10 Things WWE Fans Need To Know About Brock Lesnar & John Cena's History

9. They Trained In Developmental At The Same Time

Lesnar was signed by WWE in 2000 as a standout collegiate wrestler from the University of Minnesota. He spent some time teaming with Shelton Benjamin to form the "Minnesota Wrecking Crew" tag team although they didn't make it on the same roster at the same time. Lesnar was pegged for singles stardom. He actually wrestled in dark matches before TV tapings for several months before his call up in 2002. Cena was a collegiate football player that went to wrestling school in 1999 at Ultimate Pro Wrestling in California. In 2001 he signed with WWE to join their developmental territory while Lesnar was there. Cena was actually known as the Prototype for a while although they made the right call in letting him use his own name. Did their paths cross in OVW? Probably. There isn't footage of it although they both got called up to the roster in the same year.