Wrestling is a profession of John Cena.
John Felix Anthony Cena Jr. ( [ ˈsiːnə ] born April 23 , 1977 ) is an American professional wrestler , rapper , actor , and reality television show host . Cena started his professional wrestling career in 1999 with Ultimate Pro Wrestling ( UPW ) and won the UPW Heavyweight Championship the following year . From a generic character in 2002 , Cena morphed into a rapper for the time period of 2002 -- 2004 , which earned him fame within the audience on SmackDown ! WWE SmackDown . '' '' ' [ [ WWE ] ] SmackDown '' '' ' , also currently referred to as '' '' ` SmackDown Live '' '' ' ( stylized as '' '' ` SmackDown LIVE '' '' ' ) or simply '' '' ` SmackDown '' '' ' , is a [ [ professional wrestling ] ] [ [ television program ] ] that debuted on August 26 , 1999 .