John Cena

John Felix Anthony Cena (born April 23, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, hip hop musician and actor. He is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), wrestling on its RAW brand, where he is the reigning WWE Champion. In WWE, he is also a three-time United States Champion and a one-time World Tag Team Champion.

Before being called up to the main WWE roster, Cena trained in and wrestled for Ultimate Pro Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling, winning the top titles of both promotions.

Aside from professional wrestling, Cena has released the rap album You Can't See Me, which debuted at #15 on the US Billboard 200, and starred in the movie The Marine. He has also made appearances in television shows including Manhunt, Deal or No Deal, MADtv, and Punk'd. Most recently, he was a contestant on Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, where he made it to the final round before being eliminated, placing third in the overall
competition.

Biography

Pre-wrestling

Cena was born on April 23, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts the second eldest of five brothers – Dan, Matt, Steve and Sean. He graduated from Cushing Academy before attending Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. In college he was a Division III All-American center on the football team, wearing the number 54, which is still used on some of his WWE merchandise. He graduated from Springfield in 1998 with a degree in exercise physiology pursuing a career as a bodybuilder, as well as working as a chauffeur for a limousine company before becoming involved in professional wrestling.

Wrestling training

Cena first started training to become a wrestler in 2000 at the California-based "Ultimate University" operated by Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW). Once he was placed into an in-ring role, he began using a semi-robotic character known as the The Prototype. Some of this period of his career was documented in the Discovery Channel program Wrestling School. While in UPW, Cena held the Heavyweight Championship for just shy of a month in April 2000. In 2001, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) signed him away from UPW, placing him under a developmental contract and assigning him to their "farm territory" Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he continued his training. During his time there, he wrestled as both The Prototype and Mr. P, and he held the Heavyweight Championship for three months and the Tag Team Championships (with Rico Constantino) for two.