8 Wrestlers Who Saved Their WWE Careers (By Being Awesome At Something Else)

7. John Cena - Rapping

JBL 2004
WWE

John Cena was floundering as the voice—not the face—of the ‘Ruthless Aggression’ Era in 2002.

He fit the visual remit of a WWE Superstar—he was not initially billed as the ‘Prototype’ by coincidence—and while he could talk, he didn’t do so with much personality. His gimmick was that of a plucky upstart, which only works at the beginning of one’s career. His wasn’t a persona but rather the manifestation of Mr. McMahon’s value range ‘Dawn of the Attitude Era’ announcement, and after a hot introduction in which he took John Cena to the limit, by October 2002, he found himself amid a bland, grunting heel turn in a 50/50 nothing series with Kidman.

The trajectory of his career, and indeed the company, changed when Cena unleashed his freestyle rap skills on a tour bus in earshot of Stephanie McMahon. Impressed, this compelled WWE to develop his star-making ‘Doctor of Thuganomics’ character. He got it over big; Cena could rap well, in as much as pro wrestlers can act well. He wasn’t about to grab Jay-Z’s throne, or anything, but then, Shawn Michaels wasn’t going to get an Oscar nod over Daniel Day-Lewis.

Cena’s natural charisma erupted in the role. The booming call-and-responses and cool factor convinced WWE to strap the rocket to him, and Cena very quickly became a hero to millions of young children after proclaiming his flow to be “sicker than AIDS patients”.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!