(Sources: Iain Hepburn of Manchester Online)
MANCHESTER holds a special place in the heart of John Cena. Were it not for his visit here in late 2002, the chances are he would not currently be holding World Wrestling Entertainment heavyweight championship.
The 28-year-old had not long been on the WWE’s roster when the company came to the city for its UK-only Pay Per View event, Rebellion, in October 2002. At the time he was a recognisable face, but wasn’t a big superstar name like the Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin.
But as he and the rest of the wrestlers travelled back from the M.E.N. Arena, he started performing some raps to amuse his colleagues and pass the time … and the road to the title started there.
“It was right there in that city that it started,” he told ManchesterOnline. “It was about a three hour bus journey from the show to the airport after the show.
“It was on the bus that the creative team first heard me rapping. They said to me ‘do you want to do it on the show?’ A couple of nights later I was doing it on Smackdown.”
The character change saw the 6’3, 260lb athlete and former bodybuilder go from another face in the crowd to fan favourite. His raps quickly caught on with the watching audience.
Fast forward two and a half years and Cena is currently holder of the coveted WWE Championship, having bagged it at Wrestlemania 21 in Los Angeles this year – the wrestling equivalent of winning the Champion
Predicted
It had taken him a year longer than he’d predicted in a rap performed at Wrestlemania 19, but he’d done it.
“When I said that it was one of those goals you throw out there. It’s like when a team says at the start of the season that they want to win the championship.”
And he did, defeating the smarmy JR Ewing-style bad guy John Bradshaw Layfield – who he’ll be taking on again in a three-way match that also involves Kurt Angle this weekend.
The match comes despite Cena’s switch this week from the Smackdown show, where the WWE championship is defended, to Monday Night Raw show, and could mark one of his last appearances with his former Smackdown colleagues.
“I had contractual obligations that I had to defend it,” he explains. “It’ll be a three way dance with JBL and Kurt Angle. I don’t have to be pinned to lose the title – I could walk in there the champ, not be pinned and still lose it.
“And just to make sure it’s called straight down the line, we’ve got Stone Cold Steve Austin as special referee.”
The appearance of the legendary Austin will give Cena a chance to interact with a genuine superstar – perhaps the most famous wrestler since Hulk Hogan.
Many commentators have drawn parallels between their careers, with Austin’s initial appearance in the then World Wrestling Federation – as the Ringmaster – proving less than inspiring.
It took the switch to the Stone Cold persona, an everyman character, before the fans connect with him – something eerily familiar to Cena.
Music
“With Steve, I don’t want to say it’s the same as me because I wasn’t around, but Steve just got the chance to be himself. If you ever speak to Steve, that’s just what he’s like,” he said. “It’s like with me, rapping on the bus. I’ve had to change things, but it’s more me.”
Cena’s move to Raw surprised a lot of people – not least Cena, who admits he found out at “the last possible moment” – and comes just in time to help push his newly released rap CD, You Can’t See Me.
“People don’t realise that I’ve been working on this for two and a half years with my cousin,” he reveals.
“This is the first thing the WWE’s put their name on that they haven’t had anything to do with. We recorded it ourselves, then took it to them and said ‘We can either release this independently or with you.'”
The album charted in the top 20 in its US release and, with the WWE in the UK in time for its British release, Cena’s hoping what was a long labour of love finds the right audience.
A substantial part of that audience will be at the M.E.N. Arena on Sunday. WWE’s visits to the UK are becoming more frequent, it’s not often that the Arena is a 18,000 sell out, and that should produce an electric atmosphere.
“The thing that makes it special is the crowd,” agrees Cena. “One of the things the WWE has over most other shows, we involve the crowd so much.
“I’m not questioning anybody’s passion [in the States] but when you only get one shot to see us every three months or six months, the passion is unbelievable.”
WWE Smackdown’s Summerbash tour visits the M.E.N. Arena this Sunday. Tickets are sold out.
Thanks again for reading,
Joe
