John Cena reveals how much he made from first WWE contract
John Cena has shared just how much his first WWE contract was worth, revealing it only covered his rent at the time.
Cena first signed with WWE in 2001 on a developmental contract where he wrestled for their developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling as The Prototype.
His main roster debut came in a memorable SmackDown segment in June 2002, when he answered an open challenge from Kurt Angle.
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Speaking with Kevin Hart on his podcast Hart To Heart, Cena said (via Post Wrestling): "My first contract with WWE was $12,000 a year.
"I quit my job the day I was signed. I think my rent was $1,000 a month. So all my money is now rent."
"My dad... I could have told him any other position. He would have been like, 'Yeah, whatever,'" he said, explaining that when he told him he got "a job with WWE," his father said, "'Oh, my son... This is unreal. It's going to be great. I can't believe it.'
"Still, to this day, he's extremely proud," he added.
Cena went on to become a 13-time WWE Champion and a three-time World Heavyweight Champion, despite a shaky start in the company.
Back in 2020, Cena revealed how he was nearly fired from WWE in 2002 because his character, "just wasn't working".
However, Cena managed to change his fortunes in WWE during a trip to Europe, where Stephanie McMahon was impressed with his freestyle rapping skills while on their tour bus.
After hearing him rap, Stephanie challenged Cena to make a rap about the can of tuna she was eating and the rest is wrestling history.
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Cena explained: "In two seconds, I made a small rap about the tuna fish, the jetway, the plane we were about to go on, and the destination and then closed it with a comment about Stephanie.
"She said, 'Would you like to do this on television?' I said, 'Absolutely'".
Just weeks later, Cena debuted his 'Doctor of Thuganomics' character on a Halloween edition of SmackDown and set off on a path to becoming one of the biggest WWE Superstars of all time.
Catch up on Raw, Smackdown, NXT and all the big WWE action via the WWE Network or BT Sport. US viewers can access the WWE Network via Peacock.
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