"The Phenomenal Rise and Legacy of John Cena: A Look at the Career of a Wrestling Icon"

[{"selector":"#anim-6d959118-fa3a-40d4-b166-27eb047f6672","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-3b4333f2-b4b9-49da-bcf5-4ef04e75db67","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] credit: Getty images John Cena is a household name when it comes to professional wrestling. The man with a chiseled body, charismatic personality, and never-give-up attitude has won the hearts of millions of fans worldwide.

[{"selector":"#anim-8a044066-666d-4e0c-b409-a7708f6386e4","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-174d5aa9-1d11-48d0-90da-0bd8c74457bc","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] credit: Getty images He has been one of the biggest draws in the industry for over a decade and has been responsible for bringing in a new generation of fans to the WWE.

[{"selector":"#anim-04bbf381-d258-4650-a414-fc739684a1e4","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-b8bba019-8a43-4b04-9129-d9cc61382f4e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] credit: Getty images John Cena was born on April 23, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts. He was the second oldest of five siblings and grew up in a family of Italian and French-Canadian descent.

Cena was an athletic child who excelled in sports, particularly football.

[{"selector":"#anim-4bb74a29-f2f9-4436-935f-db25dfa03a35","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-92388c65-297f-468f-b022-af3909bf33ce","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] credit: Getty images

[{"selector":"#anim-e0154df6-765d-4b05-b7e8-850d315156d2","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-8011c09a-32a1-49dd-922a-b7a9f569b72a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] credit: Getty images He attended Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where he played football and was an all-American center.

Cena then went on to attend Springfield College, where he played football and earned a degree in exercise physiology.

[{"selector":"#anim-5e9ede19-dea2-4f4e-bdb2-336c70401e33","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-cf7a4069-4a22-4bde-84e3-bde5be90e1b2","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] credit: Getty images

[{"selector":"#anim-d1265585-5e9d-4bcf-9e7e-4b60a822bd61","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e0452faf-dac6-4a83-9356-5397c7e08281","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] credit: Getty images Cena began his professional wrestling career in 1999, working for Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) in California. Cena began his professional wrestling career in 1999, working for Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) in California.

[{"selector":"#anim-b8f88447-ed24-4689-a9d4-e53ae713aad1","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-609cfade-1b68-4faa-a474-dfd523efa917","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] credit: Getty images He trained under the tutelage of Rick Bassman and quickly became a fan favorite in the promotion

[{"selector":"#anim-4e9d2b44-daaf-43c8-b832-af70849654c7","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-684dd408-2253-435f-9b16-2ccd209f6a19","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] credit: Getty images In 2001, Cena signed with the WWE and was assigned to the company's developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). Cena quickly rose through the ranks in OVW and made his WWE debut in 2002.

Cena's early WWE career saw him adopt a rapper gimmick and don the persona of "The Doctor of Thuganomics."

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"The Phenomenal Rise and Legacy of John Cena: A Look at the Career of a Wrestling Icon"

Cena was an athletic child who excelled in sports, particularly football.

Cena then went on to attend Springfield College, where he played football and earned a degree in exercise physiology.

Cena's early WWE career saw him adopt a rapper gimmick and don the persona of "The Doctor of Thuganomics."

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