John Cena

John Felix Anthony Cena Jr. was born on April 23, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts. His father, John Cena, Sr., is of Italian descent, while his mother, Carol, is of English and French Canadian origin and is the daughter of baseball player Tony Lupien. He is the second child of his parents and has four brothers; Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean.

As a child, he attended Central Catholic High School, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He was later transferred to the private prep boarding school, Cushing Academy. After completing his school education, he went to Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts.

He was the captain and MVP of his high school football team, and was NCAA Division III All-American status as a center on the college football team. He later left the game as he thought he was way too small for the game. He still uses his jersey number 54 on his merchandise.

In 1998, after graduating from Springfield College with degrees in exercise physiology and human anatomy, he moved to California to pursue a career in bodybuilding. He initially worked as a driver for a limousine company and spent nights in his 1991 Lincoln Continental, unable to afford an apartment.

Assuming his semi-robotic character, 'The Prototype', John Cena first appeared on World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in a match against Mikey Richardson on October 10, 2000. He lost this match, and was eventually given another opportunity on January 9, 2001 at a 'SmackDown!' taping in Oakland, California, against Aaron Aguilera, which he won. He soon signed a contract with WWF and was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he held the Heavyweight Championship for three months.

On June 27, 2002, he debuted on television in an episode of 'SmackDown!' after he was challenged by Kurt Angle. While he lost the match from a near-win condition, he won the hearts of the audience and became a fan-favorite. Around this time, he developed a new character of a rapper, known as 'Doctor of Thuganomics', and started to perform freestyle raps about his opponents.

In 2004, he made it to the final six in the annual Royal Rumble before being eliminated by the Big Show. It led to a feud between the two, which Cena ultimately won, clinching the United States Championship, his first WWE title.

In 2005, he began a feud with then WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) after losing the United States Championship. He eventually claimed his first WWE world championship by defeating JBL at WrestleMania 21.

After losing his WWE Title to Edge in 2006, John Cena reclaimed it in a Royal Rumble match. The next year, he, along with Shawn Michaels, won the World Tag Team Championship from Edge and Randy Orton in RAW.

Touted as the greatest WWE star of all time by industry veterans, John Cena is popular to his fans for his work outside wrestling as well. Cena, who became WWE's highest paid wrestler in 2016, has also released a rap album titled 'You Can't See Me', and has acted in films like 'The Marine', '12 Rounds', 'The Reunion', 'Trainwreck', and 'Sisters'.