![Picture of John Cena [Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]](https://lastwordonsports.com/prowrestling/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2024/06/John_Cena_30491276076-scaled.jpg)
22 years ago today, WWE aired an episode of SmackDown from Rosemont, Illinois.
Kurt Angle took to the ring and issued an open challenge to any wrestler that he’d never faced before. After running down the roster for a few minutes, Angle’s challenge was answered by none other than WWE rookie, John Cena.
Cena made his televised debut on SmackDown on June 25, 2002, working a brief but impressive match with the ‘Olympic Hero’. Of course, this match was merely a hint of things to come from, arguably, the most successful WWE star in history.
His achievements are as follows:
- 13x WWE Champion
- 3x World Heavyweight Champion
- 5x WWE United States Champion
- 2x WWE Tag Team Champion
- 2x World Tag Team Champion
- 2x Royal Rumble Winner (2008, 2013)
- Mr. Money in the Bank (2012)
After 22 years of being in WWE, John Cena has more than earned his part-time schedule. With Cena himself hinting that he’s nearing retirement, it seems as pertinent as ever to celebrate the leader of the Cenation.
Considering that he’s only one WWE World Championship reign away from breaking the record that he is currently tied with Ric Flair for, it would be foolish of WWE to let Cena step away without picking up the gold one last time.
We’ll have to see just how much “ruthless aggression” John Cena has left after over two decades.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – WWE – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.
