Does 16-time WWE champion John Cena own rights to his name? Here's the surprising fact

John Cena is regarded as one of the top wrestlers to make a mark through the WWE universe over the past two decades, having won a staggering no. of 16 championship titles with the wrestling company. The iconic wrestler-turned-actor has come a long way to currently become a global superstar, following the footsteps of ‘The Rock’ Dwyane Johnson. However, WWE fans will be surprised to know that the wrestling promotion has the right to own the in-ring names of its talent, which has brought widespread criticism for the promotion in the past. 

Does John Cena own the rights to use his name?

Cena became a popular name in pro-wrestling worldwide, following his stint in WWE after getting signed by WWE. As per Metro, in a re-surfaced video of Cena’s appearance on The Howard Stern Show, the wrestler confirmed that the WWE boss Vince McMahon has the right to own his name and gets a cut for the same from all his movies. “‘Absolutely,’ the former world champion said, insisting he has no problem with the arrangement. ‘Before this, I was a kid in a small Massachusetts town mowing lawns for a golf course,” Cena said in the talk show. He further explained that he doesn’t mind giving a cut of his earnings from the person who made him a superstar. 

The matter became a heated topic in 2020 when the WWE put out a statement to explain the matter. The company cited Disney and Warner Bros while adding that WWE protects its intellectual properties, i.e. the stage names of the superstars. "It is the control and exploitation of these characters that allows WWE to drive revenue, which in turn enables the company to compensate performers at the highest levels in the sports entertainment industry," WWE added as per Metro.

A look at John Cen's career with WWE

It should be kept in mind that Cena gave the interview in 2006, when he was a WWE champion, with only one movie called The Marine to credit his acting career. Cena’s full name is  John Felix Anthony Cena and he has previously admitted that it’s a bit weird that his government name is not owned by him. He is a 13-time WWE Championship title winner, alongside being a three-time Universal Champion.

Cena still associates himself with McMahon’s organization, having last made a notable appearance during the WWE SummerSlam 2021, where he was defeated by Roman Reigns in the WWE Universal Championship match. He made his last appearance with the promotion during a SmackDown segment on September 19 in 2021, where he teamed up with the Mysterios(Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio) to defeat The Bloodline(Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso). The superstar has been busy with his big banner movie projects ever since. 

(Image: wwe.com)