10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Jan 19)

6. Mark Henry Was The One To Spot John Cena's Rapping Talents

It seems like a lifetime ago that John Cena was spitting profanity-laced rhymes on television or giving the middle finger to WWE's cameras. These days, Cena is a much more wholesome, family friendly character who stands up for WWE's corporate structure.

He also has Mark Henry to thank for the chance to be taken seriously by the company he loves.

During an interview with Sports Illustrated's Extra Mustard, Henry revealed that he was the one to talk up Cena's rap skills to agents backstage. Henry admired Cena's hard work and thought he had the potential to trade rapping on the tour bus for doing it on TV as part of his act. That's when Mark told Bruce Prichard about the gimmick.

Vince McMahon wasn't sold on the idea at first, and it took some time before Prichard was able to convince his boss that Henry was right. It's not as though Cena was doing anything other than working generic matches or coming across as a cookie-cutter babyface anyway.