25 Things You Didn't Know About John Cena

21. His Surname Means A Lot Of Different Things

John Cena WWE Title 2025
WWE.com

Not every star signed to WWE gets to keep their shoot name. In fact, fans have worried that even those who have worked names already will see it changed once they ink a contract. Remember all the fears about Samoa Joe becoming something like "Samoey Joey" back in 2015? Thankfully, that didn't happen in the end. John Cena avoided a gimmicky name or rebrand himself, probs because his actual name sounds pretty cool.

What does it mean though? Well, Cena means dinner/supper in Spanish, price in Polish, stage/film scene in Portuguese, and it’s the main meal of the day (not necessarily dinner if you're a breakfast buff) in Latin. So, there you go. Big John Dinner was coming right at you all back in 2002 and you didn't even know it. Had he been a UK star, then perhaps his catchphrase would've developed into: 'THERE'S YOUR DINNER' instead of the more familiar, "You Can't See Me".

It's a little more challenging to figure out the origins of Cena's family surname, but it's fun playing a guessing game there. Let's veer towards the dinner/supper meaning. Or, maybe it doesn't actually mean that at all. Some interviewer needs to corner the guy and ask him outright soon. The public deserve to know!

John Dinner is funny, John Price sounds like somebody who lives down the street, John Film would be fitting due to his Hollywood career, and John Main Meal is just a sub for the first one but less catchy. This is getting eerily close to talking about those gigantic pizzas from his younger days, isn't it?

What's in a name? A lot when it comes to WWE, as it turns out.

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.