![]() ![]() John Cena’s nods to sports-entertainment history continued at the 2008 Survivor Series when he arrived in a T-shirt inspired by Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association. Order John Cena's "8-Bit" shirt "HLR Academy" With that, the modern-day John Cena was born. The meeting of Cena’s early swagger and “The Marine” discipline of his first years in the main event became apparent in his “8-Bit” shirt. ![]() At some point during his injury, Cena had seemingly rediscovered the locker room jocularity that first endeared him to the WWE Universe. They were dark, straightforward shirts with camouflage lettering and hardened slogans like “live fast, fight hard” that spoke to the severity with which he took his new spot as WWE’s commander-in-chief. #John cena luciform full( WATCH FULL MATCH)Īt that point in his career, the Superstar’s tees were marked by their strong military ties. Strange then that Cena went into such a heated contest wearing a T-shirt that was more Super Mario than Superman. The Viper had almost taken the former WWE Champion’s livelihood and the West Newbury, Mass., native would have to put Orton down to stop him from doing it again. Most Superstars would have spent a year on the couch from an injury like that, but Cena made a startling return in 2008’s Royal Rumble Match, flooring a sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd before winning the over-the-top-rope brawl. At that event, Cena faced Randy Orton, perhaps his greatest ring rival and the man who had nearly ended his career that same year after delivering an RKO that tore the Cenation leader’s pectoral muscle. The first night he wore the tee honoring the charmingly archaic graphics of 1980s gaming systems was 2008’s No Way Out. The debut of what has been dubbed John Cena’s “8-Bit” shirt came at an unexpected time. Order John Cena's "Word Life" shirt "8-Bit" The symbol was Cena’s answer to rap’s adoration for old-school culture, but more than that, it was him saying, “Here’s history, watch me change it.” A few months later, he rocked a new emblem, taking the sports-entertainment empire’s classic block logo and lopping off the last two letters. ( WATCH) Late in 2003, Cena debuted his first T-shirt - a white and blue ringer tee depicting a pair of cartoon hands sporting “Word Life” knuckle rings like the man himself. In the years that followed, Cena went full tilt with his hip-hop alter ego, adding backward slung hats and throwback jerseys to his outfits while rhyming insults at his rivals like an underground MC. ( WATCH) Instead, Cena’s inspired bit of dress up put substance on his already marketable good looks and Superman frame and gave WWE fans something about him to remember. Had John Cena not spit a line to Stephanie McMahon while dressed up like the MC behind “Ice Ice Baby” on a 2002 Halloween edition of SmackDown, then the 10-time WWE Champion’s important jump from promising, young competitor to braggadocios breakout Superstar may never have happened. ![]()
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