John Cena is a known WWE legend. He is also a sought-after actor in Hollywood. He has acted in movies like the ‘Fast And Furious‘ franchise, ‘The Suicide Squad’ and more. However, did you know that he had a very humble beginning?
Cena first moved to Los Angeles in 1999. His journey to make a name for himself started from there and it was not easy. Cena apparently lived in his car and survived on pizza during the early years. So let’s take a look at how things turned around for him.
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John Cena’s Rags To Riches Story
The WWE star talked about his journey on the Peacock talk show ‘Hart to Heart’. Hosted by comedian Kevin Hart, Cena opened up about his career and success. When Cena arrived in Los Angeles, he only had an exercise physiology degree.
Interestingly, entertainment was not the industry that Cena was looking into. “I didn’t move out to LA to pursue entertainment,” he told Hart, and added, ”[I] came out here to apply my degree and really failed. I couldn’t get any validation for that piece of paper that I paid for. That four-year certificate from Springfield College saying, ‘We think you know what you’re talking about.’”
After being ditched from many jobs, Cena tried out for the post of highway patrol officer. Unfortunately, this one also failed and Cena faced homelessness, sleeping in the back of his 1991 Lincoln Continental and living off free pizza from a local shop. He would eat one whole pizza every night to not have to pay for it.
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John Cena’s Inspiring Journey
John Cena decided to stay and fight for his dreams instead of moving back. “I’m very fortunate for my story because it was my choice to have hard times,” Cena said. “My father always said, ‘You’re my son. I love you. You’re always welcome back home.’ If I could get to West Newbury, Massachusetts, I would be fed. I would have a roof over my head. I would be able to regroup,” he added.
Cena’s career breakthrough happened after he enrolled in Ultimate Pro Wrestling school and made his WWE debut. “I did not know that wrestling was even a career option,” John Cena told Kevin Hart. “I watched it as a young man, kind of fell out of it as an adolescent, a teenager, because it’s like, ‘Oh, you’ve gotta study hard and maybe play sports and go get a real job or whatever’,” he further said.
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