25 Things You Didn't Know About John Cena
9. Cena Knew His WWE Career Was Tanking
"Ruthless Aggression" was the catchphrase on John Cena's lips when he debuted vs. Kurt Angle on the 27 June 2002 episode of SmackDown. It was a losing effort, but Cena made his mark and left an impression on everyone. He went directly from that debut to a bout vs. Chris Jericho at Vengeance in July, but then...things started to drift for him.
Via 'Stephanie's Places', John told how he knew deep inside that things weren't going well. Fans hadn't connected with anything about his act beyond the debut month, and he was really struggling to get over after an initial flurry. Worse, he was fully aware that he "sucked" inside the ring. There'd been no signs of improvement since the Angle scrap, and that was on John's mind.
He was feeling the heat, so much so that he figured it was only a matter of months before WWE released him.
Stephanie hearing him rap on the tour bus changed everything. That was the break Cena needed, but it wasn't a knowing ploy from the guy - he didn't even know McMahon had been listening to him rhyme off some verses, and he didn't think of pitching a bad boy rap gimmick for TV until she happened to mention it could work.
That character saved his skin. It was literally (in John's mind) the difference between getting to stick around on the WWE roster or being cut loose to try his luck in TNA or on the independent circuit. Playing the spitfire babyface with the garish boots and tights wasn't working for the future 'Super Cena'.
He knew it too.