John Cena and 4 top stars you may not know WWE almost fired

#2. WWE legend John Cena

John Cena was the face of WWE for nearly a decade and a half. However, many fans may not know that the 16-time world champion was once very close to getting fired from Vince McMahon's company.

During an episode of the Ruthless Aggression documentary series, The Leader of the Cenation revealed that the company planned to fire him nearly five months after his main roster debut in 2002.

"The WWE, they used to make a series of cuts around late November and around mid-May. I was told that I would be getting my release at Christmas cuts because it just wasn’t working, and there was no argument there, it wasn’t. They gave it to me on a silver platter – John Cena, Ruthless Aggression – and I failed, I messed it up," he said.

Nevertheless, the company's decision changed after Stephanie McMahon, coincidentally, listened to Cena performing a freestyle rap at the back of a bus. She was so impressed and asked him to make it part of his on-screen character. Hence, he adopted The Doctor of Thuganomics persona and continued working for Vince McMahon's company.

Cena is now arguably the greatest superstar in the company's history. After spending nearly 16 years as a full-time competitor, The Leader of the Cenation is currently a part-timer.

The 16-time world champion last competed in Vince McMahon's company in August 2021 when he challenged Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam. Nevertheless, he came up short.