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John Cena became a household name due to his appearances on WWE. The wrestler had a typical good guy persona and a banger entrance theme that even sparked the viral ‘You Can’t See Me’ meme. Cena has since gone on to be an incredibly popular movie star with films likeThe Suicide Squad, Blockers,andF9.
While Cena became popular in the 2000s, he first made his in-ring debut as the persona The Prototype. A ‘half-man half-machine’ kind of role, Cena’s first stint at stardom did not work out and in hindsight is cringe. While the actor himself embarrassingly recounted the persona, the role seemed to get Matthew McConaughey’s approval.
John Cena tried a Terminator-style gimmick before his stint on WWE
John Cenahas really come a long way from his WWE days. The wrestler and actor has become one of the most recognized stars and has gone on to headline blockbuster films and TV shows. He has joined the likes of Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista as WWE players who successfully transitioned into an acting career.
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However, Cena has worked very hard to reach the stature he is at now and it came to him after a lot of trials and errors. As he began to pursue a career in wrestling, Cena reportedly made his in-ring debut at the Ultimate Pro-Wrestling stage not as himself, but as The Prototype. He described The Prototype as a half-man, half-machine-cyborg kind of persona.
While most wrestlers do a gimmick, Cena’s first attempt reportedly did not land and he gave up the monicker after he made his TV debut on WWE. When asked to give more information about the persona onThe Graham Norton Show, he said,
It was awful. Yeah, so you want to attempt to find a persona or…a gimmick, where it describes you as a character so like when you walk out people notice you…It’s a trial and error process with a lot of errors and my first try was The Prototype, which was half man and half machine and 100% cr*p.
Cena gave up the persona when he made his WWE debut on TV against Kurt Angle, after which for a brief period, he used the nickname ‘The Doctor of Thugonomics’.
Matthew McConaughey approved of The Prototype despite John Cena’s embarrassment
Before he becameone of the biggest WWE starsand a globally recognized name in Hollywood, John Cena was attempting to create an attention-grabbing persona in his wrestling career. The cringe Terminator-style in-ring persona The Prototype was his first attempt and Cena recounted his embarrassing try at stardom.
The actor revealed that the way he would perform The Prototype was by using a monotonous and authoritative tone (like a robot). He also said that he would sometimes make a statement, make a rewind sound, and then say it back as a gimmick for his half-machine part of the persona.
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While the audience members atThe Graham Norton Showand his fellow guests laughed at the attempt, actorMatthew McConaugheyseemed to approve. He said,
Did it work?… That is a good one…I’m in.
McConaughey also went on to name several Texas-based wrestlers and their gimmicky names. He also revealed that he was kicked out of a game once because he had punched a wrestler with a bag of tomatoes.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2417
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
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