John Cena initially earned his fame through wrestling, eliciting ringside cheers and boos at packed arenas. Now, the 17-time WWE world champion is stepping away from his first calling.
Cena, 48, enters the ring as a competitor for the final time Saturday, December 13, in Washington, D.C. The WWE star, known for his “Never Give Up” mantra, will face Gunther in his last match on Saturday Night’s Main Event, streaming on Peacock.
“I play fight with people for a living. That shouldn’t be a job, so I really enjoy it and I love what I do,” Cena previously told Ellen DeGeneres. “I just know it’s going to end at some point, so I kind of want to enjoy it all.”
At heart, Cena is a Renaissance man who has equally established himself as an actor and TV host. On the silver screen, he’s taken on leading roles in comedies—such as Trainwreck (2015), Blockers (2018), and Heads of State(2025), plus action films including Bumblebee (2018) and, in 2021, both Fast & Furious 9 (also known as F9) and DC Comics’ The Suicide Squad.
Meanwhile, on the small screen, he’s charmed as much hosting Saturday Night Live as he has playing himself on Hannah Montana and Parks and Recreation—and even hosting American Grit, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, and Wipeout. He most recently starred in season 2 of Peacemaker, the HBO Max series based on the DC character.
Add to that surprising—and successful—turns as a children’s book author and chart-topping rapper, and it’s a patchwork of projects only Cena could master so well. Here are 10 surprising facts you might not know about the multi-talented performer:
Cena started weightlifting to combat bullies
Cena has made a career out of his strong physique, but it actually started as self-defense since he was “really skinny and scrawny, like 100 pounds” and teased for his “choices of dress and music that I listened to,” he said on The Tonight Show. So he decided to take action.
“I was getting beat up and picked on in school. So instead of learning karate, I figured I’d just get bigger,” he told Men’s Journal. When he was 12, he asked for a weightlifting bench for Christmas.
He kept at it and eventually ventured out of his home gym. “By the time I was 15 and I stepped in the high school gym, I was just stronger than everybody,” he said. “Keep in mind, I wasn’t in, like, the big city. I was in West Newbury [Massachusetts], and to be the strongest person in West Newbury, that’s a very, very average accolade.”
He played college football
During his time at Massachusetts’ Springfield College, Cena was a football star on the offensive line. In 1998, as the team’s captain, he led the Division III school to its first NCAA postseason game. He was also named Hewlett-Packard Division III First-Team All-America and Eastern College Athletic Conference New England/Northeast Division III All-Star.
Although he told Men’s Journal he was “way too small” to consider a football career, Cena related to his character in the audio series 64th Man about a college player with NFL dreams. “The project really resonated with me because I played college football and didn’t know what I was going to do after my career ended,” Cena told the Associated Press. “When I read the script, I wanted to do it right away.”
He once lived out of the back of his Lincoln Continental
After college, Cena moved out to California with his eyes set on a bodybuilding career. With only $500, his dad warned him he wouldn’t make it more than two weeks. But he hustled, moving fitness equipment for one company and then working in the store of the Venice Beach’s Gold’s Gym for $6 an hour. “If you wanted to know about nutrition, protein or apparel, I was your guy,” he said.
He did everything he could to make ends meet. “In the beginning, I was living out of the back of my Lincoln Continental,” Cena told ESPN. “I was struggling, but I wasn’t ever sad. I was in the place where fitness had become famous, and I actually loved what I did.” Soon after, he got his start wrestling at a flea market.
He loves his rivalry with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
In an industry all about pitting players against one another, Cena’s favorite rival is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. “He tends to bring out the best in everyone,” Cena told Men’s Journal. “That’s why I admire him so much. Whether I personally like him or not is irrelevant. He brings out the best in everyone.”
The two most famously faced off a WrestleMania XXVII in 2012, when The Rock beat Cena. But the following year, the two had a rematch and Cena emerged victorious. The duo went face-to-face again at Wrestlemania XL in 2024 during the championship main event between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes.
Cena does have one accolade that Johnson can’t claim. With his Intercontinental Championship win over Dominik Mysterio in November 2025, Cena became only the 25th Grand Slam champion—meaning he’s held the WWE, Intercontinental, U.S. Championship, and Tag Team Championship belts during his career—in WWE history. Others include Shawn Michaels and Booker T.
He eats Tic Tacs to calm his nerves
Cena has some tried-and-true superstitions before his matches, including literally knocking on wood and shaking his opponent’s hand, saying, “Good luck. Be safe. Have fun.” But the sweetest tradition is a bit of a surprise: “I always eat Tic Tacs before the match, starting about three hours [before the match]. I consume probably five boxes of Tic Tacs on a daily basis before a performance.”
He scaled back on the volume when he told the story on The Kelly Clarkson Show, saying, “I was up to like three boxes a day, and it’s right in the 20 minutes before broadcast,” adding he’s weaned himself off them. “It’s a nervous superstition that I always have before we go on a broadcast,” he told Clarkson. But there’s the added benefit of the freshness factor. “The ring is 20 by 20 feet, and you’re with a group of guys, so you always want to try to smell your best.”
Cena authored several children’s books
When Cena set out to create a book series for kids, he was committed to the message, “It’s okay to be different. And it’s okay to be you.” So he created the character of a monster truck named Elbow Grease who isn’t the best in any competition, but remains true to himself and always finishes what he sets out to do. “Elbow Grease’s strength is gumption and the ability to just focus and work hard on the task ahead,” he said.
After all, that was key to his own upbringing, growing up with four brothers. “These concepts have been transformative in my life, from my childhood up to now, and it’s so important to me to pass the positivity on and help our youngest generation see that right mindset is key to achievement,” he said in a news release. The New York Times bestselling author also wrote Be a Work in Progress and Do Your Best Every Day to Do Your Best, both out in April 2021.
He released a hit rap album
After releasing the song “Basic Thuganomics” on a 2004 WWE Originals album, Cena teamed up with his cousin Marc Predka, known as Tha Trademarc, for rap album You Can’t See Me—which debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 on the Billboard U.S. rap albums chart in 2005, eventually going gold.
“Making music is something I love doing,” he told WWE.com at the time. “Don’t get me wrong, I love this business like nobody else, and this is my thing I live, eat, sleep, and breathe this—but whenever I have some time away from the ring, you'll find me in the studio.”
He’s granted more Make-a-Wish dreams than any other star
The superstar has made giving back a part of his reputation, especially by fulfilling the dreams of critically ill children between the ages of 2 ½ and 18 through the nonprofit Make-A-Wish Foundation. As of March 2025, he has helped grant more than 650 wishes—the most of any celebrity—earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The work truly puts things in perspective for Cena. “I think about when I just get a basic sickness and how grumpy, tired and fatigued I am,” he told Today. “Now, you are looking at a young person…every day is a challenge that I have no idea how they face.” So he’s more than willing to do his part, adding, “When you give them happiness, they get an escape. You don’t know the power of hope. Hope can equate to time and that’s absolutely priceless.”
He was nervous for his first onscreen kiss
In his 2006 acting debut, Cena had the comfort of the WWE being behind the production of The Marine—allowing him the opportunity to be truly involved in the creative process. “You never get a second chance to do your first movie,” he told MTV. “I really wanted to be as active as I could in the movie.”
He did just that, including all his own stunts. But there was one stunt he wasn’t exactly prepared for. “Believe it or not, the thing I had the most trouble with is making out with Kelly Carlson,” he said of the Nip/Tuck actress playing his wife. “I was as nervous as a kid going to junior prom...I’m meeting this girl for the first time, and the next day we walk into work, and I’m making out with her.”
He speaks Mandarin
Ever the advocate for WWE, Cena poured his all into expanding wrestling’s reach into the global market by learning Mandarin—and has now impressed fans around the world with his ability to speak at news conferences in the difficult dialect. He became “fascinated with the language and has become obsessed with trying to learn it,” even studying with a tutor, he told The Straits Times.
The dedicated student keeps his skills up with “a Ziploc bag with two huge stacks of flashcards,” as well as listening to podcasts. “I just try to immerse myself in the culture as much as I can,” he has said. Back in 2017, he called his skill level “remedial” and told the publication, “I’ve been studying Mandarin for five years, and I still speak like a third-grader.”
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
