The actor and WWE star was reportedly influenced by NWA and the Beastie Boys as a kid.

While John Cena may have made headlines for appearing n*de at the Oscars, his legacy will always be made for the viral ‘You Can’t See Me’ meme. The WWE wrestler and actor has been the subject of a popular meme based on his entrance song The Time is Now. Cena’s lyric ‘You Can’t See Me’ sparked many users to always refer to John Cena as invisible.

While the meme has never gotten old in the years it has been a rage, John Cena recounted how his choices as a growing teen obsessed with rap in Massachusettes led to the viral meme in many ways. He also mentioned how his choices made him the subject of intense bullying as a child as he used to wear clothes that were part of the hip-hop culture that was not yet ‘cool’ at the time.

John Cena Was Bullied As A Child For His Fashion Choices

John Cena | Credits: WWE

WWE star and actor John Cena is known for his good-guy persona in the WWE ring and has featured in multiple blockbusters such as The Suicide Squad, Fast X, Peacemaker, and more. The actor is known for his extremely positive off-screen persona as well and is often known for his high energy and happy personality.

While Cena has made it in Hollywood and has balanced his WWE career along with it, the one pop culture phenomenon that will never leave his back is his invisibility. The popular meme template of people calling John Cena invisible due to the lyric ‘You Can’t See Me’ in his entrance song The Time Is Now has been a trend for quite some time.

In a video with BuzzFeed about the origins of the meme, he took back viewers to 1989 when he was in school in Massachusetts. The wrestler was reportedly influenced by hip-hop groups such as the Beastie Boys and NWA, and reportedly designed his outfits to match his influences. However, that reportedly did not go well with the rest of the kids in his class. He said,
“In an area of the world that wasn’t so immersed, I got my a*s kicked every single day. And, the core of the abuse was just, ‘Hey. Dress like all of us.’ And at a young age, instead of folding, I doubled down and went even more ridiculous to get even more of my a*s kicked. So, as a way to defend myself, I asked my dad for a home gym.”
The WWE star went on to say how that led to him trying out wrestling as a hobby and a skill, resulting in him finally pursuing it as a professional wrestler.

John Cena’s Iconic Dance Was Based On A Dare

John Cena in Fast X

John Cena has been a 16-time world champion at the WWE promotion and has been one of the most popular players of the promotion. The star has fought with stalwarts such as Dwayne Johnson, Shawn Michaels, Edge, Mr. Kennedy, and more. He was known for his good-guy character in the ring, which Cena described as ‘stale and unentertaining’ before he got to experiment with it.

Cena recounted on the BuzzFeed video a moment in his early days while he was on tour. He mentioned that he was almost about to be fired as he failed to connect to the audience for more than a year when he was seen freestyling on the tour bus by the creative department. He said,
“A few people asked, ‘How did you remember all that?… Would you like to do that on TV?’. Yes, I do. And it really gave me a chance to invest in costuming, mannerisms, delivery, and personality. I’m not the most technically proficient guy…but I really love the make-believe aspect…and the storytelling aspect. Being the rap guy, I brought it all in.”

The Argylle star mentioned that while developing the rap identity of John Cena, he recorded as many as 85 songs for the You Can’t See Me Album. The actor reportedly heard a beat that he was impressed with and then tested it with his younger brother, who was usually his harshest critic.

Cena mentioned that his brother did the ‘Tony Yayo’ dance while listening to the song and dared him to do it in the ring, which ultimately led him to do the ‘You Can’t See Me’ hand gesture.
“I said, ‘I’ll do that on TV to pay homage to you liking the beat ‘cause I’m gonna go with this for the song.’ And he dared me. On the dare, I was like, ‘Yo, I’m definitely doing it’. So, instead of the Yayo dance, I did the reverse as I figured it would be more visible to show my brother on TV.”
John Cena mentioned how he only did the ‘You Can’t See Me’ gesture to make his brother laugh but was surprised to see how it caught on the Internet and became a meme.