How much is WWE John Cena’s net worth? The 16-time world champion has an estimated net worth of US$60 million. In addition to being a professional wrestler, he is also a successful actor and television presenter. He is also credited for hosting quiz game show ‘Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?’ which was previously presented by stand-up comedian Jeff Foxworthy.
Cena is signed to WWE on a part-time deal where he made television debut on June 27, 2002. He is a two-time Royal Rumble match winner, four-time world tag team champion and five-time United States Champion. He has set a record of holding the WWE Championship 13 times. He also won Money in the Bank once and is also noted for headlining several major WWE pay-per-view events like WrestleMania.
What is John Cena’s salary?
At present, Cena has a part-time deal with WWE and therefore he receives less amount of salary as expected. His annual salary is estimated to be US$4 million.
How old is John Cena?
He is 44 years old as of 2021 considering his date of birth (April 23, 1977). His sun sign is Taurus.
Real name, Ring names and nicknames
His birth name is John Felix Anthony Cena Jr. Other than ‘John Cena’, he has appeared in the ring as ‘Juan Cena’, ‘The Prototype’ and ‘‘Mr. P’. He has also been provided multiple nicknames like The Champ, Dr. of Thuganomics, Prototype, Super Cena, The Chain Gang Soldier, The Marine, The Franchise, The Face That Runs The Place and The Face of the WWE.
Who are John Cena’s parents and family members?
He was born o parents named John Felix Anthony Cena Sr (father) and Carol (née Lupien) Cena (mother). He carries Italian ethnicity from his father’s side whereas his mother is of French-Canadian and English descent. His maternal grandfather named Tony Lupien who was the first baseman in Major League Baseball.
Who are Cena’s siblings?
John Cena is blessed with three younger brothers and an older brother. His older brother’s name is Stephen ‘Steve’ Cena whereas his younger brothers are Dan Cena, Matt Cena and Sean Cena.
Height and Weight
five-time United States Champion, John Cena stands at a tall height of 6 feet and 1 inch or 185 cm. He weighs about 114 kilograms or 251 pounds. He looks like a bodybuilder and his distinctive features include his calmness and majestic smile. His chest, arms (biceps) and waist measure 52, 19 and 36 inches or 132, 48 and 91.5 cm respectively.
Religion
He is a Christian who was raised Catholic.
Who is his first wife?
His first wife’s name is Elizabeth Huberdeau. Their engagement was announced while Cena was promoting his Renny Harlin directed 2009 action film 12 Rounds. They celebrated their wedding on July 11, 2009. Cena filed for a divorce on the first day of May 2012. Their divorce was finalized in the month of July.
Were Cena and Nikki Bella married?
Cena and wrestler Nikki Bella were very close to get married and their wedding event was scheduled for May 5, 2018. However, the couple split and called off their engagement a month before their scheduled marriage. The love story of Cena and Bella turned to be a major storyline on WWE. Cena proposed to her on April 2, 2017, at WrestleMania 33. They got apart in April 2018.
Who is he currently married to?
He married his girlfriend Shay Shariatzadeh in March 2019 in a private ceremony at an attorney’s office in Tampa, Florida. His wife is known for working as a project manager for tech company Avigilon.
Rumored relationship
He has been rumored to have dated wrestlers like Maria Kanellis former (WWE 24/7 Champion), AJ Lee (currently married to CM Punk), Barbie Blank (ring name Kelly Kelly), Mickie James (six times WWE Women’s Championship) and Lisa Marie Varon.
John Cena’s children
Cena has clearly stated that he doesn’t want to be an absentee parent for which he is having less interest to welcome his own children. He is focused in his successful career and therefore he has no interest in having kids.
Endorsements
16-time world champion John Cena’s net worth is contributed by his endorsement activities too. He has endorsed the energy drink YJ Stinger appearing as a wrestler. He has also worked for the American restaurant franchise Subway. He also endorsed the products by American Body Builders in 2007. He was also seen in a commercial as part of Gillette’s “Young Guns” NASCAR campaign in 2008.
He helped introduced a new online campaign called “Be A Superstar” in 2009 expanding his relationship with Gillette where he was featured alongside Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho. The campaign turned very successful and was known for featuring motivational videos. He was also featured on the box of Fruity Pebbles cereal in 2013.
He contributed to the new commercial campaign launched by Wonderful Pistachios making his debut as the voice of Ernie the Elephant on October 13, 2016. He started a new partnership with Honda turning as the new voice of Honda in 2020.
Music
Most of his fans are aware that Cena is an expert rapper in addition to being a legendary wrestler. WWE Originals featured his fifth WWE theme song, “Basic Thuganomics”. He also worked for WWE ThemeAddict: The Music, Vol. 6. by recording a sing titled “Untouchables”.
On May 10, 2005, he released his debut studio album called ‘You Can’t See Me’ with his cousin Tha Trademarc. It features 17 tracks and made its debut at number 15 on the Billboard 200 charts. It includes the entrance theme song of John Cena i.e. ‘The Time is Now.’
Acting career
His first movie ‘The Marine’ was produced by WWE Studios, a division of WWE that made its thetare release on October 13, 2006. The movie turned to be hit as it garnered $18.7 million at the United States box office in ten weeks.
His second movie was ‘12 Rounds’ which was released on March 27, 2009, after one year of filming. In addition to Cena, it starred Gonzalo Menendez, Aidan Gillen, Steve Harris, Taylor Cole, Brian J. White and Ashley Scott.
He was co-starred in Mel Damski directed sports drama film ‘Legendary’ which was released on September 10, 2010. He was also featured in the romantic comedy film Trainwreck (2005), comedy film Sisters (2015) and Daddy’s Home (2015). He performed a voice role for the computer-animated comedy film Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania and Ferdinand in 2017. He has starred the Kay Cannon sex comedy film Blockers. He gave his voice for Yoshi, a polar bear in Stephen Gaghan directed fantasy adventure film Dolittle released on January 17, 2020.
How was his early life?
His birthplace is in West Newbury, Massachusetts. He went to Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts and later got transferred to Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. Forhis higher education, he was enrolled at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts where he used to play for the college football team. His jersey number was ‘54’, a number which he still uses on some of his WWE merchandise. He earned his degree in exercise physiology and body movement in 1998 from Springfield College. After completing his graduation, he started his career as a bodybuilder and used to work as a limousine driver.
Yes, he is. He is being followed by more than 15 million people on his Instagram account @johncena. He has managed over 13 million followers on his Twitter account reachable @JohnCena.
Wrestling career
In 1999, John Felix Anthony Cena Jr. started his professional wrestling training by joining Ultimate Pro Wrestling’s (UPW) California-based Ultimate University. In April 2000, he was able to earn the UPW Heavyweight Championship which he retained for about a month. He made an unofficial debut for WWF as The Prototype on October 10, 2000.
He entered into a developmental contract with the WWF in 2001 and started wrestling at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). His ring name was ‘The Prototype’ and was able to hold the OVW Heavyweight Championship for three months. He also retained the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship for two months alongside Rico Constantino.
On June 27, 2002, he made his WWE television debut on an episode of SmackDown where he replied to an open challenge by Kurt Angle. However, he lost by a pinning combination and tried to handshake with Angke after the match but Kurt leaves the ring ignoring Cena’s friendly hand. Seeing Cena’s outstanding performances, he was congratulated by The Undertaker, Rikishi, Billy Kidman and Faarooq.
He was one of the fan favorites and later started a feud with Chris Jericho whom he defeated at Vengeance. His next feud with Los Guerreros (Chavo and Eddie Guerrero) and successfully defeated Chavo Guerrero on the September 7 episode. He teamed with Edge on the September 12 episode of SmackDown! but lost to Los Guerreros.
He teamed with Billy Kidman for a losing effort for the first WWE Tag Team Champions of the SmackDown! brand. In the following week, he attacked Kidman and blamed him for the loss. This was the first and only time Cena turning heel. They faced in a singles contest on the October 17 episode of SmackDown!, where Cena turned victorious. In the rematch, Kidman turned as the winner on the October 24 episode of SmackDown!.
He appeared in a unique style performing rap and dressing as Vanilla Ice on the 2002 Halloween-themed episode of SmackDown!. He earned the nickname ‘The Doctor of Thuganomics’ for his rap. Later he started appearing in hats and sports jerseys. He was seen having a freestyle rap session with Rikishi and Rey Mysterio on a bus journey with other WWE superstars. This helped him to impress Stephanie McMahon (daughter of Vince McMahon).
He was joined by an enforcer, Bull Buchanan who helped him kick off 2003 with a win over Rikishi and record a win over Chavo Guerrero. Later, he turned as the number one contender’s tournament for the right to face Brock Lesnar for earning the WWE Championship at Backlash in which he became unsuccessful. He also faced The Undertaker after mocking him but was failed to register a win against him. On the August 7 episode of SmackDown! in 2003, he defeated The Undertaker with the help of A-Train. the August 21 episode of SmackDown!, Cena along with A-Train faced the team of Undertaker and Orlando Jordan where they turned victorious ending the feud between Undertaker and Cena.
On October 19, 2003, Cena lost to Kurt Angle at No Mercy by submission. Later, he joined Angle the 2003 Survivor Series. On January 25, 2004, he made his appearance on the Royal Rumble match where he was eliminated by Big Show who also eliminated Bradshaw and Tajiri. Cena started a feud with Big Show whom he faced No Way Out in a triple threat at WrestleMania XX alongside Kurt Angle. This time too, Cena lost to Kurt Angle by submission.
He won the United States Championship from Big Show marking his first singles championship in WWE. He held the titles for more than four months during which he defended it against Booker T, Rob Van Dam and Rene Dupree but later lost to Carlito. On the November 18 episode of SmackDown!, he was able to earn back the United States Championship from Carlito. Cena also successfully defended the title against Jesús in a street fight at Armageddon.
On January 30, 2005, he participated in the Royal Rumble match where he eliminated Kane, Viscera and Edge (with Batista) and reached the final two along with Batista. Batista turned the winner of the match. In February, he participated to become the number one contender’s tournament for the WWE Championship where he defeated Kurt Angle and started a feud with then WWE Champion John “Bradshaw” Layfield (JBL). They faced at WrestleMania 21 in April 2005 where Cen turned victorious and earned the WWE Championship for the first time. He defeated JBL again at Judgment Day in an “I Quit” match which helped him retain the championship.
In 2005, on the June 6 episode of Raw, he was drafted to the Raw brand where he quickly started having a feud with then General Manager Eric Bischoff. He retained his title defeating Chris Jericho and Christian in a triple threat match at Vengeance.
He retained his title by participating in the Elimination Chamber match where he last eliminated Carlito. In a minute, Vince McMahon announced that Edge was cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. Edge put two spears on Cena and became the new champion. Cena was able to gain the title back from Edge at the Royal Rumble on January 29, 2006.
Cena started making a feud with Triple H where the crowd started cheering the intended villain, Triple H and booing Cena. They faced at WrestleMania 22 on April 2, 2006, where he became victorious against Triple H making him retain the WWE Championship. He lost the title Rob Van Dam following the interference from Edge.
On the July 3 episode of Raw, he participated triple threat match involving Edge and Van Dam in which Edge turned as the winner making him earn the WWE Championship. Cena faced Edge in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match where he was able to regain the title again at the Air Canada Centre.
Cena appeared in a triple threat match at Cyber Sunday against the ECW World Champion Big Show and the World Heavyweight Champion King Booker. In the starting of 2007, he faced Kevin Federline who pinned him with an assist from Umaga. Cena was able to defeat Umaga making him retain the title in a Last Man Standing match.
Cena teamed with Shawn Michaels to earn the World Tag Team Championship against Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton). The victory made Cena become a double champion. He retained his WWE Championship title at WrestleMania 23 against Michaels who was forced to submit to the STF.
They lost their tag team match to The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) as Michaels turned on Cena. He continued his feud with Michaels, Orton and Edge until the challenge from The Great Khali. He started a new feud with the Great Khali whom he met at Judgment Day and turned the first person to defeat Khali by submission in WWE. He also secured a win against him at One Night Stand in a Falls Count Anywhere match.
After Khali, Cena started a feud with Orton who became the number one contender for the WWE Championship. They faced in SummerSlam and later at Unforgiven where Cena lost to Orton by disqualification as he ignored the referee’s instructions.
Cena suffered a legitimate torn pectoral muscle on the October 1 episode of Raw in a match against Mr. Kennedy. He went through surgery at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama which as performed by surgeon James Andrews.
On January 27, 2008, he made a surprise return being the final participant of the Royal Rumble match where he turned the winner by lastly eliminating Triple H. He also eliminated Mark Henry, Chavo Guerrero and Carlito.
At the 2008 Night of Champions, he faced Triple H in an unsuccessful attempt to regain the WWE Championship. Teaming with Batista, he turned the World Tag Team Champion for a second time by defeating Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase on the August 4 episode of Raw. However, they lost the title the following week in a rematch. Cena faced Batista at SummerSlam where he was defeated.
He became the ne of four contenders for CM Punk’s World Heavyweight Championship but couldn’t go for the title following a herniated disc in his neck for which he needs to go for surgery. He was replaced by Rey Mysterio.
He returned at Survivor Series and faced Chris Jericho to win World Heavyweight Championship. He lost the title to Edge at No Way Out. He was able to regain the title from the rematch in a triple threat match at WrestleMania XXV involving Big Show on April 5, 2009. However, he lost the title back to Edge at Backlash in a Last Man Standing match who was assisted by Big Show who chokeslammed Cena through a big spotlight.
He faced Big Show at Judgment Day and defeated him. They faced again at Extreme Rules where Cena continued his win by applying the STF. He also faced The Miz at The Bash in a singles match and became victorious.
He faced Triple H and defending champion Randy Orton for the WWE Championship in a triple threat match where he was pinned following the interference from Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes. He defeated Orton in an “I Quit” match at Breaking Point making him earn the WWE Championship for the fourth time. However, he lost the title back in a Hell in a Cell match. He regained the title back defeating Orton at Bragging Rights in a 60-minute Anything Goes Iron Man match. He was also able to protect his title from the triple threat match involving Shawn Michaels and Triple H at Survivor Series. He lost the title at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs to Sheamus on December 13, 2009.
He was honored with the 2009 Superstar of the Year after defeating CM Punk and Randy Orton in the first round and in the finals respectively. He faced Sheamus in a rematch to regain the WWE Championship but couldn’t grab it despite winning as he won the match by disqualification.
On January 31, 2010, he participated in the Royal Rumble match where he reached the final two but got eliminated by Edge. However, he was able to eliminate Kofi Kingston, Yoshi Tatsu and Shelton Benjamin. On February 21, 2010, Cena was able to regain his WWE Championship title at Elimination Chamber match involving Sheamus, Randy Orton, Triple H, Kofi Kingston and Ted DiBiase. Just after the match, McMahon made him defend his title against Batista with whom he lost the match.
On March 28, 2010, Cena and Batista faced at WrestleMania XXVI where Cena became the winner and retained the title against Batista in a Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules. He again turned victorious against Batista in “I Quit” match at Over the Limit.
During the main event match against CM Punk on the June 7 episode of Raw, he was attacked by NXT’s first season eight contestants who were led by Wade Barrett. The eight men group named themselves ‘The Nexus’ who interfered with Cena and made him lose WWE Championship at Fatal 4-Way to Sheamus. To fight against ‘The Nexus’, he formed an alliance with John Morrison, Edge, R-Truth, Chris Jericho, Bret Hart and The Great Khali. The alliance defeated ‘The Nexus’ where Khali was replaced by returning Daniel Bryan.
After this, Cena faced Barrett at Hell in a Cell which a condition that Cena would join “the Nexus’ if he loses and ‘The Nexus’ would disband upon the loss of Barrett. Barrett defeated Cena which made him reluctantly joined ‘The Nexus’. Cena teamed with Nexus member David Otunga to win over Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes for grabbing the WWE Tag Team Championship. He was also forced to assist Barrett in his WWE Championship match against Randy Orton.
He lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to the fellow Nexus members Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater when Cena’s tag team Otunga followed the order of Barrett to lay down and lose the titles.
A match was set between Barrett and Orton for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series with the stipulation that Cena would be “fired” from the WWE if Barrett failed to capture the championship. Barrett was defeated which made Cena fired (kayfabe).
He gave a farewell speech in the following night and the same night, he interfered with Barrett on his rematch against Orton for the title and made Barrett pay for whatever he has done. He came back and invaded Raw where he attacked members of Nexus and started taking down one by one.
Barrett rehired him in a condition that they would face at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a chair match where Cena turned to be victorious. Later, he started having trouble with CM Punk and they faced in a match on the January 17 episode of Raw in which he was attacked by the debuting Mason Ryan who later turned as the new member of ‘the Nexus.’ His feud with ‘The Nexus’ ended on January 30, 2011, at the Royal Rumble match where he eliminated most of the members of ‘The Nexus.’ He was eliminated by The Miz who was not a participant in the Royal Rumble match.
He won the Elimination Chamber matchmaking him grab the opportunity to earn WWE Championship by facing The Miz at WrestleMania XXVII. Cena put a reply in the form of rap to The Rock who gave comments in the previous week. He was teamed with The Miz to win the WWE Tag Team Championship match against Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel. Just after the match, The Miz attacked Cena and a rematch clause was immediately invoked which made Gabriel and Slater regain the title immediately.
Cena met The Rock on the March 28 episode of Raw where they experienced a verbal confrontation. During the match between Cena and Miz, The Rock performed a Rock Bottom on Cena which allowed The Miz to retain his title. The following night, Cena agreed to face The Rock in the main event of WrestleMania XXVIII on April 1, 2012.
He faced The Miz and John Morrison at Extreme Rules on May 1, 2011, turning the WWE Champion again. He successfully defended his title at Over the Limit against The Miz in an “I Quit” match. He also defeated R-Truth at Capitol Punishment making him retain his title again. Later, he lost the title to CM Punk whose contract was going to expire after Money in the Bank.
Cena challenged Rey Mysterio who won the WWE Championship in a tournament and regain the title for a record-breaking ninth time. Punk returned and defeated Cena at SummerSlam in a championship unification match. Triple H was the referee of the match who missed Cena’s foot on the rope. The title was later earned by Alberto Del Rio who defeated Punk by cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase.
Cena won the WWE Championship for the tenth time by beating Del Rio at Night of Champions after being the number one contender. However, he lost the title back to Del Rio at Hell in a Cell on October 2, 2011, in a triple threat match. Ge again lost the rematch to regain his title against Del Rio following the interference from R-Truth and The Miz.
Cena was given a chance to choose a partner to face Miz and Truth at Survivor Series for which he selected The Rock. They were able to defeat Miz and Truth on November 20, 2011. After this, he started having a feud with Kane whom he faced to a double count-out at the Royal Rumble and turned victorious in an Ambulance match at Elimination Chamber on February 19, 2012.
He competed in The Rock WrestleMania XXVIII in the main event match which was promoted as ‘once in a lifetime.’ Cena lost the match by pinfall when he tried to apply the People’s Elbow but The Rock countered with a Rock Bottom. He appeared in the following night and publically accepted his loss and invited The Rock to the ring so that he could congratulate him. Before the answer could come from The Rock, Lesnar appeared and attacked Cena giving him f-5. Cena faced Lesnar in an Extreme Rules match at Extreme Rules where he turned victorious on April 29, 2012.
Later, he also defeated Big Show in a Steel Cage match. He won the WWE Championship Money in the Bank ladder match on July 15, 2012. He cashed in his contract on CM Punk on July 23, on Raw but the match was disqualified after the interference from Big Show. John Cena won the match but couldn’t grab the title. Cena, CM Punk and Big Show faced each other in a Triple Threat match SummerSlam where CM Punk came out as the winner retaining his title.
His new feud was with Dolph Ziggler and the reason was an alleged relationship with AJ Lee. They faced at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, where Cena lost to Ziggler. Cena teamed with Vickie Guerrero to face Ziggler and AJ in a mixed tag team match, the match ended by disqualification after the interference from Big E Langston. Cena and Ziggler feud came to an end when Cena defeated him in a single match on the January 7 episode of Raw and in a steel cage match the following week.
On January 27, 2013, he entered the Royal Rumble match at number 19 and turned the winner marking his second win at the Royal Rumble match. He was able to eliminate Cody Rhodes, Heath Slater, Antonio Cesaro and Ryback at the last.
John Cena along with Sheamus and Ryback started a feud with The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins). There was a six-man tag team match at Elimination Chamber on February 17, 2013, where they lose to The Shield.
He defeated CM Punk to become the number one contender for the Rock’s WWE Championship. He faced The Rock at WrestleMania where he defeated him taking the previous year’s revenge and becoming the winner of the WWE Championship for the eleventh times. He shook hands with The Rock after the match showing a sign of respect. He retained his title against Ryback facing him in the Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules on May 19, 2013. He defeated Ryback in a Three Stages of Hell match at Payback on June 16, 2013.
He went t face Mark Henry whom he won by submission at Money in the Bank on July 14, 2013. He lost his WWE Championship to Daniel Bryans through a match where Triple H was assigned as a special referee. The following night, he announced that he would be out from the ring for a few months as he has to undergo surgery for Ha triceps tear.
On October 27, 2013, he made his return at Hell in a Cell where he registered a win against Alberto Del Rio making him earn World Heavyweight Championship. He retained his title defeating Damien Sandow and Alberto Del Rio. He challenged Randy Orton who was then WWE Champion to unify their respective championships Tables, Ladders and Chairs title unification match at TLC. However, he lost to Orton. They faced again in a rematch where Cena was distracted by The Wyatt Family making him lose the match.
After multiple interferences from The Wyatt family, Cena challenged Bray Wyatt for a WrestleMania XXX match. The match took place on April 6, 2014, where Cena turned successful in defeating Wyatt despite the interference from Erick Rowan and Luke Harper. He was defeated by Wyatt in a steel cage match at Extreme Rules on May 4, 2014. He was able to take revenge against Wyatt a Last Man Standing match by burying Wyatt under multiple equipment cases and finally recorded a win against him.
He made a win against Kane on the June 16 episode of Raw in a stretcher match which made him become qualified for the ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He was able to earn his 15th world championship at Money in the Bank on June 29, 2014. He was able to retain his title against Kane, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns in a fatal four-way match at Battleground on July 20, 2014. However, he lost his title to Brock Lesnar in a match where Cena was hit with two F-5s and sixteen suplexes at SummerSlam. They faced in a rematch where Cena was very close to secure a win but was attacked by Set Rollins.
He started to have a feud with Dean Ambrose and faced him to secure the right to face Rollins at Hell in a Cell but became failed in the process. He was able to become the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after defeating Randy Orton in a Hell in a Cell match.
He was offered by The Authority to join forces but he rejected the offer which made to a match between The Authority and Team Cena at Survivor Series. His team members were Big Show, Erick Rowan, Ryback and Dolph Ziggler. During the match, Big Show turned on Cena however, Ziggler still manages to win the match from team Cena’s side. The loss made The Authority stripped from power and a right was given to Cena that he could bring them back.
He went to defeat Roman Reigns at TLC: Tables, Ladders, Chairs & Stairs through which he gained the number one contender status for WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Cena faced Lesnar for the title on January 25, 2015, at the Royal Rumble where he turned unsuccessful.
His next feud was with Rusev whom he faced at Fastlane on February 22, 2015. He was defeated in the match where Rusev delivered a low blow at a time where distraction was made by Lana. They faced each other at WrestleMania on March 29, 2015, and Cena came out as the new United States Championship which he held for the fourth time. He successfully defended his title against wrestlers like Dean Ambrose, Kane, Bad News Barrett, Stardust, Cesaro, Zack Ryder, Sami Zayn and Neville. He also retained his title against Rusev in a Russian Chain match at Extreme Rules.
Later, he was attacked by then-NXT Champion Kevin Owens which made a match between them at Elimination where Cena was defeated. However, he was able to gain revenge in the rematch that took place at Money in the Bank. He also retained his title against Owens at Battleground. After this, he resumed his feud with Seth Rollins whom he defeated despite suffering a legitimate broken nose. He was defeated in a “Winner Takes All” match at SummerSlam amking him gave away his title. They faced again for the title at Night of Champions where he came out as the winner of the title for the fifth time. He retained his title against Rollins on the following night on Raw and also WWE Live from Madison Square Garden in a steel cage match. He lost the title to the returning Alberto Del Rio at hell in a Cell on October 25, 2015.
After shoulder surgery, he made his return at WrestleMania 3 on April 3, 2016, where he helped The Rock fend off The Wyatt Family. On May 30, 2016, he made his full-return on the Memorial Day edition of Raw. This return was four months prior to the expected time for complete recovery. His feud with AJ Styles started who was assisted by Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. He faced Styles at Money in the Bank on June 19, 2016, where he lost following the interference from Anderson and Gallows. He was again attacked by Styles and his allies but this time he was saved by the help of Enzo Amore and Big Cass.
They faced at the Royal Rumble match on January 29, 2017, where Cena defeated Styles to take the WWE Championship. This made him toe the record of world title reigns at 16 with Ric Flair. After two weeks, he lost the title to Bray Wyatt in an Elimination Chamber match on February 12, 2017. He lost a triple threat match also involving Wyatt and Styles for the championship.
The 16-time world champion was accused of being a hypocrite and Cena in response accused The Miz of stealing moves and personalities of other wrestlers. He was slapped by Miz’s wife Maryse. Later, a tag team match between The Mix with his wife and Cena with his girlfriend Nikki Bella was set where Cena and his girlfriend Bella turned as the winner.
He was named as ‘free agent’ by WWE in July 2017which made him able to work for both SmackDown and Raw brands. On July 23, 2017, he faced Rusev in a flag match and turned victorious. He also defeated Baron Corbin at SummerSlam on August 20, 2017. However, he lost to Roman reigns at No Mercy on September 24, 2017. He was rumored to get retired but he made his return to SmackDown where he turned the final member of Team SmackDown for the men’s 5-on-5 elimination match who was defeated by Team Raw at Survivor Series
He was seen struggling to find a way to enter WrestleMania in early 2018 where he lost the Elimination Chamber and the Royal Rumble match and a six-pack challenge at Fastlane. Later, he challenged The Undertaker who accepted the challenge after a few weeks. The sudden return from The Undertaker shocked Cena and lose the match within two minutes.
On April 27, 2018, he defeated Triple H at the Greatest Royal Rumble. After the win, he thanked the crowd for supporting him in his tough period where he was going through a recent breakup and a big loss against The Undertaker. He took a break during which he was involved in his acting profession. He made his ring return in October where he teamed with Bobby Lashley to face Kevin Owens and Elias in a tag team match at Super Show-Down.
He was scheduled to appear in a match at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on November 2, 2018. However, he refused to have the match following the murder of The Washington Columnist Jamal Khashoggi. At present, Cena makes irregular appearance in WWE. He faced Drew McIntyre and Finn Balor in a triple threat match on the January 14 episode of Raw, the match was won by Balor making him the number one contender for the Universal Championship.
On April 7, 2019, he appeared in his “Doctor of Thuganomics” persona at WrestleMania 35, where he interrupted Elias’ performance. He was also seen performing the rap battle against The Usos on the July 22 special edition of Raw. He took break for about half-year and made his return in February 2020. He was going to talk about his retirement but was interrupted by “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt whom he faced at WrestleMania 36 and got defeated. As per the storyline, Cena’s motionless body after the match vanished from the middle of the ring.
Finishing moves
His finishing moves include AA – Attitude Adjustment, STFU / STF and Killswitch / Protobomb.
Signature moves
His signature moves are Dropkick, Diving leg drop bulldog, Five Knuckle Shuffle, Emerald Flowsion, Springboard stunner, Running one-handed bulldog, Half nelson dropped into a neck breaker, Sitout hip toss, Sitout powerbomb, Spinebuster, Tornado DDT, Running leaping shoulder block and Sunset flip powerbomb.