Sports Celebrity: John Cena an American Wrestling Player

John Felix Anthony Cena (born April 23, 1977) is an American actor, rapper, and professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand where he is currently one of two disputed WWE Champions; the other being CM Punk.

Cena, who is of Irish and Italian descent was born April 23, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts, the son of Carol and John Cena, Sr. He is the second eldest of five brothers – Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean. After graduating from Cushing Academy, Cena attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. In college he was a Division III All-American center on the college football team, wearing the number 54, which is still used on some of his WWE merchandise. He graduated from Springfield in 1998 with a degree in exercise physiology, after which he pursued a career in bodybuilding, and also worked as a chauffeur for a limousine company.

In WWE, Cena has won 18 championships in total, including 11 World Titles (having won the WWE Championship a record 9 times and the World Heavyweight Championship twice). In addition, Cena has also won the WWE United States Championship three times, and is a four-time Tag Team Champion, having held the World Tag Team Championship twice (once each with Shawn Michaels, and Batista), and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice (once each with David Otunga and The Miz). Cena also won the 2008 Royal Rumble match, and is a two-time Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner (2009 and 2010). He is also the fourth longest WWE Champion behind Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan & Bruno Sammartino.

Cena started his professional wrestling career in 2000, wrestling for Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he held the UPW Heavyweight Championship. In 2001, Cena signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he held the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino).

Outside of wrestling, Cena has released the rap album You Can't See Me, which debuted at No.15 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and starred in the feature films The Marine (2006), 12 Rounds (2009), and Legendary (2010). Cena has also made appearances on television shows including Manhunt, Deal or No Deal, MADtv, Saturday Night Live, Punk'd, and Psych. Cena was also a contestant on Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, where he made it to the final round before being eliminated, placing third in the overall competition.

WWE Studios, a division of World Wrestling Entertainment which produces and finances motion pictures, produced Cena's first movie. The Marine, which was distributed theatrically by 20th Century Fox America beginning on October 13, 2006. In its first week, the film made approximately US$7 million at the United States box office. After ten weeks in theaters, the film grossed $18.7 million. Once the film was released on DVD, it fared better, making $30 million in rentals in the first twelve weeks.

His second film, also produced by WWE Studios, was 12 Rounds. Filming began on February 25, 2008 in New Orleans; the film was released on March 27, 2009. Cena co-starred in his third film produced by WWE Studios, titled Legendary, which was played in selected theaters starting on September 10, 2010, for a limited time, then it was released on DVD on September 28, 2010.That same year, Cena starred in the children's film Fred: The Movie, a film based on Lucas Cruikshank's YouTube videos of the same name, where he plays Fred's father. The movie was released on the Nickelodeon channel in September 2010.