Exact moment Vince McMahon decided not to fire John Cena revealed by WWE legend

John Cena was Vince McMahon's marquee attraction in WWE between the mid-2000s and mid-2010s. One of Cena's greatest rivals, John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL), recently disclosed details about when McMahon considered firing the 16-time world champion.

In late 2002, Cena was on the verge of losing his job after an underwhelming first few months on the main roster. Stephanie McMahon, a creative team member at the time, famously heard the then-rookie rapping on a bus and decided to repackage his on-screen character.

JBL said on Something to Wrestle that former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon agreed to give Cena a chance after learning more about his impressive rapping skills:

"Vince said, 'How long did it take him to memorize that?' They said, 'That was all on the fly,' and that's when Vince realized, 'This is a brilliant kid.' That's the one thing that got him the huge push. We knew that backstage. We knew how entertaining he was." [23:24 – 23:36]

From that moment on, Cena transformed into the Doctor of Thuganomics persona. He often rapped before matches and insulted his rivals by rapping during promos.

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JBL on John Cena's transformation

In 2005, John Cena defeated John Bradshaw Layfield at WrestleMania 21 to win the first of his 16 world titles. Around that time, he stopped performing as The Doctor of Thuganomics and became WWE's ultimate good guy.

Reflecting on Cena's character changes, JBL highlighted how many wrestlers alter their personas as time goes on:

"Cena was different from everybody else on the roster. He found a niche for himself. And, again, the gimmick that you start with, generally, almost a hundred percent of the time, is not the gimmick that you finish with. It was a pathway for him to get to the John Cena 'Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect.'" [24:38 – 24:55]

In the same episode, JBL also explained why he does not think Cena should retire from in-ring competition in 2025.

Did you like John Cena's Doctor of Thuganomics character? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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Please credit Something to Wrestle and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.