History Wrestling / JohnCena

** Never compare him to the [[UsefulNotes/MLBTeams New York Yankees]] in his ''hometown'' (he's from West Newbury, Massachusetts, which is relatively close to Boston, the home of the Yankees' most heated rivals the Boston Red Sox).

** In his '06 feud with [=Edge=], Cena would often beat up Lita ([[KickTheSonOfABitch usually with reason]] [[DisproportionateRetribution but not always]] [[RevengeByProxy a good one]]), not to mention accuse her of carrying various sexually transmitted diseases around the locker room [[ArtisticLicenseBiology without anything remotely resembling biological proof or common sense]].

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Fruity Pebbles. You can actually thank (or blame) The Rock for that one.

* AntiHero: Even though he [[HeelFaceTurn turned face]] in late-2003, he was still [[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy The Doctor of Thuganomics.]] So he still busted raps on people, hit people with his chain, but this time he did it to people who [[KickTheSonOfABitch deserved it.]] Though he stopped hitting people with his chain and rapping in 2005, he still had some of his roots. But he turned full on face in 2008.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Some people may think Cena attacking [=Edge=] in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jyNAqXD4xY hotel]] may be bad, even throwing Edge in the Long Island [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnrUnwQYaJI Sound]], but he had [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc-3N24nWVE plenty]] of reasons to be mad.

Jonathan Felix Anthony Cena Jr. (born April 23, 1977) is an American {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er currently working for the Wrestling/{{WWE}}. With a career spanning 20 years, he rose through the pits of the midcard to become a legitimate success story, and is widely regarded as one of the biggest, if not ''the'' biggest superstar to ever grace WWE, and the 21st century equivalent of Wrestling/HulkHogan.

Before he made his name in WWE, he wrestled in Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) and Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) with a [[TheGimmick gimmick]] based around his old career as a bodybuilder: "The Prototype" or "Mr. P". He made his official WWE debut on June 27, 2002 after accepting an open challenge from Wrestling/KurtAngle. After impressing Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon with his freestyle rapping on the WWE tour bus, she convinced the higher-ups to give him a push. {{Wrestling/Batista}} was the one tapped to be the new Hogan, but Cena got over with his rap gimmick which was essentially a last-ditch ploy before they released him: "[[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy The Doctor of Thuganomics]]." He would go on to beat Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield at ''[=WrestleMania=] 21'', where he would win his first WWE Championship and first world title overall. In 2006, he was promoted to an AllAmericanFace with the release of ''Film/TheMarine''.

Unusual for a career babyface, Cena maintained his top spot for an unprecedented 10 years, through no fault of his own: Wrestling/JeffHardy's merchandise outsold Cena's for three months straight, but WWE had to dump him after the Junk Squad raided his house. Wrestling/CMPunk surpassed him in late 2011 and early 2012, but [[ExecutiveMeddling had to]] turn heel and drop the title to [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]], [[OutOfFocus somehow]] never made it back into the main event picture even after turning face again, and finally quit the night after ''Royal Rumble 2014''. After fighting against it, the company finally gave [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] a push... just in time for his [[GameBreakingInjury forced retirement]]. Three contenders for the crown, and WWE has been burned three times. As a consequence, Cena is one of the most polarizing Superstars in [=WWE=] history, as older fans have [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks grown tired of him always winning]]. But he has also raised a child army of new fans, triggering a weekly shouting war of "LET'S GO CENA" and "CENA SUCKS".

Additionally, he has also dabbled in Rap music (including releasing a full album, ''You Can't See Me'') and has become something of an action/comedy film star in his own right. For more on his non-wrestling ventures, see [[Creator/JohnCena his creator page]].

[[AC:For Cena's acting career, see [[Creator/JohnCena this page.]]]]

* ADateWithRosiePalms: He implies this when he raps to Wrestling/TorrieWilson and Wrestling/{{Sable}} and mentions going through a magazine with them in it to redefine the term "beef jerky".

** Never compare him to the [[UsefulNotes/MLBTeams New York Yankees]] in his ''hometown''.

[[caption-width-right:300: The champ is here! [[MemeticMutation AND HIS NAME IS JOHN CENA]]!]]

!!!For Cena's acting career, see [[Creator/JohnCena this page.]]

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* AscendedMeme: The "Unexpected Cena" Meme goes canon, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSWynMPmMpk with help from telecom firm Cricket Wireless.]]

* SelfDeprecation
** His [[{{Kayfabe}} retirement speech.]]
** Also some of his promos concerning The Rock.
*** Of course the latter gets turned into a BadassBoast and finally replaced altogether by that [[HoistByHisOwnPetard "Stupid Mistake"]] statement.

** Then there's Wrestling/{{Batista}}, whom he briefly feuded with in 2008 and came full swing in 2010. Both became world champions at ''[=WrestleMania=] 21'' and were the faces of their respective brands (Raw for Cena, [=SmackDown=] for Batista). Both men respect each other and teamed up on occasions (even briefly becoming World Tag Team Champions), but Batista became the RivalTurnedEvil as he grew jealous of Cena being the face of the company as a whole instead of him. Cena had never beaten Batista until finally doing so at ''[=WrestleMania=] XXVI'' and would go on to beat him two more times at the following [=pay-per-views=], with their "I Quit" match at ''Over the Limit'' ending their feud. The three straight [=pay-per-views=] losses (with new Raw General Manager Wrestling/BretHart showing NoSympathy towards his injuries from his third loss serving as the last straw) would result in Batista frustratedly quitting the company for nearly four years.

** Then there's Wrestling/{{Batista}}, whom he briefly feuded with in 2008 and came full swing in 2010. Both became world champions at ''[=WrestleMania=] 21'' and were the faces of their respective brands (Raw for Cena, [=SmackDown=] for Batista). Both men respect each other and teamed up on occasions (even briefly becoming World Tag Team Champions), but Batista became the RivalTurnedEvil as he grew jealous of Cena being the face of the company as a whole instead of him. Cena had never beaten Batista until finally doing so at ''[=WrestleMania=] XXVI'' and would go on to beat him two more times at the following [=pay-per-views=], with their "I Quit" match at ''Over the Limit'' ending their feud. The three straight [=pay-per-views=] losses (with new Raw General Manager Wrestling/BretHart showing NoSympathy towards his injuries from his third loss serving as the last straw) would result in Batista quitting the company for nearly four years out of frustration.

** Then there's Wrestling/{{Batista}}, whom he briefly feuded with in 2008 and came full swing in 2010. Both became world champions at ''[=WrestleMania=] 21'' and were the faces of their respective brands (Raw for Cena, [=SmackDown=] for Batista). Both men respect each other and teamed up on occasions (even briefly becoming World Tag Team Champions), but Batista became the RivalTurnedEvil as he grew jealous of Cena being the face of the company as a whole instead of him. Cena had never beaten Batista until finally doing so at ''[=WrestleMania=] XXVI'' and would go on to beat him two more times at the following [=pay-per-views=], with their "I Quit" match at ''Over the Limit'' ending their feud. Batista would end up quitting the company for nearly four years out of frustration over the the three straight [=pay-per-views=] losses (with new Raw General Manager Wrestling/BretHart showing NoSympathy towards his injuries from his third loss serving as the last straw).

** Then there's Wrestling/{{Batista}}, whom he briefly feuded with in 2008 and came full swing in 2010. Both became world champions at ''[=WrestleMania=] 21'' and were the faces of their respective brands (Raw for Cena, [=SmackDown=] for Batista). Both men respect each other and teamed up on occasions (even briefly becoming World Tag Team Champions), but Batista became the RivalTurnedEvil as he grew jealous of Cena being the face of the company as a whole instead of him. Cena had never beaten Batista until finally doing so at ''[=WrestleMania=] XXVI'' and would go on to beat him two more times at the following [=pay-per-views=], with their "I Quit" match at ''Over the Limit'' ending their rivalry and resulting in Batista quitting the company for nearly four years out of frustration over losing to Cena in ''three straight [=pay-per-views=]'' (though new Raw General Manager Wrestling/BretHart showing NoSympathy towards his injuries from his third loss was the last straw for him).

* WeaponOfChoice: While in his "rapper" gimmick, Cena's favorite weapon was his lock-and-chain necklace. Along with those "''custom brass knucks''" too. Even his customized belts.

** His long-running blood feud with Wrestling/{{Edge}} began in 2006 and persisted throughout the years, up until Edge's final face run in 2010 and subsequent retirement. Cena's feud with Edge was arguably even more personal than his feud with Orton; whereas Orton was ultimately just a psychopath who was sick of Cena constantly getting in his way, Edge flat-out admitted to hating ''everything'' about Cena.

** Despite being the most successful wrestler in modern-day wrestling, Cena did the ''worst'' against Wrestling/TheUndertaker at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' out of just about all of 'Taker's opponents. Every single one of his rivals who faced off against Taker at '''Mania'' (Wrestling/RandyOrton, Wrestling/{{Batista}}, Wrestling/{{Edge}}, Wrestling/CMPunk, etc.) came within ''inches'' of ending the Streak before it was finally broken by Wrestling/BrockLesnar at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania XXX'' and he was temporarily retired by Wrestling/RomanReigns at ''33''. Cena, when he wrestled 'Taker at ''34'', suffered a CurbStompBattle and flat-out got his ass kicked by the Deadman, never getting to have a classic match with him like everyone else did.

** Defended his decision to bring back The Authority by claiming that he was not willing to gamble with [[Wrestling/{{Edge}} a man's]] [[GameBreakingInjury life]], not just acknowledging that bringing Wrestling/TheAuthority back was the lesser of the two evils, but also claiming that he would make the same decision every time if he had to do it over again.

* ShootTheShaggyDog: He fought hard to get Wrestling/TheAuthority out of power and his team eventually succeeded in doing so at Survivor Series...only to bring them back a month later on the final Raw of 2014 when SethRollins called his hand when he threatened to paralyze(and even ''murder'') Wrestling/{{Edge}} when the latter was a guest host.

** Since 2006 his title matches at ''[=WrestleMania=]'' were always at the main event or higher in the card despite his challenger or he himself didn't won the ''Royal Rumble''. Subverted in 2008, ironically, when he won the ''Rumble'', but his title match wasn't in the [[Wrestling/{{Edge}} main]] [[Wrestling/TheUndertaker event]]. And in 2009, where the actual ''Rumble'' [[Wrestling/RandyOrton winner]] challenged [[Wrestling/TripleH the champion]] in that year's ''WM'' main event.

%% GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2020. If you're reading this in the future, please check the trope description to make sure your example matches the current criteria.

* GoodIsNotSoft: A consistent trait of his persona is that he openly welcomes any challenge for any reason. ("If you want some, come get some"). He will accept and he will fight you with just as much effort and motivation as if you are The Undertaker and Wrestling/ShawnMichaels (the 'Respect' part of [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Hustle. Loyalty. Respect]]). And if you do manage to beat him, he will [[GracefulLoser sincerely congratulate]] you, and even [[DefeatMeansFriendship go to bat for you if needed]]. However, if you misjudged yourself or him and you're not up to task, he will have [[SinkOrSwimMentor no mercy or hesitation about steamrolling you]]. Now, this would be perfectly acceptable ... except this aspect of his gimmick is [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] if not outright ignored. So, he is often cast as [[TheCape fighting morally]] even when he doesn't have that. This leads to [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality the multiple]] [[{{DesignatedHero}} narrative]] [[MoralMyopia disconnects]] in his feuds, when simply going with this trope and {{SinkOrSwimMentor}} would be easier to take, even fresh and novel.
* GracefulLoser:
** Cena congratulates [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] for winning the WWE championship from him in Summerslam 2013...even if it was short lived by Randy Orton and Triple H.
** Often averted by Cena's opponents. Even Wrestling/ShawnMichaels, Mr. [=WrestleMania=], one of the most humble wrestlers on the roster (post-2002 at least), refused a handshake from Cena after losing to him at ''[=WrestleMania=] 23''.
** Most recently, after losing to Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura on [[Wrestling/WWESmackDown SmackDown Live]] for the right to face Wrestling/JinderMahal for the title on Wrestling/SummerSlam, he raises his hand and also bows to Nakamura (who returned it).

* [[NiceHat Nice Caps]]: Which he throws away at every televised event.

** His long-running blood feud with Wrestling/{{Edge}} began in 2006 and persisted throughout the years, up until Edge's final face run in 2010 and subsequent retirement.
** What began as a rivalry born out of respect with Wrestling/CMPunk got much nastier, especially since Punk is the one guy who's consistently gotten the better of Cena. General agreement is that despite the company's original attempts to portray Cena's feud with Orton as his greatest rivalry, Punk was Cena's actual greatest rival, with Edge a distant second. On top of their characters being perfect {{foil}}s to each other, they had insane chemistry on both the mic and ''especially'' in the ring, to the point that some of the greatest matches in WWE history have been between them. This includes WWE's first five-star match since 1997, which is also arguably the best match of Cena's career.

** Then there is [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]], with whom he had a year long feud after they decided they should wrestle at ''[=WrestleMania=] 28'', though this had never been a very heated feud but was more about mutual respect and a "big match" feeling than a fiery rivalry...... at least that was the interpretation of WM 28 until the rematch came along.

** In a notable aversion of this trope, he's actually one of the only top babyfaces to never have any major rivalries with Wrestling/VinceMcMahon. This is perhaps because there was business incentive for Vince not to stir trouble with his last big draw, and known company man Cena had respect for his boss. [[note]]They did have a few skirmishes over the years: Vince did pick a fight with him in early 2006, which led to a match, and they also butted heads in 2010 when Vince cut a deal with Batista and screwed him out of the world title. But both times, Cena moved on quickly to address more important foes.[[/note]]

* {{Irony}}: Cena, much in the vein of Edge never becoming a Grand Slam Champion while his less successful tag team partner Christian did, is not a Triple Crown Champion. This is because Cena has been almost exclusively connected to the United States Championship for all of his WWE career. While the US title is ''technically'' a secondary title on par with the Intercontinental title, the WWE has never acknowledged it as such by making it an alternative title for the Triple Crown. Thus, Cena, who has never won the Intercontinental title, has not achieved a status that has been achieved by several other, less successful WWE superstars, despite being the ''biggest'' superstar in the business. And at this point in his career, it's unlikely he ever will.

** Then there's Wrestling/{{Batista}}, whom he briefly feuded with in 2008 and came full swing in 2010. Both became world champions at ''[=WrestleMania=] 21'' and were the faces of their respective brands (Raw for Cena, [=SmackDown=] for Batista). Both men respect each other and teamed up on occasions (even briefly becoming World Tag Team Champions), but Batista became the RivalTurnedEvil as he grew jealous of Cena being the face of the company as a whole instead of him. Cena had never beaten Batista until finally doing so at ''[=WrestleMania=] XXVI'' and would go on to beat him two more times at the following [=pay-per-views=], with their "I Quit" match at ''Over the Limit'' ending their rivalry and resulting in Batista quitting the company for four years out of frustration over losing to Cena in ''three straight [=pay-per-views=]'' (though new Raw General Manager Wrestling/BretHart showing NoSympathy towards his injuries from his third loss was the last straw for him).