"It was awful": None of Us Liked John Cena’s Half Terminator-Like Gimmick Before WWE Except Matthew McConaughey (2025)

John Cena is a popular name in WWE but he had made several attempts at stardom with various personas, including The Prototype.

Written by: Nishanth

Reviewed by: Divyashree

"It was awful": None of Us Liked John Cena’s Half Terminator-Like Gimmick Before WWE Except Matthew McConaughey (1)

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SUMMARY

  • John Cena is one of the most popular graduates of WWE to Hollywood and he is still known for his time on the wrestling promotion.
  • Before he became popular as his current persona, however, he was first introduced as The Prototype, which never took off.
  • Cena recounted his failed attempt at stardom with the Prototype on a talk show, which was only approved by his co-guest Matthew McConaughey.

John Cena became a household name due to his appearances on WWE. The wrestler had a typical good guy persona and a banger entrance theme that even sparked the viral ‘You Can’t See Me’ meme. Cena has since gone on to be an incredibly popular movie star with films like The Suicide Squad, Blockers, and F9.

While Cena became popular in the 2000s, he first made his in-ring debut as the persona The Prototype. A ‘half-man half-machine’ kind of role, Cena’s first stint at stardom did not work out and in hindsight is cringe. While the actor himself embarrassingly recounted the persona, the role seemed to get Matthew McConaughey’s approval.

John Cena tried a Terminator-style gimmick before his stint on WWE

"It was awful": None of Us Liked John Cena’s Half Terminator-Like Gimmick Before WWE Except Matthew McConaughey (2)

John Cena has really come a long way from his WWE days. The wrestler and actor has become one of the most recognized stars and has gone on to headline blockbuster films and TV shows. He has joined the likes of Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista as WWE players who successfully transitioned into an acting career.

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However, Cena has worked very hard to reach the stature he is at now and it came to him after a lot of trials and errors. As he began to pursue a career in wrestling, Cena reportedly made his in-ring debut at the Ultimate Pro-Wrestling stage not as himself, but as The Prototype. He described The Prototype as a half-man, half-machine-cyborg kind of persona.

"It was awful": None of Us Liked John Cena’s Half Terminator-Like Gimmick Before WWE Except Matthew McConaughey (4)

While most wrestlers do a gimmick, Cena’s first attempt reportedly did not land and he gave up the monicker after he made his TV debut on WWE. When asked to give more information about the persona on The Graham Norton Show, he said,

It was awful. Yeah, so you want to try to find a persona or…a gimmick, where it describes you as a character so like when you walk out people notice you…It’s a trial and error process with a lot of errors and my first try was The Prototype, which was half man and half machine and 100% cr*p.

Cena gave up the persona when he made his WWE debut on TV against Kurt Angle, after which for a brief period, he used the nickname ‘The Doctor of Thugonomics’.

Matthew McConaughey approved of The Prototype despite John Cena’s embarrassment

"It was awful": None of Us Liked John Cena’s Half Terminator-Like Gimmick Before WWE Except Matthew McConaughey (5)

Before he became one of the biggest WWE stars and a globally recognized name in Hollywood, John Cena was attempting to create an attention-grabbing persona in his wrestling career. The cringe Terminator-style in-ring persona The Prototype was his first attempt and Cena recounted his embarrassing try at stardom.

The actor revealed that the way he would perform The Prototype was by using a monotonous and authoritative tone (like a robot). He also said that he would sometimes make a statement, make a rewind sound, and then say it back as a gimmick for his half-machine part of the persona.

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While the audience members at The Graham Norton Show and his fellow guests laughed at the attempt, actor Matthew McConaughey seemed to approve. He said,

Did it work?… That is a good one…I’m in.

McConaughey also went on to name several Texas-based wrestlers and their gimmicky names. He also revealed that he was kicked out of a game once because he had punched a wrestler with a bag of tomatoes.

John CenaMatthew McConaughey

Written by Nishanth A

Articles Published: 1773

Nishanth A is a Media, English and Psychology graduate from Bangalore. He is an avid DC fanboy and loves the films of Christopher Nolan. He has published over 1,000 articles on FandomWire. When he's not fixating on the entire filmography of a director, he tries to write and direct films.

"It was awful": None of Us Liked John Cena’s Half Terminator-Like Gimmick Before WWE Except Matthew McConaughey (2025)
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