John Cena: Fun facts, trivia about the 'Doctor of Thuganomics' you may not know

On the occasion of WWE superstar and multiple time pro-wrestling world champion John Cena's 43rd birthday, we present some interesting trivia about the wrestler...

John Cena. Pic Courtesy/ WWE

Former multiple and record-holding 16-time WWE world champion and World Heavyweight champion John Cena turns a year older today. From his in-ring performances to his on-stage gimmicks and his impactful personality, John Cena never fails to deliver for his fans. On his 43rd birthday, we bring you some interesting and lesser-known facts about the Cenation leader.

• Before entering WWE (where he would go on to become a major name), John Cena made his professional wrestling debut in 1999 as 'The Prototype', a semi-robot character in Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), a wrestling company in which he was also trained. Cena wrestling in WWE in several non-televised matches under this character before officially debuting in WWE under his real name in 2002.
• John Cena holds the joint-highest record for the most WWE World Heavyweight Championships with 16. Cena won the WWE Championship a record 13 times and is also a 3-time World Heavyweight Champion, which was contested on SmackDown.
• John Cena wrestled Olympic wrestling champion, Kurt Angle, in his official WWE televised debut on June 27, 2002. Angle, who won a gold medal in heavyweight freestyle wrestling in the 1996 Summer Olympics is also a renowned former WWE pro-wrestler with several championships to his credit. Their match was appreciated by fans and fellow wrestlers and although Cena didn't win he was congratulated by WWE stars The Undertaker, Rikishi, Farooq and Billy Kidman for his valiant effort and showmanship.
• Being a fan of rap music and hip hop culture John Cena cultivated an on-screen character of a freestyle rapper, persona that he admittedly came up with by himself in 2003. Cena has also sung and performed his fifth WWE entrance theme song, "Basic Thugonomics," himself. His debut rap album, "You Can't See Me", was recorded with his cousin rapper Tha Trademarc, which features his current entrance them, "My Time is Now" and the single "Bad, Bad Man", for which a music video was made that parodied 1980s American pop culture.
• John Cena has the fourth-highest number of combined days as WWE World Heavyweight Champion, behind Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, and Hulk Hogan.
• John Cena's match with CM Punk at WWE Money in the Bank 2011 has been cited by fans and critics as the best match of that year and has gone to win several awards in many major professional wrestling magazines.
• John Cena is one of four wrestlers to have won the WWE Royal Rumble on more than one occasion. Cena along with Shawn Michaels and Batista has won the Royal Rumble match twice while Steve Austin holds the record for most wins with 3.
• Outside wrestling, John Cena has starred in over 10 feature films. 'The Marine' and '12 Rounds', Daddy's Home and Ferdinand are his most well-known ones. John Cena will be appearing in his first-ever big-budget film in the upcoming Bumblebee movie of the Transformers franchise.
• John Cena is also a professional rapper and has various songs to his name. Cena released an album You Can't See Me in May 2005. His album debut at 15 on the Billboard 200. The biggest hit remains 'The Time Is Now'.
• John Cena has granted over 400 wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in the United States that arranges experiences to children with serious medical conditions making him the current record holder.
• Besides winning multiple world championships, John Cena is also a 5-time WWE United States Champion. He has also dabbled in tag-team wrestling and has won four tag team championships namely with Batista, Shawn Michaels, The Miz and David Otunga.
• John Cena was married to Elizabeth Huberdeau from 2009 to 2012. John Cena then began dating WWE female superstar Nikki Bella from 2012. The couple were engaged at WrestleMania 33. John Cena and Nikki Bella ended their relationship in April 2018.
• John Cena learnt the Mandarin Chinese language in 2016 in order to expand WWE's reach to the country of China.
• John Cena has many nicknames - The Cenation Leader, The Chain Gang Soldier, The Champ, The Doctor of Thuganomics, Big Match John, The Face of WWE and  The Face That Runs the Place.

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