16 Little-Known Facts About Wrestling Legend John Cena

There are few professional wrestlers as legendary as John Cena. The man has had quite the impressive career, as challenger, champion, and game changer. I'll admit right upfront that John Cena is one of my all-time celebrity heroes. He's just fantastic in and out of the ring. He has been wrestling for over 15 years with the WWE and has had an absolutely incredible number of matches – upwards of 1000 – making him just as much a staple in professional wrestling as stars like The Rock and Steve Austin. But there are still many things you might not know about John Cena, so let's read on and find out!

1. Of his 15 world title wins, 4 of them have been at Wrestlemania – more than any other wrestler ever. The wrestlers who come closest are Stone Cold and The Undertaker, each with 3 wins.

I don't even have that many participation ribbons, let alone championship titles.

2. He is inspired to work so hard because of his brother who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in his youth. Thankfully he has survived thanks to early detection.

This is why he dedicates so much time to working with children and charities.

3. While attending Springfield College, Cena was a starting center for the football team and earned Division III All-American Honors.

He also wore the number 54 on his jersey, which he has kept as his number ever since.

4. Speaking of his time at Springfield College, he chose it after 58 of 60 schools he applied for accepted him. He got his bachelors in exercise physiology.

He believes this has helped him optimize his workout routines and know his limits in the years since.

5. His debut match against Kurt Angle was a complete accident. Originally the open challenge by Angle was to be answered by the Undertaker, but he had come down with an awful flu, so a rookie John Cena answered the call instead.

Naturally he lost against Angle, but he set his career off to a rampaging start.

6. Vince McMahon and Triple H were not members of the Cenation early on, and tried to get rid of John Cena in 2002 and 2003.

However, someone else saw the hustle and loyalty in the man before them.

7. One time he was freestyling on a tour bus and Stephanie McMahon overheard him, not believing he was that good. He proved his skills by spinning lines about the tuna can she was opening and impressed her so much that it became his gimmick in the ring and sealed his career.

Freestylin' skills to help pay the bills.

8. During a feud with The Rock, The Rock said that Cena was for children, comparing him to Fruity Pebbles – earning him that nickname among fans. 

Cena got the last laugh, appearing on the box of the cereal which he said is a high point of his career.

9. Before he hit the WWE and was wrestling in the OVW developmental territory, John Cena wrestled under the identity of The Prototype. He was half man, half machine, all pro wrestler.

Thankfully he dropped that gimmick.

10. A 12-year-old John Cena asked for a weightlifting bench for Christmas because he was sick of being bullied. This turned into a lifelong love of bodybuilding.

He stuck with it so much that he was dedicated to professional bodybuilding for many years.

11. John Cena once vomited and crapped himself under the ring during a match with Scott Steiner. And this somehow wasn't the Genetic Freak's fault: Cena was just too dedicated to his job to take a day off when he had a bad case of food poisoning.

That's an extreme level of believing "the show must go on!"

12. This may come as no surprise to some, but John Cena holds the world record for Make-A-Wish Foundation wishes granted, with over 500 – more than double what the next runner-ups have.

The man has a sincere love of helping bring joy to children everywhere. There's a reason his catchphrase is "Never Give Up!"

13. John Cena has admitted that he's a huge anime fan. He has said that his favorite is Fist of the North Star.

A show about the best fighter ever for one of the best fighters ever. Makes sense.

14. John Cena is a collector of muscle cars, primarily American models. His favorite is his 1971 AMC Hornet SC/360, which is the car he usually drives.

Muscle cars for the muscle man. Yes I just made that joke.

15. John Cena performed his intro music and created his own rap album – and that album even made it to number 15 on the Billboard Top 100.

By the doctor of Thuganomics himself.

16. While Cena hasn't found the landslide of success like The Rock has in the acting world, he has starred in a few films himself, like The Marine.  He's also had parts in films like Trainwreck, and even had many appearances as himself over the years.

I'm outraged he didn't win an Academy Award for his appearance in The Flintstones And WWE: Stone Age Smackdown.

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