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John Cena was the franchise player of WWE for over a decade before he decided to turn into a Hollywood star. Aside from being popular worldwide as a WWE superstar, Cena is also a walking meme. He went viral for his “You can’t see me” catchphrase, a phrase that has held up over the years since its origin almost 20 years ago. But how did The Cenation Leader come up with “You can’t see me?" Those who’ve followed Cena’s career probably know by now that he actually “stole” it from Tony Yayo, and there's an interesting backstory about it.
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John Cena's Brother Dared Him To Do "You Can't See Me"
On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last year, John Cena talked about how he came up with the "You Can’t See Me" taunt he does during his matches. Cena said that when he was recording his debut album, You Can’t See Me, he would come home and play his songs for his younger brother Sean Cena.
When Sean heard Cena’s WWE theme song, The Time Is Now, for the first time, he started doing a dance which Tony Yayo did in 50 Cent’s In Da Club music video. Cena then said he'd do that on television, and Sean basically dared him to do that. “He heard ‘The Time is Now’ and just did this dance that Tony Yayo did in one of the G-Unit videos. It was like he put his hand over his head and was kinda like (head bobbing) … bobbed his head like that. And I was like man, ‘what are you doing?’ It looked like it’s ridiculous, and he goes, no man, Tony Yayo does this thing. And I’m like, I’ll do it on TV. And he’s like, ‘I dare you to do it on TV.' Little did he know I do this on TV.”
But Cena didn’t just mimic the G-Unit rapper exactly. He thought that Tony’s version “wasn’t visible enough” (he moved his head before his hand). He wanted to do his "You Can’t See Me" taunt by moving his hand in front of his head instead.
Tony Yayo Jokingly Asked For A Million Dollars From John Cena
When Tony Yayo learned about being the unintentional inspiration behind Cena’s You Can’t See Me taunt, he gave him a shoutout online. Yayo also once jokingly asked for a million dollars for this.
“John Cena, just give me a million dollars or something. Give me a million. Let me get a million. That’s worldwide [laughs]. Nah, that’s cool man. He always gives me my props for it. He doesn’t have to do that. He’s an icon out here. Shoutout to him.”
Cena started doing this taunt during his Doctor of Thuganomics days, with its first occurrence happening on an episode of Velocity. Since then, it's huge a huge part of his character.
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John Cena's 'You Can’t See Me' Album Was Released In 2005
It’s common knowledge that Cena also used to rap in real life. It was rapping that saved him from getting fired, and later gave birth to his Doctor of Thuganomics character.
Cena’s debut album You Can’t See Me was released in 2005, and he worked on it with his cousin Tha Trademarc. The "You Can’t See Me" taunt has also crossed over into mainstream culture. There are tons of memes made about this on Cena, and it all started with a dare that also completely changed his life, probably for the better.
