Cena moved to California in to pursue a bodybuilding career and switched to professional wrestling in , making his debut for Ultimate Pro Wrestling UPW. He has headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-views, including its flagship event WrestleMania five times 22 , 23 , 27 , 28 and His career has been met with mixed critical and audience reception, with praise for his character work and promotional skills but criticism for his perceived over-representation and on-screen dominance relative to other wrestlers.
Cena's first starring film role was in The Marine and he gained praise for his performances in Trainwreck , Ferdinand , Blockers , and Bumblebee He released his only studio album, You Can't See Me , in , which peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Outside of his work in entertainment, Cena is known for his involvement in charitable causes, and has granted the most wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation at over His maternal grandfather was baseball player Tony Lupien , [ 27 ] while his maternal great-grandfather was businessman Ulysses J.
A childhood fan of wrestling, he would create championship belts out of cardboard for himself and his brothers. Cena idolized Hulk Hogan growing up, [ 17 ] [ 26 ] moving to California in [ 34 ] to begin training for a professional wrestling career the following year at Ultimate Pro Wrestling 's UPW Ultimate University, operated by Rick Bassman. He would later appear in a one-off appearance for the developmental farm in November under the ring name Mr. He entered a number one contender's tournament for the title, gaining upset wins over Eddie Guerrero , [ 46 ] The Undertaker [ 47 ] and Chris Benoit.
General Manager after accidentally attacking him in his wheelchair. On January 30, , Cena took part in the Royal Rumble match , making it to the final two.
He and Batista went over the top rope at the same time, at first ending the match but the match was restarted and won by Batista. Cena was drafted to the Raw brand on the June 6 episode of Raw , becoming the first wrestler selected in the annual draft lottery. McMahon announced Edge was cashing in his Money in the Bank contractβa "guaranteed title match against the WWE Champion at a time and place of the owner's choosing". Two quick spears allowed Edge to pin Cena and win the championship.
