John Cena News: Cena hated his original gimmick

What's the story?

John Cena is one of the few well-known wrestlers to not have a working name. The leader of the Cenation has gone through his entire WWE career with his legal name, though his earlier years he was known as "The Prototype."

In case you didn't know...

Early in his career, Cena worked in UPW and OVW as The Prototype. Cena's original gimmick had him working as a half man half machine wrestler. The now 16-time champion spent the better part of three years polishing the character, and even went toe to toe with one of his biggest rivals, Batista, who was known then as "Leviathan."

As the Prototype, Cena had to speak in a monotone voice and would rewind his promos in order to help sound more like a machine. It wasn't exactly a great gimmick, and Cena feels the same way.

The heart of the matter

On The Graham Norton Show, Cena had a chance to discuss his time as The Prototype, and he didn't sugarcoat his feelings.

Oh, it was awful. You wanna find a gimmick so when you walk out, people notice you. It's trial and error with a lot of errors. My first try was The Prototype which was half man and half machine...and 100% crap. I used the ability to talk rather monotone, and would say things authoritatively. And when things like, 'I will kick your a** at the Fairgrounds on Sunday,' I rewound and went, 'yadnuS no sdnuorgriaF eht ta **a ruoy kcik lliw I. I will kick your a** at the Fairgrounds on Sunday.'

Cena said that it didn't work, though Matthew McConaughey, who sat beside Cena, appreciated it. If you want to check out the full segment, you can check out the video below.

What's next?

John Cena is currently out promoting his latest film, Bumblebee, which will put the 16-time champion into the world of Transformers. You can check out the flick at your local theater on December 20th.

Do you think The Prototype could work today? Is Cena being too harsh on his early days? Let us know in the comments below!