John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( April 23 , 1977 ) is an American professional wrestler , bodybuilder , rapper , and actor . He is currently signed to WWE , where he is a former 16 time WWE Champion . Cena started his professional wrestling career in 1999 with Ultimate Pro Wrestling , where he held the UPW Heavyweight Championship . In 2001 , Cena signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF , later renamed to WWE ) . Cena debuted on the WWF main roster in 2002 , and to date , he has won 21 championships in total , including 16 world championships ( a record 13 reigns as WWE Champion and the World Heavyweight Championship three times ) , a company record . He has the fourth - highest number of combined days as WWE Champion , behind Bob Backlund , Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino . He is also the first man to win the match by disqualification and fail to capture a world championship upon cashing in a Money in the Bank contract . Outside of wrestling his partner Micheal Jimenez Jr likes to deny and say he doesn ' t lock buttholes but he does trust me I have pictures , Cena has released the rap album " You Can ' t See Me " , f which debuted at No . 15 on the US " Billboard " 200 chart , and starred in the feature films " The Marine " ( 2006 ) , " 12 Rounds " ( 2009 ) , and " Legendary " ( 2010 ) . Cena has also made appearances on television shows including " Manhunt " , " Deal or No Deal " , " MADtv " , " Saturday Night Live " , " Punk ' d " , and " Psych " . Cena was also 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 . Career history . Training . Cena at his first started training to become a wrestler in 1999 at the California - based " Ultimate University " operated by Ultimate Pro Wrestling ( UPW ) . Once he was placed into an in - ring role , Cena began using a semi - robotic character known as The Prototype . Some of this period of his career was documented in the Discovery Channel program " Inside Pro 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 , Cena wrestled as both The Prototype and Mr . P , and he held the Heavyweight Championship for three months and the Tag Team Championship ( with Rico Constantino ) for two . World Wrestling Entertainment ( 2002 - present ) . 2002 - 2003 . Cena ' s first televised WWE match was in answer to an open challenge by Kurt Angle on June 27 , 2002 . Inspired by a speech given by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to the rising stars of the company , exhorting them to show " ruthless aggression " to earn a place among the legends , Cena took advantage of the opportunity and almost beat Angle by kicking out of his Angle Slam and enduring the ankle lock submission hold . He ultimately lost , however , to a basic roll - up pin . Following the near - win , Cena became a face and was put into a program with Chris Jericho , defeating him in an upset at Vengeance . In October , Cena and Billy Kidman joined forces to take part in a tag team tournament to crown the first WWE Tag Team Champions of the SmackDown ! brand , but lost in the first round to Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit . The next week , Cena turned heel and attacked Kidman , blaming him for their loss . Shortly after the Kidman attack , on a Halloween themed episode of " SmackDown ! " , Cena dressed as Vanilla Ice and performed a freestyle rap . The next week , Cena received a new gimmick : a rapper who cut promos in rhyme . As the gimmick grew , he adopted a variant of the 80s WWF logo — dropping the " F " — as his " signature symbol " , along with the slogan " Word Life " . Moreover , he was joined by an enforcer , Bull Buchanan , who was rechristened B - 2 ( also written B² and pronounced " B - Squared " ) . Buchanan was later replaced by Rodney Mack under the moniker " Red Dogg " , until he was drafted to the Raw brand in February . For the first half of 2003 , Cena sought the WWE Championship and chased the reigning champion , Brock Lesnar , performing weekly " freestyles " challenging him to matches . During the program , Cena unveiled a new finishing maneuver : the FU , a Fireman ' s carry powerslam , so named to mock Lesnar ' s F - 5 , with Rikishi being the first victim . He got a match against Lesnar at April ' s Backlash by winning a number one contenders tournament , but was defeated when Lesnar performed an F - 5 on him . At the end of the year , he turned face again when he joined Kurt Angle ' s Survivor Series team after rejecting an offer from Paul Heyman to join Lesnar ' s team . 2004 - 2005 . In early 2004 , Cena participated in the Royal Rumble match at the annual January pay - per - view event , making it to the final six participants before being eliminated by Big Show . The Royal Rumble elimination led to a feud between Big Show and Cena , during which Cena won the United States Championship from the Big Show at WrestleMania XX in March . During his reign , he came into contention with SmackDown ! General Manager Kurt Angle over issues arising with René Duprée and Torrie Wilson . The reign ended just shy of four months when , on July 8 , he was " stripped " of the belt by Angle after he ( kayfabe , accidentally ) knocked him over , thus " attacking an official " . He won the title back by defeating Booker T in a " best of five " series that culminated at October ' s No Mercy , only to lose it to the debuting Carlito Caribbean Cool the next week . [ 51 ] After the loss to Carlito , the duo began a feud , during which Cena was ( kayfabe ) stabbed in the kidney while at a Boston - area nightclub by Carlito ' s bodyguard , Jesús . This worked injury was used to keep Cena out of action for a month , during which Cena was actually filming his feature film debut " The Marine " . Immediately on his return in November , he won the US title back from Carlito and debuted a " custom made " spinner - style title belt . Cena took part in the Royal Rumble in January 2005 , this time making it to the final two . He and Raw brand wrestler Batista went over the top rope at the same time , ostensibly ending the match . Vince McMahon , however , appeared on stage and restarted the match in " sudden death " , with Batista eventually winning . The next month , Cena defeated Kurt Angle to earn a spot in the SmackDown ! brand ' s WrestleMania 21 main event , beginning a feud with WWE Champion John " Bradshaw " Layfield ( JBL ) and his Cabinet in the process . In the opening stages of the feud , Cena lost his US belt to Cabinet member Orlando Jordan , who proceeded to " blow up " the spinner version with JBL and return a more traditional style belt . When Cena and JBL met at WrestleMania , the title switched hands , giving Cena his first world title in the company . As part of the storyline , he then had a spinner WWE Championship belt made , while JBL took the original belt and claimed to still be WWE Champion , until Cena reclaimed the original belt in an " I Quit " match at Judgment Day . Cena ' s SmackDown ! tenure came to a close on the June 6 , 2005 episode of " WWE Raw " , when he became the first wrestler selected by Raw brand General Manager Eric Bischoff in the annual draft lottery . Cena immediately entered a program against Bischoff when he refused to participate in his " war " against the upcoming " Extreme Championship Wrestling " reunion show . With Bischoff vowing to make Cena ' s stint on Raw difficult , he " hand picked " Jericho to take Cena ' s title from him . During their feud , even though Cena was portrayed as the face and Jericho as the heel , a vocal section of live crowds nonetheless chose to boo Cena during their matches . More crowds followed suit during Cena ' s next feud with Kurt Angle , who took over as Bischoff ' s hand picked number one contender after Cena beat Jericho in a " You ' re Fired " match on the August 22 Raw , sending him off the show . As the feud continued and the dissenters grew more vocal , sometimes seeming to outnumber fans by wide margins , the announce team was forced to acknowledge the boos on television and began calling Cena a " controversial champion " , claiming some people disliked him on account of his " in - ring style " and his chosen fashion . Despite the mixed and negative reactions , Cena held on to his Championship through his feud with Angle , losing to him by disqualification — for which titles do not change hands in WWE — at Unforgiven in September and pinning him at Survivor Series in November . The feud with Angle also saw Cena add a secondary , submission based , finishing maneuver to his repertoire – the STFU ( a Stepover Toehold Sleeper , though named for a Stepover Toehold Facelock ) – when he was put into a Triple Threat Submissions Only match on the November 28 Raw . 2006 - 2007 . Cena lost the WWE Championship at the first WWE pay - per - view of 2006 , New Year ' s Revolution , but not in the Elimination Chamber match that he had been advertised to participate in beforehand . Instead , immediately after winning the Elimination Chamber , he was thrust into a match against Edge , who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract — a " guaranteed title match at the WWE Champion of the owners choosing " — and after two quick spears pinned Cena for the title . Cena ' s championship reign ended at 280 days , matching the length of previous champion JBL . Just three weeks later , Cena won the title back at the Royal Rumble pay - per - view . After winning the Championship back , Cena was put in to a program with Triple H , during which the crowd again seemed to boo the intended face ( Cena ) and cheer the intended heel ( Triple H ) . The negative reaction only intensified when he faced Rob Van Dam ( also cashing in a Money in the Bank contract , which he won at WrestleMania 22 ) at One Night Stand in June . Taking place in front of a crowd of mostly " old school " Extreme Championship Wrestling fans at the Hammerstein Ballroom , Cena was met with raucous jeering and chants of " Fuck you , Cena " , " You can ' t wrestle " , and " Same old shit " . When he began peppering different moves into the match the fans responded with a chant of " You still suck " . Cena lost the WWE Championship for the second time in 2006 at One Night Stand , being pinned by Van Dam after interference from Edge . In July , after Edge won the title from Van Dam in a Triple Threat match that also involved Cena , it reignited the feud between him and Cena from earlier in the year . After Edge went about retaining the title by dubious means — getting himself disqualified ( for which Championships do not change hands ) and using brass knuckles — he introduced his own version of Cena ' s " custom " belt , this one with his logo placed on the spinner . Cena eventually won the Championship back in a Tables , Ladders , and Chairs match at September ' s Unforgiven pay - per - view , in a match that had an added stipulation that had Cena lost he would leave the Raw brand and go to SmackDown ! . He returned his version of the spinner belt on the next night ' s Raw . On the heels of the Edge program , Cena was placed in an inter - brand angle to determine the so - called " Champion of Champions " — or which was the most dominant champion in WWE ' s three brands . Cena , King Booker ( SmackDown ! ' s then World Heavyweight Champion ) , and Big Show ( ECW ' s then World Champion ) engaged in a mini - feud leading to a Triple Threat match at Cyber Sunday in November , with the viewers voting on which of the three championships would be placed on the line . At the same time , Cena became involved in a storyline with non - wrestler Kevin Federline when he began appearing on Raw with Johnny Nitro and Melina . After getting into a worked physical altercation with Federline on Raw , Federline appeared at Cyber Sunday to hit Cena with the World Heavyweight Title belt during the main event Triple Threat match , helping King Booker retain his title . 2006 ended with Cena beginning a feud with the undefeated Umaga over the WWE Championship , while 2007 began with the end of his storyline with Kevin Federline . On the first Raw of the new year , Cena was pinned by Federline ( with an assist from Umaga ) , although later in the night he was able to get his hands on Federline to FU him . During their feud , Cena ended Umaga ' s " undefeated " streak at New Year ' s Revolution before Umaga caused a worked injury to Cena ' s spleen , putting a scheduled Last Man Standing rematch at Royal Rumble in kayfabe jeopardy . The match did , however , take place and Cena retained his title . One night after the Royal Rumble , an impromptu team of Cena and Shawn Michaels defeated Rated - RKO ( Edge and Randy Orton ) for the World Tag Team Championship , making Cena a double champion . On the April 2 episode of Raw , after losing a WWE Championship match to Cena at WrestleMania 23 , Michaels " turned " on Cena , costing them the team the Championship in the second of two 10 team battles royals by throwing Cena over the top rope and eliminating the team . The Hardys ( Matt and Jeff ) eventually won the match and the title . For the rest of the month , Cena feuded with Michaels , Orton , and Edge until the Great Khali declared his intentions to challenge for Cena ' s title by attacking and " laying out " all three of the top contenders before assaulting Cena himself and stealing the physical belt . For the next two months , Cena feuded with Khali over the Championship , eventually becoming the first person in WWE to defeat him by submission at May ' s Judgment Day and then by pinfall at June ' s One Night Stand . Later that summer , prior to SummerSlam , Randy Orton was named the number one contender to the WWE championship , starting a feud between the two . Leading up to the pay - per - view , Orton delivered a number of sneak - attacks , hitting Cena with three RKOs , but in the actual match , Cena retained the title , winning by pinfall . A rematch between the two occurred at Unforgiven , with Orton winning by disqualification after Cena ignored the referee ' s instructions and continued to beat on him in the corner . During a match with Mr . Kennedy on the October 1 , 2007 episode of Raw , Cena suffered a legitimate torn pectoral muscle while executing a hip toss . Though he finished the match and took part in the scripted attack by Randy Orton after the match , surgery the following day found that his pectoralis major muscle was torn completely from the bone , estimated at the time to require seven months to a year of rehabilitation . As a result , he was stripped of the title in an announcement by Vince McMahon on the next night ' s episode of ECW , ending what was the longest WWE Championship reign in over 19 years . His surgery was performed by orthopedic surgeon James Andrews at St . Vincent ' s Hospital in Birmingham , Alabama . Two weeks later , in a video update on WWE . com , Dr . Andrews and Cena ' s physical trainer both said that he was several weeks ahead of where he was expected to be in his rehabilitation at that time . Despite his injury , Cena attended the annual WWE Tribute to the Troops show filmed at Camp Speicher in Tikrit , Iraq on December 7 , and aired on December 24 . 2008 . Cena made an unannounced return to action on January 27 as the final participant of the Royal Rumble match . He won the match , and the traditional WrestleMania title shot , by last eliminating Triple H . Instead of waiting until WrestleMania , the title shot was cashed in against WWE Champion Randy Orton at February ' s No Way Out , in a match Cena won by disqualification , resulting in him not getting the championship . The night after his No Way Out win , Cena was placed back in to WrestleMania XXIV ' s WWE Championship match , making it a triple threat match also involving Triple H , during which he was pinned by Orton . At Backlash , Cena failed to regain the title in a Fatal Four Way elimination match , in which he was pinned by Orton . Triple H won the title during that match . During that match , Cena eliminated John " Bradshaw " Layfield ( JBL ) , thus renewing their feud from 2005 . Cena defeated JBL at Judgment Day and then at One Night Stand in a First Blood match . JBL , however , defeated him in a New York City Parking Lot Brawl at The Great American Bash . On the August 4 edition of Raw , Cena became a World Tag Team Champion for a second time when he teamed up with Batista to defeat Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase for the World Tag Team titles , but they failed to retain the titles the following week against the former champions . Cena was defeated by Batista at SummerSlam . Cena was named one of four contenders for CM Punk ' s World Heavyweight Championship in the Championship scramble match at Unforgiven but was replaced by Rey Mysterio after it was announced Cena had suffered a herniated disk in his neck which will require surgery and he will be out of action indefinitely . Cena underwent successive surgery to repair the herniated disk in his neck with Doctor Joseph Maroon on August 25 . Cena made his in - ring return at November ' s Survivor Series event where he defeated Chris Jericho to win his first World Heavyweight Championship . 2009 . At Royal Rumble Cena retained his title against JBL . At the following PPV , No Way Out , Cena lost his title in the elimination chamber match to Edge . Cena was later granted a rematch but won by DQ . After threatening GM Vickie Guerrero , Cena was inserted into the World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania XXV between champion Edge and Big Show , making it a Triple Threat match for WrestleMania . Cena later revealed that Vickie Guerrero had been cheating on Edge with Big Show . Cena lost the championship back to Edge in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash after interference from Big Show , who chokeslammed Cena through a big spotlight . This angle resulted in Cena beginning a feud with Big Show . Cena defeated Big Show at Judgment Day and at Extreme Rules in a Submission match by applying the STF . Cena lost a Triple Threat match to Orton at Night of champions . Cena is going to face Randy Orton at Summerslam 2009 . Cena lost by pinfall . At the first ever WWE Breaking Point , Cena won his fourth WWE Championship by defeating Randy Orton in a I Quit match . At Hell in a Cell , Cena dropped the title to Orton in a Hell in a Cell match . Three weeks later , at Bragging Rights , Cena defeated Orton in a 60 - minute match . A stipulation was placed that if Cena lost , he would have had to leave the Raw brand . He defended and retained his title at Survivor Series against Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a Triple Threat Match . John Cena went into a feud with the new Superstar of RAW Sheamus when he was announced as the new # 1 contender for the WWE Championship . They were scheduled to face at the new event in a table match . Their feud elevated when Guest host Jesse Ventura called for a contract signing for the Table match , only to have Sheamus put Cena through a table . At TLC , Cena lost his title to Sheamus after falling through a table of the top rope . 2010 . At Royal Rumble , John Cena entered at No . 19 , but was the last person eliminated by Edge . Then he won an Elimination Chamber Qualifier Match , and was put in to the Elimination Chamber at Elimination Chamber . he then beat Sheamus , Ted Dibiase , Triple H , Randy Orton and Kofi Kingston , and Captured his Sixth WWE Championship . An exhausted Cena basked in his accomplishment as the WWE Universe reigned their approval upon him . Glory was his . That glory , however , proved fleeting indeed . Mr . McMahon and his de facto enforcer as of late , Batista , made their way to the ring . The Chairman informed the newly crowned champion that he must defend his title against The Animal – immediately . Cena appeared incredulous , but knowing Mr . McMahon , perhaps he should have expected just such a despicable twist . Despite a valiant effort , Cena seemed too battered , too spent to mount a worthy defense , and he was forced to relinquish the championship to a victorious Batista . But he regained the title at Wrestlemania XXVI . He defended the title against The Animal , retaining it at Extreme Rules in a Last Man Standing match , and at Over the Limit in an I Quit match . Feud with Nexus ( 2010 - 2011 ) . On the June 7 , 2010 edition of RAW , which was a Viewer ' s Choice episode , Cena was suddenly thrust into a new storyline when during his main event match against CM Punk , he was attacked by all eight former contestants of WWE NXT Season 1 , with Wade Barret as their leader . Punk , his follower Luke Gallows , and other personnel around the ring were attacked as well , but Cena took the worst of the attack and was carried out on a stretcher . This group would later refer to themselves as The Nexus At June ' s Fatal 4 Way event , Cena lost the WWE title to Sheamus in a fatal four - way match that also involved Edge and Randy Orton due to interference by Nexus . The following month , in a WWE title rematch against Sheamus in a steel cage match at the Money In The Bank pay - per - view , the group interfered , thus costing Cena the chance of regaining the championship . Being fed up with their interference and attacks on other WWE superstars , Cena formed an alliance with Edge , Chris Jericho , John Morrison , R - Truth , The Great Khali and Bret Hart to face the group at SummerSlam 2010 . At the event , Cena ' s team defeated Nexus with the returning Daniel Byran , a former member of Nexus , who replaced Khali after getting injured . Nexus ' s actions , however , did not stop after SummerSlam . Hoping to end Nexus for good , Cena challenged Wade Barett to a match at Hell In A Cell only to lose due interference by two fans later identified as Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty . Due to the stipulations in place , Cena was forced to join Nexus . Cena had originally planned to destroy Nexus from within as a member of the group , but the Raw general manager ordered him to follow orders from Barrett , or else he would be fired . At Bragging Rights , Cena and Nexus member David Otunga defeated " Dashing " Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre to win the WWE Tag Team Championship . Later , Cena was forced to help Barrett win or lose his job . However , Cena twisted his words around and attacked Barrett giving Barrett the win via disqualification but not Orton ' s title . The following day , Cena and Otunga lost the Tag Team Championship to fellow Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel , when Barrett ordered Otunga to lay down and lose the title . At Survivor Series , Cena officiated a match for the WWE Championship between Wade Barrett and Randy Orton . As a part of a pre - match stipulation , if Barrett did not win the championship , Cena would be fired from the WWE . Orton defeated Barrett to retain the title , thus ending Cena ' s career ( kayfabe ) in the WWE The following day on " Raw " , Cena gave a farewell speech , before costing Wade Barrett the WWE Championship by interfering in his rematch with Randy Orton . A week later , Cena invaded " Raw " first as a spectator but then attacked members of Nexus , explaining that he would still take down Nexus one by one , despite not having a job in WWE anymore . Eventually Barrett offered Cena his job back if Cena would agree to face Barrett in a chairs match at TLC . Cena went on to face Barrett and win the match at TLC . The feuding end when John doesn ' t interference Nexus again when CM Punk becoming new leader of The New Nexus . Feud with The Miz and The Rock ( 2011 - 2012 ) . At the 2011 Royal Rumble , John Cena made it to the final five before being eliminated by The Miz , who was not officially a participant in the match . On the January 31 edition of " Raw " , John Cena was placed in a battle royal with six other superstars to determine who would face The Miz for his WWE Championship at the Elimination Chamber pay - per - view . Cena would lose the battle royal , and as a result of the anonymous general manager ' s stipulation , he was placed in the Elimination Chamber match that would determine the number one contender to the WWE Championship . At Elimination Chamber , The Miz retained his title against Jerry " The King " Lawler , and Cena won the Elimination Chamber match by last eliminating CM Punk , thus earning a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XXVII . On the February 21 edition of " Raw " , Cena rapped on The Rock , the guest host of WrestleMania , in response to some comments against him the week before . The Rock had mocked Cena ' s colorful shirts by calling him a " big fat bowl of Fruity Pebbles " and his " You Can ' t See Me " gimmick by referring to it as him playing peek - a - boo . Later that night , by order of the Raw general manager , Cena was placed into a WWE Tag Team Championship match against newly crowned champions Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel , with his partner being The Miz . The duo successfully defeated the two members of The Corre , becoming the new Tag Team Champions . They were immediately challenged to a rematch during which The Miz betrayed Cena , resulting in The Corre winning back the Tag Team Championship . On the February 28 edition of " Raw " , The Rock mocked Cena ' s rap and continued insulting him , including calling him a " Yabba Dabba bitch " , referring to the Fruity Pebbles remark made two weeks before . Cena and The Rock finally met face - to - face on the March 28 edition of " Raw " , which ended with Cena hitting The Rock with the Attitude Adjustment . On April 3 at WrestleMania XXVII , The Rock cost Cena his match for the WWE Championship against The Miz . The next night on Raw , Cena called out The Rock leading to The Rock challenging Cena to a match at WrestleMania XXVIII which Cena accepted making it the first time ever that the WrestleMania Main Event had been set a year in advance . The next week , Cena participated in a 5 - man gauntlet match to determine the # 1 contender to face The Miz at Extreme Rules . Cena was the last to come out against R - Truth . The Miz then interfered in the match , resulting in a disqualification ; however , it was then announced that they would both face the latter in a triple threat Steel Cage match at Extreme Rules . However , the following week , John Morrison defeated R - Truth to take his place in the match per the pre match stipulation . On the 2011 WWE Draft , Cena was drafted back to SmackDown in the overall first pick , only to end up drafted back to Raw with the final draft pick of the night . Later on Extreme Rules Cena has become WWE Champion back from The Miz and John Morrison inside a steel cage . Various Feuds and WWE Champion ( 2011 - 2012 ) . At Extreme Rules , John Cena defeated John Morrison and The Miz in a Triple threat Cage Match to become the WWE Champion once again . He defended the WWE Championship against The Miz at Over The Limit in an I Quit match and would later defeat R - Truth at Capitol Punishment . Cena was then scheduled to face number one contender CM Punk for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank . However , Punk would , on the June 27 edition of Monday Night RAW , deliver a scathing on - air speech concerning the way in which WWE is run and its owner Vince McMahon . This resulted in Punk ' s suspension from televised WWE events . McMahon would later reinstate CM Punk on the condition that John Cena , who heavily petitioned for Punk ' s reinstatement , would be fired on site if defeated for the championship . In his hometown of Chicago , in front of nearly 15000 fans , most of whom cheered Punk and heavily booed Cena before and through the match , CM Punk would go on to win the match and flee the arena with the WWE Championship . The following night on Raw , after an emotional speech by Cena , before McMahon could fire him , Triple H announced he was named as new COO and head of day - to - day operations in WWE and reinstated Cena . On the July 25th edition of RAW , Cena defeated newly crowned WWE Champion Rey Mysterio to regain the title . Soon after , CM Punk returned to the WWE with his title in hand causing both Cena and Punk to be recognized as WWE Champions at the same time . Triple H announced that both champions would face off against one another at Summerslam to determine the " undisputed " WWE Champion with Triple H as the referee . During the match , Triple H didn ' t see Cena ' s leg on the bottom rope during the pin , causing Cena to lose the match . but On the August 22nd edition of Raw , Cena defeated Punk to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship held by Alberto Del Rio . After the match , Del Rio savagely attacked Cena . On the August 29th edition of Raw , Cena would call out Del Rio , but Del Rio would not appear . On the August 30th edition of Smackdown , Cena would call out Del Rio again . This time , Ricardo Rodriguez , Del Rio ' s personal ring announcer , appeared claiming that Del Rio was unable to attend before being attacked by Cena . At Night of Champions , Cena defeated Del Rio to win the WWE Championship for the tenth time . After losing the title to Del Rio , Cena would be put into a feud with Awesome Truth ( The Miz & R - Truth ) which after 4 weeks of trading wins and losses , Cena and The Rock , defeated The Awesome Truth at Survivor Sereis . After Survivor Series , Rowdy Roddy Piper requested Cena " Give the fans what they deserve " ( this implies a Heel turn for Cena or for Cena to beg for the entire audiecnces approval . ) After helping Zack Ryder get a US title shot , Cena would be attacked by the returning Resurrected Kane , most likely causing a feud between the two . After a few weeks of attacks from Kane ( during which Cena saved Ryder from Kane ) , kane attacked Cena and Ryder at the same time injurying Cena and Ryder to an extent . After Ryder lost the US Title and not being cleared to compete , Cena " drifted torward the hate " ( in fan terms and on WWE InterAction " drifted torward the Dark Side " ) , attacking Jack Swagger . It was announced Cena vs Kane at the Royal Rumble . At WrestleMania , Cena lost to The Rock when he attempted a " People ' s Elbow " . The following night , he congratulated the Rock , despite the fans chanting " Cena heel turn " , Brock Lesnar returned , and tricked Cena into shaking hands saying " Yo good match " and hit Cena with an F5 . The next week on Raw , Cena would enter the arena and slap Lesnar in the face , causing Lesnar to attack Cena , giving him a bloody mouth . Later on , Cena and Lesnar would sign a contract that said they would face each other at Extreme Rules . During Extreme Rules , Lesnar dominated majority of the match and injured Cena ' s left arm but lost when Cena gave him an Attitude Adjustment . A few weeks later , Cena would be called out by John Laurinaitis to tell him who he will face at Over The Limit . Laurinaitis attacked him from behind , telling Cena that he was his opponent at Over The Limit . Lord Tensai and Sakamoto would then help Laurinaitis injure Cena . The next week on Raw , Cena would be interviewed via satellite by Michael Cole about his match against Laurinaitis at Over The Limit . The following week on Raw , Cena would humiliate and insult Laurinaitis . Later on , Eve handed a note from the WWE Board of Directors to Laurinaitis . Cena grabbed the letter , it said that the match will be 1 on 1 , there will be no special guest referee and any WWE employee that interferes with the match will be fired . It also said that if Laurinaitis loses the match against Cena , then he will be fired . Big Show & CM Punk , and Dolph Ziggler Feud ( 2012 ) . At Over The Limit , Cena would dominate and embarrass Laurinaitis majority of the match , causing Laurinaitis to retreat backstage . The fired Big Show would come out and toss Laurinaitis back into the ring . Cena would then attempt an Attitude Adjustment on Laurinaitis , but was stopped when Big Show would knock out Cena with a punch . Laurinaitis would then take advantage of the situation , and would defeat John Cena . After the events of Over The Limit , John Cena began a feud with Show , resulting in Cena defeating Big Show at No Way Out in a steel cage match , which would determine the kayfabe firing of John Laurinaitis . On July 2 , John Cena announced that he would participate in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match to stop Big Show . Cena won the match . On the next day , Cena announced he was going to cash in on CM Punk on RAW 1000 . The next week , Raw GM AJ Lee Announced Cena Vs . Big Show In A # 1 Contendership match . CM Punk interfered and told Cena And Big Show They ' re both losers but the GM instead Made Cena Vs . Big Show Vs . Punk At Summerslam for the WWE Championship . Over the course of the following two weeks , each time Cena went for an AA on the Big Show , it was shown that his knees were about to give out , making Punk " save " him . On the 1002 edition of Raw , Cena fought Daniel Bryan for the first time ever and defeated Bryan , afterwards Punk would stare down with Cena before Big Show attacked , Cena would hold him off and attempt an AA , but again , his knees nearly gave out , making Punk save him again , and just as Punk was about to walk out , Big Show laid both Punk and Cena out . Cena would fail to capture the title at SummerSlam after Punk pinned Big Show after Cena delivered an AA to Show , and at Night of Champions as the match ended in a draw , in which Cena was injured , and couldn ' t compete at Hell in a Cell , and gave the title shot to Ryback . Cena would get cleared to compete after Hell in a Cell and announced he would compete for the title at Survivor Series . At Survivor Series , Cena failed to rewin the title after an attack by the debuting Shield . After Survivor Series Cena started a feud with Dolph Ziggler after Ziggler insulted AJ Lee . However , at the event , Punk would pin Cena to retain the Championship . Despite this , Cena would continue to feud with Ziggler and on December 16 at faced Ziggler in a ladder match for his Wold Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank briefcase , but loss after AJ turned on Cena . The following night on " Raw , " Cena teamed with Vickie Guerrero to face Ziggler and AJ Lee in a mixed tag team match , however , the match ended in a disqualification after Cena was attacked by the debuting Big E . Langston . Cena then defeated Ziggler on the January 7 , 2013 episode of " Raw " in a singles match , and again in a steel cage the following week . Royal Rumble Winner and WWE Champion ( 2013 ) . On January 27 , Cena entered the Royal Rumble match at # 19 and won after last eliminating Ryback , becoming the fourth wrestler ( after Hulk Hogan , Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin ) to win multiple Rumble matches . The following night on " Raw " , Cena announced that he would pursue the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXIV , after which , he would be assaulted by The Shield . The following week on " Raw " , Cena would gain vengeance on the Shield when he , along with Ryback and Sheamus , attacked the stable . This culminated in a six - man tag team match on February 17 at Elimination Chamber , where the Shield emerged victorious . On the February 25 " Raw " , Cena defeated CM Punk to reaffirm his status as number one contender for the Rock ' s WWE Championship . Cena then returned to his rivalry with The Rock , with Cena blaming his personal and professional troubles on his loss to the Rock the previous year , going so far as admitting his own vanity had cost him the match . On April 7 at WrestleMania 29 , Cena defeated Rock in their rematch to win his eleventh WWE Championship . The following night on " Raw " , Cena began a rivalry with Ryback , after he saved Cena from a post - match assault from Mark Henry only to attack Cena himself . During his feud with Ryback , Cena suffered a legitimate achilles tendon injury , while also battling the Shield and facing them in losing efforts . On May 19 at Extreme Rules , Cena retained the WWE Championship against Ryback in a Last Man Standing Match after Ryback rammed Cena and himself into the electric backdrop at the top of the ramp , resulting in a no contest . On June 16 at WWE Payback , Cena defeated Ryback in a 3 Stages of Hell match to retain the WWE Championship , with Cena losing the Lumberjack match and winning the Tables match and the Ambulance match . The following night on " Raw " , Cena was attacked by the returning Mark Henry , who feigned his " retirement " , with " World ' s Strongest Slam " , sparking a rivalry between the two . On July 15 at the Money in the Bank pay - per - view , Cena defeated Henry via submission to retain the WWE Championship . The next night on " Raw " , new Raw general manager Brad Maddox announced that he would allow Cena to choose his own opponent for SummerSlam . Later in the night , after taking an informal poll of the live audience , he chose Daniel Bryan . On August 18 at the pay - per - view , Cena lost the WWE Championship to Bryan , with Triple H as the special guest referee , ending his reign at 133 days . The following night on " Raw " , Cena announced that he would undergo surgery for a triceps tear and would be out for four to six months . World Heavyweight Champion and various feuds ( 2013 - 2014 ) . On the October 7 episode of " Raw " , " SmackDown " General Manager Vickie Guerrero announced that Cena would be returning at Hell in a Cell , to face Alberto Del Rio for his World Heavyweight Championship . Cena went on to defeat Del Rio at the pay - per - view on October 27 , to win his third World Heavyweight title . The following night on " Raw " , Cena defeated Damien Sandow in his first title defense after Sandow attacked Cena before the match and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract . Cena successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Del Rio at Survivor Series . On the November 25 edition of " Raw " , John Cena suggested that there only be " one champion " in WWE , so Triple H stated there would be a unification match between him and Randy Orton at . Cena went on to lose the match to Orton , losing the World Heavyweight Championship in the process . Cena would then lose again to Orton at the Royal Rumble . Cena would enter a feud with the Wyatt Family , in which started at Elimination Chamber when Bray Wyatt caused Cena ' s elimination . Bray Wyatt told Cena that he would destroy Cena ' s legacy , but was unable to do so when Cena defeated Wyatt at WrestleMania XXX . The feud continued after WrestleMania based on the story that Wyatt was capturing Cena ' s fanbase , which was exemplified by Wyatt leading a children ' s choir to the ring on the April 28 episode of Raw , with the children later putting on sheep masks . At Extreme Rules , Wyatt defeated Cena in a Steel Cage Match , after repeated interference from the rest of the Wyatt Family and a demonic child . Cena ' s feud with Wyatt continued with a Last Man Standing match being set up for Payback . At the pay - per - view , Cena buried Wyatt under multiple equipment cases to win the match . WWE World Heavyweight Champion and feud with the Authority ( 2014 - 2015 ) . The next night on Raw , Cena faced Kane after interrupting Stephanie McMahon , who was criticizing Daniel Bryan ' s decision not to vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Payback pay - per - view . McMahon revealed an ultimatum for the champion ; be fit for the Money in the Bank pay - per - view or the title will be held for the first time in Money in the Bank ladder match . Cena went on to call McMahon a spoiled , jealous , ego maniac . Stephanie , in return , set Cena up against Kane . Cena won via disqualification , and was subject to being thrown into the steel steps . Cena retaliated , and threw the steps at Kane . The following week , after remaining Shield members Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns addressed Seth Rollins , they were attacked by The Wyatt Family . Cena came to their aid and was added in The Shield ' s six man tag team match against the Wyatts , which resulted in The Shield and Cena winning . On the June 16 edition of Raw , Cena was forbidden by The Authority to participate in a battle royal for a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship , but he would instead earn a spot another way : facing Kane in the originally proposed Stretcher Match Daniel Bryan was supposed to fight , which Cena won and earned his spot for the main event at Money in the Bank . At the pay - per - view , he captured his 15th world championship by winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event . Cena would successfully defend the title on July 20 at Battleground in a Fatal 4 - Way match against Randy Orton , Kane and Roman Reigns . The following month at SummerSlam on August 17 , Cena would suffer one of the most one sided defeats ever in a title match at the hands of Brock Lesnar and lose the WWE World Heavyweight Championship . On Tuesday August 19 it was announced that Cena would exercise his rematch clause against Lesnar at the September PPV Night of Champions . At the event , Cena won the match by disqualification after Seth Rollins interfered and attempted to cash - in his Money in the Bank contract , only to be thwarted by Cena . Cena then began began competing with Dean Ambrose for a match against Rollins at Hell in a Cell , culminating in a No Holds Barred Contract on a Pole match against Ambrose with the winner facing Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match and the loser facing Orton also in a Hell in a Cell match for a future WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Brock Lesnar . On the October 13 episode of Raw , Cena was defeated by Ambrose , and as per stipulation , would face Orton at Hell in a Cell . At the event , Cena defeated Orton , thereby earning himself a rematch against Lesnar . The following night on Raw , the Authority held a mock celebration for Cena ' s victory and attempted to persuade him to join them . Cena refused , so Triple H announced a 10 - man elimination match at Survivor Series where a team captained by Cena would face a team captained by Rollins . Cena soon set up a team consisting of Dolph Ziggler , Big Show , Erick Rowan , and Ryback to take on Team Authority , consisting of Rollins , Kane , Mark Henry , Luke Harper , and Rusev . On the November 3 episode of Raw , Mr . McMahon added a stipulation that if Team Cena was victorious , the Authority would be removed from power . On the November 21 episode of Smackdown , Triple H also added that if Team Cena lost , all of its members ( except Cena ) would be fired . At Survivor Series , Team Cena member Big Show turned on his teammates and aligned with the Authority by knocking out Cena with a KO Punch , allowing Rollins to eliminate Cena . Big Show then eliminated himself by walking out on the match . However , Team Cena eventually defeated Team Authority when Ziggler pinned Rollins after assistance from the debuting Sting , thereby removing the Authority from power . On the December 1 edition of Raw , the Anonymous General Manager announced that Cena would face Rollins in a Tables match at , where if he was defeated , he would lose his WWE World Heavyweight Championship match . At the event , despite interference from J & J Security and Big Show , Cena defeated Rollins after assistance from the returning Roman Reigns . On the December 29 edition of Raw , Seth Rollins and the remnants of the Authority attacked guest hosts Edge and Christian . Rollins proceeded to hold Edge hostage and threatened to break his neck ( he retired due to neck injuries ) unless Cena reinstated the Authority since he was the only one who could . To save Edge , Cena was forced to bring back the Authority , but Rollins tried to break Edge ' s neck anyway , but was stopped by Cena , who was soon after beaten . Afterward , the Authority celebrated their return on the entrance ramp . On the following Raw dubbed " Cena Appreciation Night " , as a result of Rollins ' s actions , Triple H added him into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Cena and Lesnar at Royal Rumble , making it a triple threat match . That same night , the Authority proceeded to fire Ziggler , Rowan , and Ryback for being a part of Team Cena . For the next few weeks , Cena attempted to restore their jobs . On the January 20 edition of Raw , Cena faced Rollins , Kane , and Big Show in a handicap match to win back Ziggler , Rowan and Ryback ' s jobs back . Despite overwhelming odds , Cena managed to win with rollup to Rollins after Sting , making his Raw debut , distracted the Authority . As per stipulation , Ziggler , Rowan and Ryback were rehired . At Royal Rumble , Cena failed to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after Lesnar pinned Rollins . United States Champion and Feud with Kevin Owens ( 2015 - present ) . In a backstage interview , Cena was interrupted by Rusev and the two shoved each other , beginning a feud between the two . On January 26 , it was announced on WWE . com that Rusev would defend his United States Championship against Cena at Fastlane . At the event , Rusev defeated Cena by submission , his first submission loss since No Way Out 2004 , after he passed out to the Accolade following interference by Lana . On the March 2 edition of Raw , Cena was planning on competing in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31 , but Stephanie McMahon decreed that he would not compete at WrestleMania unless Rusev agreed to give Cena a rematch for the United States Championship , which Rusev refused . On the following Raw after having defeated Curtis Axel , Rusev insulted the United States , prompting Cena to attack him and lock in the STF , refusing to let go until Lana granted him a rematch for the U . S . title at WrestleMania . At the event , Cena defeated Rusev by pinfall , winning his fourth U . S . Championship and giving Rusev his first clean loss . After WrestleMania , Cena began offering open challenges for his US Championship on a weekly basis to anyone who wished to face him , first defeaing Dean Ambrose on the Raw after WrestleMania . Rusev soon demanded a rematch , declaring he can beat Cena in a Russian Chain match at Extreme Rules . Despite constant attacks by the Super Athlete in the following weeks as well as constantly defending his title in open challenges , Cena managed to defeat Rusev at the event and retain the US Title . Later that same night , it was announced that Cena would face Rusev once again for the US Championship in an I Quit match at Payback . At the event , Cena once again retained after Lana claimed that Rusev said " i quit " in Bulgarian . On the May 18 edition of Raw , Cena once again issued a US Championship open challenge , only to be confronted by NXT Champion Kevin Owens , who flattened Cena with a pop - up powerbomb . Cena would be beaten by Owens at Elimination Chamber , then would beat him at Money in the Bank , and later for the United States Title at Battleground . Cena began feuding with Rollins , putting both the WWE and United States Championships at Summerslam . Cena lost due to interference from Jon Stewart , but Cena would give him an AA the next night . Cena challenged Rollins for the United States title at Night of Champions , which he won . Cena would issue an open challenge at Hell in a Cell , and that would be answered by a returning Alberto Del Rio , who beat Cena clean to win the US Title . Cena would have his rematch on the December 28 episode of Raw , which he wins via disqualification . Cena would take the time to heal his shoulder injury . Return ( 2016 - present ) . Cena would make a brief appearance at Wrestlemania 32 , helping The Rock against The Wyatt Family . Cena would make a full return on May 30 , and be welcomed by AJ Styles , and loud chanting begins between the fans of Cena and Styles . Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson would come out presumably to fight AJ and Cena , AJ turned on Cena and The Club beat down Cena . A dream match was held at Money in the Bank , between Mr . WWE and Mr . TNA . Styles defeated Cena at the PPV , with help from The Club . The Club would continue to beat up John Cena , until Enzo and Cass would come to help . A six man tag match was held for Battleground between Cena , Enzo and Cass against Styles , Gallows and Anderson . On the WWE Draft episode of Smackdown , Cena was the 7th overall pick for Smackdown . Outside of Wrestling . Music . In addition to his time in the ring , Cena is a rap music artist . He performed his fifth WWE entrance song , “ Basic Thugonomics , ” which was featured on the WWE soundtrack album WWE Originals . His track “ Untouchables ” was featured on Theme Addict , another WWE soundtrack album . His debut album , which he recorded alongside his cousin Tha Trademarc , You Can ’ t See Me features his current entrance theme “ The Time is Now ” . The first single from the You Can ’ t See Me album was “ Bad , Bad Man ” , a music video of which featured a parody of 1980s culture and the television show The A - Team . A second video was later made for the second single , “ Right Now ” , and premiered on the August 8 edition of RAW . John Cena has worked with several personalities in the Hip - Hop industry , such as Bumpy Knuckles , 7L & Esoteric , MURS ( including a music video ) , E - 40 and Chingo Bling . He and Method Man were also featured in SmackDown ! magazine and MTV . com . Cena and Tha Trademarc are also featured on a track by The Perceptionists named “ Champion Scratch . ” Cena was also the only professional wrestler to ever perform on BBC Two ’ s long running Top of the Pops . Film . WWE Films , a division of World Wrestling Entertainment which produces and finances motion pictures , produced Cena ’ s first movie - The Marine , which was distributed theatrically by 20th Century Fox America beginning on October 13 , 2006 . Cena had also appeared in 12 Rounds . In 2010 he appeared in his 3rd film " LEGENDA Around the time Cena ’ s film , The Marine , was released he began wearing attire more military related , including camouflage shorts , dog tags , a Marine soldier cap and a T - Shirt with the words “ Chain Gang Assault Battalion ” , reflecting his new Marine soldier gimmick . Guest appearances . Prior to his WWE debut , Cena made a guest appearance on the Internet stream show Go Sick in 2001 as Bruebaker , an angry , cursing wrestler . During his WWE career , Cena has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live numerous times . He has also appeared on popular morning radio shows Other appearances have included Late Night with Conan O ’ Brien , Fuse ’ s Celebrity Playlist , Fox Sports Net ’ s Best Damn Sports Show Period , MADtv , G4 ’ s Training Camp ( with Shelton Benjamin ) and an August 2006 appearance on MTV ’ s Punk ’ d , where he was the victim of a practical joke . He ’ s also served as a co - presenter , with Hulk Hogan , at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards , and as a guest judge on Nashville Star . Commercials . Beginning in October 2002 , Cena was featured rapping in commercials for the energy drink YJ Stinger . In November 2006 , Cena filmed a number of advertisements with Subway spokesperson Jared Fogle for Subway restaurants , which began airing in January 2007 . Personal life . Cena is dating current WWE Diva Nikki Bella .