John Cena was in the WWE.
John Cena . He is signed to WWE , where he performs on the SmackDown brand . Cena signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF , later renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment , or simply WWE ) in 2001 , debuting on the WWE main roster in 2002 . Throughout his WWE career , Cena has won 25 championships , with 16 reigns as a world champion ( 13 times as WWE Champion and three times as WWE 's World Heavyweight Champion ) , an accomplishment only previously achieved by WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair . He has also headlined WWE 's flagship event , WrestleMania , on five different occasions ( WrestleManias 22 , 23 , XXVII , XXVIII , and 29 ) over the course of his career , as well as many others pay-per-view events . As of 2016 , John Cena is WWE 's highest-paid wrestler .