The Dr. Of Thuganomics: The Top 5 Best John Cena WWE Freestyles

John Cena is perhaps the most dynamic performer in the WWE. In addition to his prowess in the ring and his robust acting career, he can also boast a pretty impressive music career that’s often bled into the ring. 

For those unfamiliar, Cena came onto the scene in the WWE 20 years ago and quickly made a name for himself as a rapper whose “thuganomics” brand set him apart from the rest of the Superstars in sports entertainment. 

It’s not just for show either, Cena is a legitimate rapping talent and has a number of original tracks to his name. He even cut an album titled “You Can’t See Me” in 2005 based on his infamous catchphrase. 

As Cena prepares to celebrate his 20th anniversary in the WWE ring, we thought it might be a fun idea to take a look back at some of the best times in which Cena’s freestyling lyrics made their way to the WWE ring.

Vanilla Ice Freestyle

In the early days, people weren’t aware of John Cena’s freestyle prowess. However, at a Halloween celebration in 2002, Cena got to showcase his skills for the first time in the WWE thanks to a little help from the star power of none other than Vanilla Ice. 

He donned a Halloween costume of the rapper and used the opportunity to showcase his skills while warning Stephanie McMahon about trouble ahead. While the warning went over her head, people saw what Cena was capable of and he would go on to be the premier rapper of the WWE. 

Royal Rumble 2003 Entrance

Superstardom is all about good entrances and in 2003 at Royal Rumble, John Cena had one of the best. 

As he made his way to the ring to get in on the battle royal action, he didn’t just strut his way down the aisle, he rapped from the back of the stage all the way to the ring offering three reasons as to why he was going to dominate. It’s safe to say no one had made their entrance quite like that in the past and as long as Cena is around, no one will ever do it as well again. 

Raps in Mandarin

Everyone knows that John Cena is a multi-talented individual. However, talent only gets someone so far. That’s why he also makes sure to put in the work to constantly expand his skillset. Never was that more prevalent than in 2017 when he made an effort to appeal to international fans of the WWE by learning Mandarin. 

Always the expert wordsmith, Cena not only learned the language but perfected it with some rhymes. The WWE shared a video at the time of the rapper breaking it down in Mandarin that’s certainly one of his most impressive to date. 

Cena vs. Big Show

For some reason, in 2003 The Big Show thought it would be a good idea to engage in a rap battle with John Cena. 

Obviously, Cena is a talented rapper and The Big Show… has other areas of expertise. So, it wasn’t even a close competition. The Dr. of Thuganomics ripped into his opponent for his weight, breath, and propensity to sweat in the ring. In just under three minutes it was all over and Big Show was left rethinking a lot of life choices, particularly the decision to step up to a rap battle with Cena. 

Cena Disses The Rock

In 2012, Cena wasn’t rapping all that much in the ring. He was too busy kicking butt. However, he dusted off the Dr. of Thuganomics persona to take on none other than WWE royalty, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He came out on “RAW” and laid into the Rock showing absolutely no respect. 

It clearly angered the Superstar, who issued an almost ten-minute response where he demanded Cena never address him through rap ever again. Cena respected that … so he addressed him next through hip-hop. 

Cena deepened their feud with yet another rhyming rebuke that neither The Rock nor his fans could ignore. 

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