Looking Back At John Cena's Original WWE Gimmick
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Despite being considered among the all-time greatest in professional wrestling, John Cena went through countless tribulations to achieve his overwhelming success. Although his WWE career was launched into stardom shortly after making his debut in 2002, it's worth noting that John Cena had a different persona before hitting his prime in the company. Even before signing with WWE, John Cena took the "The Prototype" gimmick as his in ring name during the early years of his career.
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John Cena's WWE Career Took Off With The 'Doctor Of Thuganomics' Gimmick
John Cena may be a polarizing figure in the wrestling world, but one can never doubt that he's gone through a lot to earn his legendary status. From being close to getting released in 2002, John Cena had to exhibit his natural charisma to help set him apart during the early years of the Ruthless Aggression era.
At a time when the roster was filled with star power on both the Raw and SmackDown brands, it was essential for someone like John Cena to show what he could bring to the table. Considering he was on the SmackDown brand when he debuted on the main roster, as the blue brand was stacked with talent, John Cena had no choice but to ditch his original gimmick and take up a more hip persona. Becoming a quick-witted rapper with an edge helped him to be taken seriously with the likes of Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, and Kurt Angle.
Not long after adopting the "Doctor of Thuganomics" persona, John Cena soon became one of the biggest stars on SmackDown, as his wrestling career took off. At that point, the rest was history as John Cena's career just kept elevating to where he became considered among the top legends of the wrestling business, let alone WWE.
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John Cena Started His Wrestling Career As 'The Prototype'
When John Cena first signed with WWE in 2001, as the company was coming off the highly-successful Attitude Era, he had a completely different persona. It's worth noting that John Cena signing with WWE wasn't that long after he started his professional career in 1999, as he was still relatively new to the business.
When John Cena started wrestling for Ultimate Pro Wrestling, his gimmick was supposed to replicate a robotic character. Not that he'd literally look like a robot, but because he was very muscular as he used to work as a bodybuilder, his mannerisms were supposed to imitate a powerful machine. Because of this, for a few years after his wrestling debut, John Cena's ring name was The Prototype.
As The Prototype, John Cena appeared much different from sporting the jean shorts and armbands persona that most wrestling fans know. Rather than John Cena's current and most noted look, when wrestling as The Prototype, John Cena sported typical wrestling tights, while also having a noticeable tan nd rocking more veins in his muscles. There were times when John Cena even sported a mohawk haircut, if you can even believe that.
Regarding how he'd wrestle in the ring as The Prototype, John Cena had a traditional in-ring style. However, part of the appeal of his gimmick is that he'd exhibit great strength when performing some of his key moves. For instance, The Prototype's finisher was the spin-out powerbomb called The Protobomb, which he used even on heavyweights. Years before he'd utilized the Death Valley driver as his finisher, John Cena's signature spin-out powerbomb was once a finisher that he'd use in OVW and for many months when arriving on the WWE main roster.
'The Prototype' Gimmick Carried Over Into WWE's Developmental Brand, OVW
After John Cena signed with WWE in 2001 and joined the company's development system, Ohio Valley Wrestling, he continued wrestling under the "The Prototype" ring name, although later changed to Mr. P. He also garnered championship success during his OVW stint. He held the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship with his former tag partner, Rico Constantino. Although John Cena's prototype gimmick didn't do much on the main roster, it did help him stand out in OVW among the rest of the "OVW 4" with Brock Lesnar, Batista, and Randy Orton, who all became legends in WWE.
After John Cena made his impressive debut against Kurt Angle on the June 2002 episode of SmackDown, "The Prototype" gimmick didn't have much promise, but it did allow him to showcase great potential before eventually finding his groove in WWE.
