During a recent interview on the ‘Hart To Heart’ podcast, WWE Ruthless Aggression Era Legend John Cena revealed his shockingly low initial WWE salary, that he had in his contract after signing with the company in 2002.
Here’s what the 16-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion had to say:
“My first contract with WWE was $12,000 a year. I quit my job the day I was signed.
I think my rent was $1,000 a month. So all my money is now rent.
When I told my mom, she’s like ‘I hope you’re okay’.
My dad, I could have told him any other position and he would have been like ‘Yeah, whatever’, but I told him I got a job with WWE.
‘Oh, my son. This is unreal. It’s going to be great. I can’t believe it’.
Still, to this day, he’s extremely proud.”
It was none other than Paul Heyman, who back then was in charge of booking SmackDown, who called up John Cena from WWE’s then developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) to the main roster and debuted him on the June 27th 2002 episode of WWE SmackDown, where Cena came out and answered Kurt Angle’s challenge.
While Cena was pinned by Angle in his debut, he earned the respect of The Undertaker, who was the WWE Undisputed Champion at that time.
Also Read: 2 Names That Were Considered For “Face Of WWE” Push Instead Of John Cena
WATCH: Nikkita Lyons Reveals Her Buns On The Beach:
