John Cena rose to the top of the WWE mountain and stayed there for a long time. Cena was WWE’s biggest star of the last two decades and their poster boy in the “Ruthless Aggression Era”. The Leader of Cenation carried the company on his back and added to his and WWE’s legacy.

But as with most wrestlers, Cena had humble beginnings not only in the WWE but even before that. The common notion about Cena is that he was always a WWE guy. And that he never cut his teeth on the raw wrestling scene. However, according to the Doctor of Thuganomics himself, that is not true.

Cena shone as the brightest star in WWE in the mid-2000s. He had headlined multiple WrestleMania and won numerous titles. But before his WWE career took off, Cena had a simple start to wrestling adventure.

A few years ago, Cena answered a few questions about pro wrestling from the fans on Twitter on an episode of Wired. It was there, Cena revealed, that he used to wrestle in front of small crowds before making it big.

John Cena said he wrestled in front of minimal crowds

John Cena took some time to find his feet in WWE, but once he did, there was no looking back. From the Doctor of Thuganomics to the Leader of Cenation, he completed his journey and became one of the most recognized WWE stars of the modern era.

His popularity even led to a career in Hollywood where he is currently thriving.

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Cena made his way up from the WWE’s developmental Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and it took him some time before he became a regular member of the roster. At this time, he was far from being the number one guy in the promotion.

Still, many people over the years have believed that WWE handpicked him to lead their new era. But there is more to his wrestling career than that.

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But before wrestling in front of tens and thousands of people in sold out arenas, Cena was sweating it out in the small town flea markets according to The Champ himself.

In an appearance for the Wired in 2018, Cena answered a few questions from fans. One of the questions was how WWE stars get hired? To this Cena said everyone has a different path before giving a brief description of his own journey.

He said, “I was sought out by WWE recruiters. I was wrestling in small town flea markets and outdoor barbecues in front of minimal people and was seen. And someone said ‘hey would you like a chance at wrestling in front of larger crowds’? To which I said absolutely.

Moreover, The Franchise Player added that someone like Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey found their way to WWE after being successful in other ventures. Cena also said, “Has there ever been an audition where people show up in costume and talk directly to the owner of the company? Absolutely.”

For Cena, his pro wrestling journey wasn’t as straightforward as many people may think. Cena may not have been a well-known independent wrestling star, but he paid his dues before WWE came calling. The WWE star had to grind it out in the lower rungs of pro wrestling before he climbed to the top of WWE’s ladder.

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