John Cena reveals the story behind his ‘Never Give Up’ catchphrase in WWE

When it comes to professional wrestling, the backgrounds of wrestlers do matter when they start out. However, John Cena had no wrestling background and he didn’t even have any unique wrestling skills that would make him stand out. So in 2002, no one would have thought that this rookie would become one of the biggest stars WWE ever had and would also become a 16-time champion. It wouldn’t be a lie if we say that many people got to know about WWE because of Cena. He was the face of the company for so long and is going to finally retire from WWE in 2025. 

Cena reveals where the catchphrase came from 

Although Cena is no longer a regular superstar in WWE, he is still one of the most popular wrestlers in the company’s history and carried WWE on his shoulders for more than a decade. The one catchphrase that Cena has held throughout his career is ‘Never Give Up.’ Recently, while speaking to Chris Van Vliet, the 16-time WWE champion revealed that it was his own story in WWE, how he attained the position in the company that he kept this catphrase close to him.

“The Cenation Leader” stated that when he started he was not like The Rock, Roman Reigns, or Brock Lesnar, who had strong backup. Being one of the six children of his parents, John was the only one from his family to enter professional wrestling. Cena revealed that a few months after his appearance, the company was on the verge of firing him until he showed his true potential to them with his Thuganomics character. “I was one of those guys who was going to get his pink slip. They were like, Look , we are going to fire you. But do you want to do this thing? Yup let’s go,” said Cena. 

John Cena will retire next year 

Cena stated that he was cast into a character that he had to create and take ownership of, which was a small part of his love. He loved hip-hop music and could freestyle well, so he dove into it and it worked out. He further revealed that he worked hard on it and his determination to stick to his basics helped him. “I could make a lot of mistakes, but I won’t make them again because I learn from my mistakes. That’s where ‘Never Give Up’ comes from. 

Cena announced his retirement from WWE at Money in the Bank 2024 and revealed that 2025 will be his last year in the WWE ring. Cena is currently tied with Ric Flair’s record of 16 WWE titles and fans are wondering if he will win the title for the 17th time. Even if he wins it one more time, Cena had to retain that title at least once before retiring. Only time will tell if Cena holds the WWE championship for one last time or not. 

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