John Cena will remember his first WrestleMania for multiple reasons.
Prior to becoming the 16-time World Champion and one of the top stars of the 21st century, Cena won his first championship in WWE at WrestleMania 20. Thanks to the help of some steel knuckles, Cena was able to defeat The Big Show and capture the United States Championship.
Looking back on his match on social media, John Cena jokingly exaggerated the size of Big Show and how he got the crowd to cheer for him despite not being one of the more popular members of the roster at that time:
Ok, here it is. Madison Square Garden, WrestleMania 20, where it all begins again! Beginning the match with a little bit of trickery and rhyme. [I’m] showcasing the Word Life ceramic steel knuckles and the steel chain that would come into play later, a little bit of foreshadowing.
There is The Big Show. He’s as tall as 20 men and weighs as much as a bank vault, and I didn’t know if I could pick him up. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even know that much about this city. There. for the first time, to the crowd’s amazement, you can see them standing, that’s a rare occasion in the brief career of the Doctor of Thuganomics. The FU as it was called then does not work, much to my dismay.
Cena then recalled the finish of his Mania debut and praised The Big Show for choosing him as his opponent in 2004 when few on the roster would:
You can see now me asking the crowd if they want me to hit him with a steel chain and then using it as a head fake to referee Jim Korderas, only to use those ceramic steel knuckles to get one knockout blow in on The Big Show and then, of course, pick him up for a second time. Man, he was just fantastic. Little tidbit about this. So no one really liked me there. Big Show did and wanted to compete with me, so I’m very grateful that he chose me as his opponent. Yes, that’s right, he chose me as his opponent for WrestleMania 20.
Although Cena was celebrating his first WWE title win on the night, he found out that he made a rather expensive error a few hours prior. Unaware that there was designated parking at the arena, Cena parked in a public car park in Manhattan and was forced to pay a hefty sum to drive home:
Also, I was so ignorant and aloof to the ongoings of WrestleMania, New York City and Madison Square Garden, that I parked in a guest parking structure 4 blocks away because I couldn’t navigate the city. So yes, I took my gear bag and the United States Championship and walked 4 New York City blocks to pay a parking attendant an exorbitant amount to drive home with a smile on my face.
John Cena Grateful For Recent Cameo
Now no longer a full-time wrestler, Cena has focused his efforts on projects in Hollywood, including a cameo in the recent Barbie movie back in July. Recalling his brief involvement in the movie, John Cena admitted that he was very lucky to be a part of it.
John Cena was recently seen alongside MJF at The Iron Claw premiere in Los Angeles and would go on to thank A24 for making the movie and introducing a new generation to the Von Erich family.
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