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When Stephanie McMahon Saved John Cena From Getting Fired By WWE in 2003
Here’s a fine throwback piece from 2003 when Stephanie McMahon saved John Cena’s dwindling career in 2003, and prevented his ouster from the company. Read on.
If there’s one WWE executive, John Cena should be genuinely thankful to, it’s Stephanie McMahon. The former WWE Chairwoman had saved John Cena’s dwindling career in WWE right when he was about to be shown the doors by her father, Vince McMahon.
The wrestling world knows that John Cena wasn’t a big deal when he started with the company in 2002. He was not more than a jobber who didn’t have anything promising about him. In his debut match, Cena locked horns with Kurt Angle, but as the Olympic medallist pinned him down, and Cena fought as best as he could, he fell short and lost it.
Cena then had no creative plans for him, by the WWE writers. There was no clear direction, and by 2003, he was about to be fired by WWE when they just asked him to try the Thuganomics character. And it miraculously worked for Cena.
But who was the brain behind this move? It was Stephanie McMahon. She had seen Cena somewhere rapping, and at a time when the company had no vision for him, Stephanie asked her father to give Cena a major push with this gimmick.
Renowned wrestling journalist, Dave Meltzer once revealed that it was Stephanie who had intervened on behalf of Cena, and kind of delayed his ouster from the company. ”He was actually on the verge of being cut and his push was ended by Vince McMahon until Stephanie McMahon saw him rap off television and put in the word to go with him as a major star,” Meltzer said.
And the rest is history. John Cena created wonders with his ‘Doctor of Thuganomics' character in 2003, and within one year, Cena was a major draw for WWE. He made heads turn, and grabbed eyeballs. Cena himself revealed once that his Thugonomics gimmick working was a major inspiration behind his 'Never Give Up' catchphrase in WWE.
His big moment came at WrestleMania 20, where he lifted a 500 pound Big Show and executed an F5 on him, and then pinned him down to win the United States Championship. But it was just the beginning. Cena’s stocks continued to rise in WWE, and at WrestleMania 20, John Cena defeated JBL to win his maiden WWE Championship.
Since then, the Cenation leader has won 16 WWE titles apart from being the face of the company for nearly a decade (2005-2015). Cena has announced his retirement from WWE by the end of December 2025, and next year, he has locked in 36 dates for WWE to go for it for one final time. And the Cenation leader has also dropped hints of winning the belt for one last time. Will he be able to do so? We’ll see next year.
Also Read: John Cena Opens Up On Not-So-Good Relationship With His Father; ‘Before I Forgive…’
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