The 3 faces of John Cena: How WWE’s franchise player became bigger than wrestling

How do you effectively summarize the journey of a legend?

How do you take a quarter century of achievements, championships and memories and summarize them into something easy to digest, but at the same time meaningful enough?

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How do you quantify a once-in-a-generation race in a field that doesn’t track the bumps suffered, the finishing touches or the smiles delivered?

In an industry as unquantifiable as professional wrestling, you pull everyone aside and look at the numbers.

There is the largest, 17, which represents the record number of world championships won. There are 26, the number of years of struggle in the end. There are 1,554, the total of matches played at this stage of the career. There are 100, the number of wins in premium live events, when the lights are brightest.

This is all great, but they fail to sum up John Cena, who on Saturday will wrestle for the last time in a WWE ring. For Cena, the number that should exemplify his legacy is three.

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There’s a certain irony in describing a retired professional wrestler’s career with the number three because it represents in-ring finality, but when you look at Cena’s legacy, it boils down to a trio of characters who embodied the superstar who defined a generation.

John Cena, the wrestler.

John Cena, the artist.

John Cena, the ambassador.

John Cena, the wrestler

From an in-ring perspective, Cena’s style worked incredibly well for what it was.

Never a traditional high-flyer or worker – there’s a reason it took until his final months for Cena to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship, known as the worker’s title – the early parts of Cena’s career were defined by power-based offense and a set of moves known as the “Five Moves of Destiny”, which would typically be unleashed after being beaten by his opponent and would ultimately result in a victory. The rinse-and-repeat formula earned him the nickname “Super Cena” from disenfranchised fans due to the repetitive nature of his matches.

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Yet many highlights proved that these criticisms of Cena were largely unfounded and subjective.

In the late 2000s, Cena’s feuds with Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton and Edge produced classics that still hold up today. His return at the 2008 Royal Rumble is among the greatest in the history of the event. Cena headlined six WrestleManias, including three in a row from 2011 to 2013, having two underrated matches against Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in a proverbial passing of the torch moment. His 2011 Money in the Bank championship match against CM Punk still stands out as one of the best of his career and helped solidify Punk’s status as a WWE legend.

Cena’s style was one that suited himself and WWE at the time. This was part of what made him such an excellent contrast to Michaels, Edge, Punk and, later in his career, AJ Styles, all of whom had higher work rates in the ring. He also had seemingly limitless strength, lifting Big Show, Mark Henry, and, at times, several wrestlers onto his shoulders for his attitude finisher.

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Styles’ arrival helped Cena shed any perceived slights regarding his in-ring abilities. Cena and Styles first met in a WWE PLE at Money in the Bank in 2016, but their best match of that first run came at SummerSlam that same year. It was an instant classic, showcasing the two men’s contrasting styles and seemingly unlocking something in Cena as the quality of his matches quickly began to outweigh their quantity.

Throughout the 2010s, Cena also dispelled misconceptions about burying talent. Along with the criticism of “Super Cena” came the notion that his star was shining at the expense of young talent. While this is not an uncommon criticism at the top of the card in professional wrestling, in Cena’s case he played a pivotal role in the introduction of the Nexus and the elevation of the United States Championship, his open challenge serving as the main roster introduction for Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.

This latest performance as an in-ring performer was among Cena’s best – again, quality over quantity.

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Cena showed a mastery of in-ring psychology, an expanded move set, and the same Herculean power that made him one of the greatest of all time. The renewed rivalries with Orton and Punk hit all the nostalgic notes one would expect. His final match with Cody Rhodes provided both another five-star effort and his own passing of the torch moment, 12 years after WrestleMania 29. His reunion with AJ Styles was a swan song for two icons who won’t be matched any time soon. Perhaps the most telling thing about Cena’s entire career is that, despite what he has said in interviews about this past year, he has never seemed to slow down in the ring.

John Cena, the artist

In many ways, Cena probably shouldn’t have been as successful as he was. After bursting onto the scene in 2001 more as “The Prototype” than “John Cena,” it took the Massachusetts native a while to find his footing in WWE.

In the end, Cena’s charisma and talent as an artist won out, leading to his freestyle rapping, jersey-wearing “Doctor of Thuganomics” persona. What seems dated in 2025 worked tremendously for Cena 20 years ago, connecting him to the crowd in a way that would only improve and evolve seemingly every moment over the next two decades.

Cena faced two major transition obstacles during his career, especially as he progressed in WWE.

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First, with the retirement of Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock’s focus on Hollywood, there was a void as WWE transitioned from the beloved “Attitude Era” circa 2002 to what is now considered the “Ruthless Aggression Era.” Cena – and his OVW colleagues Batista, Brock Lesnar and Orton – helped close the gap, even with legends like The Undertaker, Michaels and Triple H still occupying the main event spots, but none reached the heights that Cena reached.

The second challenge paralleled the first. While violence and sex appeal helped WWE win the Monday Night Wars, the company was poised to move in a more family-friendly direction by the summer of 2008: the “PG era.”

Cena, after rising to fame as the “Doctor of Thuganomics”, essentially erased his persona, trading in the retro jerseys for brightly colored WWE branded merchandise, renaming his signature from his original nickname – the FU. — and weaving in themes of patriotism and the military after starring in “The Marine.” While the brand’s intensity was still there, the message and tone changed in a way that fit the direction WWE wanted to take and solidified Cena as the purest babyface character of the last quarter century.

Throughout it all, Cena’s ability to connect with an audience and deliver meaningful promos never wavered. There were merchandise, catchphrases, a rap album – including his own now timeless theme – films, commercials and more that all played a role in Cena’s transformation into one of the most influential performers in professional wrestling history.

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As Cena’s career progressed, particularly as he went from being a full-time WWE superstar to dipping his toe in the Hollywood pond, a new authenticity emerged when he took the mic in the ring. Rather than sticking strictly to kayfabe, Cena consistently broke the fourth wall in a way that elevated his segments, while also serving as a wink and a nod to a professional wrestling culture that is increasingly online and connected to backstage happenings.

Even during his retirement tour, Cena showed new depth as a performer. Say what you will about his overall heel run in 2025, Cena followed us at the start of the year and the turn itself was arguably as stunning as any we’ve seen since July 7, 1996. Then, when it was time to turn again, Cena flipped the switch and it was back to business.

John Cena, the ambassador

The final pillar of Cena’s legacy is perhaps the most important. Beyond the 17 world championships or millions of dollars in merchandise and tickets sold, Cena serves as an ambassador for WWE.

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For 20 years, Cena was a reliable spokesperson for WWE, able to showcase the best of the company with an impeccable image and charisma for days on end.

WWE needed to promote an event? Send Cena to Kimmel or Conan.

Nickelodeon needs a host for the Kid’s Choice Awards? Call Cena.

For a billion-dollar company, Cena was the QB1 of QB1s when it came to PR, but it went beyond that.

Cena has worked extensively with Make-A-Wish throughout his career, granting more than 650 wishes to sick children and their families as the current Guinness World Record holder for the foundation. Even though the IWC will debate star ratings or engage in tribal squabbles over promotions, Cena’s generosity and good heart are an undeniable measure of his greatness, not only as a performer, but as a human being.

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Cena embraced his role as a real-life superhero to millions of children, offering just a few minutes of his time to brighten the lives of those who needed it most.

Now comes the hard part.

After looking at the things that made Cena who he is today, we have to ask, how do you sum it all up?

Have there been and will there be better wrestlers than Cena? Yes.

Have there been and will there be better performers than Cena? Yes, but there is so much subjectivity involved that it is a matter of debate.

Have there been or will there be better ambassadors than Cena? Certainly not.

In a world built on Kayfabe, Cena brought an authenticity that weathered industry-wide changes, thriving over several decades, demonstrating longevity that lasted from flip phones to FaceTime.

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In a landscape that calls for change – of character or company – Cena embodied his motto, “hustle, loyalty, respect” better than anyone, and when he turned around, the wrestling world collectively said “no thanks, we like the old way better.”

The last time finally being now, everything is clear:

We won’t see another John Cena again.