John Cena: The Champ is Here Heather Turk, SoCal.com Movie/TV Editor

In just a few short years, John Cena has quickly become one of the most bankable Superstars in the WWE. Since making his debut on “SmackDown!” in June of 2002, the 28-year-old has risen to the top, defeating JBL at “WrestleMania 21” to win the coveted--and now spinning--WWE Championship title. Since then he’s been making headlines with whatever he does, whether it be his debut CD You Can’t See Me or his recent victory over longtime rival Kurt Angle and future Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels at “Taboo Tuesday.” No matter how successful the young Superstar’s become, though, John Cena is still that same hip-hop lovin’ Massachusetts boy who grew up loving the wrestling business--and he couldn‘t be happier living out his dream.

A former football player at Springfield College, John Cena is that rare Superstar that found success in the business almost overnight. Then named The Prototype, Cena made his debut in the business only a few short years ago, competing in Ohio Valley Wrestling against another familiar face in the WWE, World Heavyweight Champion Dave Batista (then known as Leviathan). Not even two years later, Cena made his debut on “SmackDown!,” nearly beating Kurt Angle in his debut WWE match. But although his in-ring skills were impressive, it wasn’t until that fall that the Chain Gang Soldier fans have grown to love was truly born.

While traveling to a show in Europe during the Rebellion Tour, Cena began freestyling on the bus to pass some time, unaware that half of the WWE creative team was sitting just a few rows ahead of him. A longtime fan of hip-hop (“People always say they listen to a bit of everything--well, I listen to hip-hop,” the Champ states), Cena had freestyled a bit backstage before, but it wasn’t until this particular night any of the writers paid much attention to it. Noting his freestyle skills, the writers began working it into his character, and fans couldn’t get enough. Heel or face, his popularity within the business soared, and his mic skills eventually transcended the sports entertainment world. In May of 2005, Cena launched his debut album, garnering wrestling’s white rapper enough credibly to appear at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors this past September. And despite all his recent accomplishments inside the ring, it’s an honor Cena holds near and dear to his heart.

“The Hip Hop Honors were really cool,” Cena says. “Being there with all the MCs and artists I grew up with…it’s like the WWE Hall of Fame. It’s a night where all the A-listers honor those who laid the groundwork for us. It was really cool.”

Similar to The Rock, Cena’s managed to find another outlet to reach out to his fans with outside of the WWE. He’s been taking his music on the road, performing both in the U.S. and overseas. But unlike The People’s Champ, John Cena doesn’t plan on leaving the Chain Gang behind anytime soon. The Champ admits he’s looking into additional tour dates, but just like his recent NEXTEL Cup Series’ Subway 500 appearance, he won’t be taking any time off from the ring to do it.

“The whole point of this CD was to show that you can accomplish everything,” Cena states. “I recorded this CD and toured on the East Coast, the Midwest, even overseas without missing a show. Right now I’m working with a tour manager to schedule additional concert dates, but they will all coincide with the WWE’s travel schedule. The WWE is the whole reason I’m able to make music--I don’t plan on leaving that behind.”

Cena’s also working on a follow-up CD, although this time he's letting his co-MC, his cousin Tha Trademarc (a.k.a., Marc Predka), take top billing. And if that wasn’t enough, the Dr. of Thuganomics is even making his way to Hollywood, starring in the 2006 Fox release The Marine. It’s a project Cena says will show the WWE Superstar in a whole new light.

“It was a lot of fun,” he says. “I play an ex-marine who’s trying to get his life back together. While on vacation, my wife gets taken hostage, which is the worse move anyone could make. It has a lot of good, fun, old-school action in it, plus some comedy and romance. It’s PG-13, so the whole family can watch. Hopefully it will allow fans to see me in a different light. It’ll be like watching Keanu Reeves in The Matrix. You don’t see Keanu, you see Neo.”

While Cena obviously has the body of a marine, he says he used his experiences entertaining the troops with the WWE to help develop his character mentally. Cena plans on joining his fellow Superstars this Christmas for another tour in Iraq, something that’s become somewhat of a tradition in the WWE over the past few years.

In the meantime, Cena’s working hard to keep that spinning title belt around his waist, a task which has become increasingly difficult since the Champ’s debut on “RAW.” As if fighting off General Manager Eric Bischoff and Kurt Angle’s attacks weren’t enough, Cena recently had to defend his title at “Taboo Tuesday” against a surprise opponent voted on by the fans. When asked before the results were announced who he would like to face during the Nov. 1 Pay-Per-View, Cena replied, “Either way you look at it, it’s a shit sandwich. You have future Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, the monster Kane and the 500-pounder Big Show--I don’t want to face any of them. I would rather just focus on Kurt, but then at the last second to have to worry about who the fans vote in…I have no time to get ready, so I don’t know what to expect.”

Not having any time to prepare for the match didn’t stop Cena from pinning HBK, though, and retaining his sought-after title. Although odds are his longtime rivalry with Kurt Angle will continue through the “Survivor Series” Pay-Per-View later this month, once the Angle-Cena feud storyline is defunct, Cena has his eyes on a new competitor--The Game, Triple H.

“With or without that title, love him or hate him, HHH is looked at as the best there is,” Cena says. “People have a lot of respect for him, so if Kurt ever does ride into the sunset, I’d like to face Triple H.”

Unfortunately for Cena, one of the other Superstars he would have liked to have faced recently left the company, Christian. Although the two briefly feuded when Cena first came to “RAW” during the 2005 Draft Lottery, their onscreen rivalry was cut short when Christian was drafted to “SmackDown!” Their only match together was alongside Chris Jericho in a Triple Threat Match during “Vengeance,” and Cena admits that he would have liked to have competed against Christian one-on-one. While odds of that happening now are slim to none, hopefully fans will one day get to see the match that never was.

For now, though, John Cena is just working hard to live up to his motto, “Never back down.” And for any Superstar who doesn’t like his in-your-face personality, as the Champ puts it, “If you want some, come get some!” For despite what some people may think, Cena’s not out looking for a fight--but he’s not going to step down if the fight comes to him.

“I’ve never been a guy who chases after beef,” he says, “but if you piss me off, I take one hell of an ass whoppin’ and keep on fightin’. At the end of the day, though, I’m pretty open and easy to get along with. If you’re offended by what I do, it’s all in good fun. I don’t sweat it much. That’s just me.”

WWE “RAW” airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on USA.