John Cena details the lengths he went to get his iconic Thuganomics gimmick over in WWE.
During his recent interview with O’Shea Jackson Jr and TJ Jefferson on No-Contest Wrestling, John Cena opened up about the origin of his “Doctor of Thuganomics” character.
John Cena recalled spending his own money to buy the merchandise he threw out into the crowd, getting fresh haircuts at every city, rap battling fans in the parking lot, freestyling with Freddie Foxxx on Hot 97, and even financing his own album, You Can’t See Me (2005), to ensure the gimmick’s success in WWE.
“I went all in, dog,” John Cena began. “Like, wrestling gear, gone, shop in the hood in every city we’re at, like, go to the hood and tell them, ‘Yo, I’m buying this. Come see me at the show.’ Buying $500 Mitchell & Ness jerseys and caps to match when I did not have that money. I’d be like, ‘I’m throwing this out in the crowd tonight.’
“Going to the Fade Shop. We land in Baltimore, I’m getting faded in Baltimore. And then the next night on a fresh fade in wherever else. I’m getting faded in Delaware and doing the process over and over again. Battling fans in the parking lot just so they know my sh*t isn’t written. Going on to Hot 97 and getting big times, and them bringing in Freddie Foxxx to freestyle with me. He ended up collaborating on the album. I just went making my own album and financing my own album, and essentially becoming a record A&R, because that was still the selling CDs era,” John Cena said.
Some things worked, some didn’t, but John Cena kept trying
“All that stuff, it was just like, ‘Yo, let’s do it. Let’s just keep it moving.’ Some stuff worked. I used to pump up my shoes before I get moves. Some stuff worked, some stuff didn’t, some stuff stuck, and some stuff was only good for that period in the zeitgeist, and then you move on to it.
“But just the ability to keep trying, to keep evolving, and I’ve never once rested on that serendipity, and the serendipity keeps happening. Sure, there’s struggles, but you recognizing luck and be like, ‘Okay, now’s when I need to work real hard,’” John Cena said.
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