John Cena Sheds Light on His Money Situation During Initial WWE TV Days

John Cena will always be regarded as the man who came from obscurity and carved himself into one of the biggest WWE superstars of all time. While he makes top dollar now, Cena recently spoke about climbing the money ladder, one step at a time during his initial days.

During his recent appearance on Impaulsive with Logan Paul, the 16-time WWE champion opened up earning his way up. Cena mentioned earning $12,500 a year from his first WWE contract, going all the way up to $75,000 when he began appearing on TV, highlighting his progress as a WWE superstar.

My first contract was for $12,500 a year. I quit my job. I still lived in Los Angeles. I had to operate pretty lean. I didn’t have to, I chose to. In all the stories I tell, ‘I lived in my car,’ I did that by choice. I had a warm bed and roof over my head in Massachusetts. My dad is the most giving person to his sons, ‘You always have a home here, I’ll always take care of you.’ I wanted to do that. I chose to go through some hardships to be where I’m at. I quit because my philosophy was, ‘This is my job. I’m being paid, I’m a professional. This is my job. I will find a way to make it work because someone has bet on me and if I don’t let them down, I can inch forward. I did that. My second contract was for like $25,000. Then, they moved me to Kentucky, and it became $50,000. They moved me to TV and it became $75,000. Then, I ended up signing a better deal and a better deal.” 

Of course, it took another three years from the time he started on WWE TV for Cena to begin his quest of becoming the Franchise of the company and get even better deals. His first stepping stone was winning the WWE title from JBL at WrestleMania 21, which cemented his place as the next flagship star.

While he continues to reign as an A-list star in Hollywood today, John Cena returned to WWE last summer for an extended run. He was heavily featured on SmackDown and other shows. However, his last televised appearance saw him suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of Solo Sikoa at WWE Crown Jewel.

John Cena recently stated that he plans to retire in full capacity from WWE by the time he is 50. With the clock running on the Cenation Leader, it would be interesting to see the next few Cena appearances he shall make that can help give back to the business and enthrall the audience only like John Cena can.

Who do you want to see John Cena face in his retirement match? Sound off in the comments!