John Cena Recalls Sleeping in His Car & Eating Free Pizza Before Finding Fame

John Cena was down on his luck before hitting it big in the WWE!

The wrestler and actor opened up to Kevin Hart on “Hart to Heart,” reflecting on his rough start in L.A. sleeping in his car and surviving on free pizza for a time.

It turns out Cena moved to Southern California in the 1990s seeking a job in fitness, but struggled to find anything.

“My whole existence is based on a series of fortunate events that kind of lined up with each other,” Cena shared. “I did not know that wrestling was even a career option.”

John explained, “I didn’t move out to L.A. to pursue entertainment. [I] came out here to apply my degree in exercise physiology and kinesiology and really failed… I couldn’t get any sort of validation for that piece of paper that I paid for.”

Cena shared that he even pursued a job in law enforcement, revealing he “failed” the California Highway Patrol exam.

“Closed door, closed door,” he confessed.

Kevin joked that John’s story was “getting sad.”

John went on to explain he got a job as a bouncer, and would eat a whole pizza from the place next door every night because if you finished the pie, it was free.

He was sleeping in his car at the time, quipping, “A Lincoln Continental is a big car.”

Of course, by 2001, Cena’s luck turned around. He became a WWE superstar and then took Hollywood by storm.

John considered himself lucky because he always had family to fall back on.