It was June 22, 2002. A normal episode of SmackDown – so everyone in WWE thought. That night, and for a while after, until it became clear that the show would go down in history.
‘Ruthless aggression’ were the two words that a 25-year-old John Cena would mutter in the direction of Kurt Angle, stomping out to the ring to challenge the biggest name in the company on the spot.
Of course, it was planned. But the fact that a novice from Massachusetts was trusted on that stage showed the faith WWE had in the up-and-coming star. And boy, did it pay off.
Saturday night will see Cena bow out of WWE for good. A 23-year career that has featured just about everything it could have featured – from countless titles, a failed relationship with a current wrestler and a final year of mixed reviews – will come to an end.
‘It is surreal to see John bowing out,’ Finn Balor, a former world champion in WWE and opponent of Cena, tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘A little known fact… the last piece of WWE merch I bought as a fan was a John Cena shirt.
‘John speaks to everybody. A lot of people think his character is targeted towards kids – I was a grown adult when I bought that shirt, in the business and performing in Japan. He connects with everybody: kids, adults, boys, girls, young and old. His career will go down as one of the greatest.’
John Cena’s WWE career will come to an end on Saturday after his final ever match
He has had an up and down time with the company, including a controversial run as a heel in his final year
That’s the thing about John Cena. From the word go, he has won the hearts of all different types of fans.
It’s partly why his farewell year was so interesting. In March he turned heel – bad – for the first time ever, aligning with The Rock to win a record-breaking 17th world title in WWE against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania.
To many, the whole process felt off. Slightly rushed, maybe. The Rock wasn’t seen again and the story fell somewhat flat – particularly after rapper Travis Scott, who had bizarrely made the alliance a trio, disappeared from TV.
‘I enjoyed it because I like when people try something new,’ Balor says, giving a view from inside the locker room. ‘It was designed for that moment when screens went from black to colourful. Perhaps some people didn’t enjoy it during the squeeze of the juice, but, when it changed back, we got the John Cena back we all wanted. I think it was very brave and really well executed and id like to see more of that in pro wrestling.’
And so superman, as Cena has sometimes been known, turned good again. On August 1, he admitted his time acting different ‘sucked’, and he would once again be the star that everyone had grown to love.
Some more than others, it seemed. In 2012, Cena entered a relationship with fellow wrestler Nikki Bella. One half of the Bella Twins with sister Brie, Nikki is already a WWE Hall of Famer, and ended up forming a power couple with Cena.
They dated for years, getting engaged at WrestleMania in 2017. Less than a year on from that, though, just before they were due to get married, they went their separate ways.
‘Overall, we did have such an incredible relationship, it was just two people that wanted two different lives,’ Bella said on Maria Menounos’ ‘Better Together’ podcast in 2020. ‘We were trying so hard to make it one.
Cena was previously engaged to fellow wrestler Nikki Bella (left), but is now married to Shay Shariatzadeh (right)
Bella revealed that her and Cena broke off their relationship due to a difference in if they wanted to have children
Finn Balor (right) has given Daily Mail Sport an insight into what Cena is like away from cameras
‘Even in the end when he was willing to give me kids, I could just tell, it’s not what he wanted. And that’s really what pushed me in the end.
‘If I’m going to force someone to be a father, what if he looks at you down the road and just regrets everything, and then you have this child and you’ve built this life? Is that what you want? And I remember thinking, “It’s not what I want”.’
And so it was back to wrestling – and acting – for Cena. Having been a bodybuilder in the late 1990s, he realised wrestling was actually where he wanted to be.
That’s right. After Cena graduated college, he became a bodybuilder and competed in local competitions while also working in gyms. Until his wrestling career took off.
He received plaudits for his in-ring skills. Not always – fans were at times critical in a period where he was regularly booed and ‘John Cena sucks’ became the background to his iconic walk-on song of ‘My Time is Now’.
But he worked his way up the ranks, winning titles and enjoying iconic rivalries with the likes of Edge, CM Punk and Randy Orton, and soon became a household name.
And it was his attitude, and character, that helped that happen too. Always willing to help and always there for the fans – he holds the Guinness World Record for granting the most wishes – 650 – through the Make A Wish Foundation.
‘When I came to WWE, John was at his peak,’ Balor says. ‘The top guy, the locker room leader. Me coming in as a new fresh talent from Japan with expectation, he could have seen me as a threat who he wanted to keep down, but, quite the contrary, he saw me as an ally. Someone who could help him grow the business.
A former bodybuilder, Cena has went part-time in wrestling to take up roles in Hollywood
Gunther, a former world champion in his own right, will be Cena’s final opponent on Saturday
Cena will bow out on his own terms after 23 years in the game at Saturday Night’s Main Event
‘He was always forthcoming with advice in or out the ring and I had got the impression that all top WWE superstars are like this. Fast forward 11 years, I realise not everyone is like that, that was just John being John. I was naive to think everyone would be like John Cena when there is only one John Cena.
‘He has the respect and accolades he has because of the way he has acted throughout his career and his life and that is something I will not only be very grateful for, but try my best to learn from and use as guidance for how I should act.’
In 2006, he was in Marine, but shook things up when, in the mid 2010s, he went part-time in wrestling to embark on his acting career. Since, he has starred in films such as Daddy’s Home, F9, The Suicide Squad and Barbie. More are to come.
His wrestling and acting has helped him to a reported net worth of a staggering £60million, which will surely only increase as he seemingly takes to Hollywood full-time when he’s done with wrestling.
Away from the ring and acting, he is now married to Shay Shariatzadeh – his second wife – having wed in 2020. He seems settled, happy – and ready for the next chapter.
And so this Saturday, following a tournament to decide who it would be, Gunther has the honour of being Cena’s last-ever opponent. A former world champion himself – recently, too – he is rated incredibly highly in WWE.
‘I won’t be at the show,’ Balor adds. ‘We were supposed to be involved, but, because JD [McDonagh, Balor’s tag team partner] is hurt, I will be at home on the couch with a cup of tea watching it just like I would have been 30 years ago as a Cena fan, cheering John.
‘I look forward to seeing John versus Gunther. It is going to be an incredible match – I can’t wait to see it. A clash of styles, a clash of chapters of my life.’
And, at the end of the match, when all is finally, after 23 years, said and done, the wrestling world will wave goodbye to John Cena for good.
John Cena’s final match takes place on Saturday, 13 December at Saturday Night’s Main Event, available to watch for free on WWE’s YouTube channel. Finn Balor returns to Europe this January during the ‘Road to Royal Rumble’ tour, tickets available now from Ticketmaster.