Without a doubt, John Cena has been one of the hottest superstars in WWE over the last three years. The three-time WWE Champion has main-evented the last two Wrestlemanias, and is hugely popular with WWE fans. John Cena: ... more »My Life chronicles his amazing career in and out of the ring, with exclusive interviews as Cena reflects on some of his biggest moments and rivalries with Superstars including Edge, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Umaga, and more.« less
Actor:John Cena Genres:Sports Sub-Genres:Wrestling Studio:World Wrestling Entertainment Format:DVD - Color,Full Screen - Closed-captioned DVD Release Date: 11/13/2007 Original Release Date: 01/01/2007 Theatrical Release Date: 01/01/2007 Release Year: 2007 Run Time: 9hr 0min Screens: Color,Full Screen Number of Discs: 3 SwapaDVD Credits: 3 Total Copies: 4 Members Wishing: 0 Edition: Box set MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Languages:English
"Let's start this off without my hatred for John Cena... It's a 3 disc set. Now 3 disc sets are usually reserved for the greats that can provide well over 9 hours of entertainment spread over 3 discs. That's where this set first goes wrong. Here we have a biography, 7 matches and a disc of John Cena's webisodes. If you can't cover 3 discs with excellent material, than just release a one disc set... it's that simple. Pretty much the only thing in this set worth anything is the biography... because you can find the webisodes for free, and you can find any of the good matches on this set on other superior WWE DVD releases.
This DVD was released purely for the WWE to make some money off the little kids that worship this man for some bizarre reason. Rather than releasing DVD's of wrestlers that can actually wrestle... they release this heap of junk featuring a man that slugs people as if he's a shaved gorilla. Where's our Randy Savage DVD? Where's our big Chris Jericho DVD? Where's our big Dean Malenko DVD? And where is our big Juventud Guerrera DVD (I can always dream... right?)? I'll tell you where they are... Nowhere, because the WWE would rather waste their time releasing junk like this.
This set is something the majority of wrestling fans will despise... And Cena fans will bite their tongue and say it's a good release, just because... well, they have to stand up for their hero."
5 Questions gets this 5 stars
Weather Warden | Auckland, NZ | 02/01/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This review will automatically make John Cena "haters" give me a non helpful vote, just because I gave it 5 stars.
Why? Because I'm a fan of John. I adore the man, he's incredibly talented and an incredibly hard worker and all round nice guy. Yes, I may be what you'd call a "fangirl" but I like John for more than his looks (yes he's gorgeous, but I appreciate his wrestling abilities as well!).
This disc has three discs, all cover different things. Disc 1 is the documentary, Disc 2 is some of John's best matches and Disc 3 is episodes of John's WWE dotcom show, 5 Questions.
The documentary is very well made and informative. You learn a lot about John's childhood, his teenage years and his foray into wrestling in OVW. I found it interesting because John talks a lot about he did bodybuilding before he was a wrestler. He looked completely different to how he is now, it was a shock! But it was awesome to see a different side of him. He then moves the documentary onto his WWE debut, into his rapper gimmick and into winning his first WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 21. We keep moving onto feuding with Edge in 2006, his infamous match with Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand and making The Marine. The documentary ends with John talking about wrestling Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 23 and what the future holds for him.
The documentary is interesting and John is animated and entertaining as he takes us through his life.
The first disc also features a look at John's sizeable car collection - he collects vintage cars and shows us his collection. He has cars like a Dodge Viper, Mustang and a Camaro.
Now we move onto Disc 2, which is the matches DVD. This disc features seven of John's many matches in his career.
They are:
Randy Orton's farewell match: The Prototype (John) vs Randy Orton - OVW 19/01/02
This is from John's days in OVW and it was Randy's last match before he debuted in the WWE. John looks like a huge dork and he talks smack about Randy before the match. The match isn't that good, but it's cool to see both John and Randy before they were WWE superstars. John wins, by the way.
John Cena vs Chris Jericho - Vengeance 21/07/02
This match was John's first PPV match, lucky for him he got a great competitor in Chris, who carried him to a very good match for a rookie. This was before John established his rapper gimmick, and this proves he can wrestle. He takes Chris by surprise when he beats him, and afterwards Chris freaks out and starts destroying things at ringside. A successful PPV for John.
John Cena vs Rikishi - Smackdown! 27/03/03
A match from SD, this saw John get heavily booed for the first time against fan favourite Rikishi. John was in a feud with Brock Lesnar at the time, and after the match he called him out (they should have put what happened on the DVD). As for the match itself, John proved early that he could face much bigger opponents then himself with ease - something he would go onto having a talent for (Big Show, Umaga, The Great Khali). A pretty good match.
I Quit Match for the WWE Championship: John Cena vs JBL - Judgment Day 22/05/05
One of John's most famous matches, nearly everybody knows this classic. This was John's best match with JBL, and he actually managed to get a decent match out of the man. This was a brutal and bloody match - John bled so much, his face was completely covered in it at one point. This has loads of cool spots, involving various weapons and other props - including JBL's limo and the truck that John made his entrance on. JBL quits after John goes to hit him with a huge metal pipe - John proceeds to hit him with it after the match is over anyway. One of John's best matches to date, I love this one.
John Cena, Shawn Michaels & Hulk Hogan vs Tyson Tomko, Chris Jericho & Christian - Raw 27/06/05
I can't stand Hulk Hogan, but here he's teaming up with my two favourite wrestlers, so I'll forgive him. This match isn't much, it's basically just John, Shawn and Hulk beating up on Tomko, Chris and Christian for awhile. Hogan of course hogs the spotlight and gets the pin, and John and Shawn celebrate with him, which is actually cute and not annoying.
Extreme Rules Match for the WWE Championship: John Cena vs Rob Van Dam - ECW One Night Stand 11/06/06
This is another rather famous match for John, as it was the match where he got practically booed out of the building. The ECW crowd are rabid and verbally tear into John. I have to give him credit, he kept it together and ignored them most of the time. The match itself is exceptional too, John shows he can do matches ECW style, he outdoes RVD at points. The match had a bad ending, because Edge interfered, but apart from that, this was an entertaining match.
TLC Match for the WWE Championship: John Cena vs Edge - Unforgiven 17/09/06
I reckon John excels in matches where the rule book is thrown out the window, the best three matches here are all like that, including this one. John once again had the fans against him, as Edge was the hometown hero in Canada. This match was really fun, John matched up nicely against Edge. Lita got involved and actually tipped the match in John's favour. The ending spot is sick when John FUs Edge through a couple of tables. I think he gained the crowd's respect by the end too. This match was also the start of his 13 month reign with the WWE title.
When I first bought this, I was dismayed to find that the epic hour long match with Shawn Michaels from Raw wasn't on here, as that's probably my all time favourite match. But it turned up on Shawn's DVD set (which I bought just after this), so I'm happy. That match is just amazing, John and Shawn have amazing chemistry in the ring together, they've never had a bad match together.
Disc 2 also contains some extras of John doing various things - returning to OVW for a show, showing us his collection of coins, doing a car race for a TV show, his friends talk about when John once went camping, John's short feud with Kevin Federline, some footage of John's Wrestlemania 22 entrance, his Wrestlemania 21 movie promo with JBL, a promo from OVW, John training at a gym and the music video for his song "Right Now."
Disc 3 is my favourite however, because it features several episodes of his web show, 5 Questions (named 5 Questions With The Champ when he had the title). John is absolutely hilarious on these things. He answers questions that fans send in, and rambles about things. He frequently goes off topic and starts talking about something completely unrelated, too. John is a naturally funny guy and he's so charismatic. The well known jobber Brooklyn Brawler helps John with the show, and he's always insulting him and saying how much he hates him. He also holds a grudge against Michael Cole, he goes on about him a lot, it makes me giggle.
When watching these segments (they run around 5 to 10 minutes each, depending on how long John rambles for), I was constantly laughing. John is honest in his answers and his answers make me laugh so hard. Towards the end of the segments, he thinks he should cancel the show and asks people to write in and say whether it should keep going. John gets mad when nobody mentions it in their letters and thinks the show should stop, it's so funny. The questions he gets asked are hilarious too, John makes them funny.
This review is long, but it gets my point across as to why I like this DVD so much. The 5 Questions segments are hilarious, the matches are awesome and the documentary is really good. All up, a fantastic DVD for a huge John fan such as myself. 5 stars, for sure."
Yes! This is John Cena's Life........
Bluerabbit | USA | 02/08/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"First off, I want to say....I am NOT a John Cena fan. This dvd was bought for me by a friend who knew I collected wrestling biography dvd's and I have passed on this one several times simply because it was a John Cena dvd.
So with all that in mind here's is a very surprising review (to me anyway) that I though I'd never write.
Disc 1
The biography section is pretty decent but lacks a clear running order and interview segments with the man himself. It runs a little longer than I expected it to run and includes at least 2 segments that are not needed(Spinner Belt & Weight Training) and actually stop the flow of an otherwise interesting life story. The best segments are his OVW promos and "You can't see me".
The bonus section is a look at his muscle car collection and I would have to say this is pretty damn good! I'm not a huge fan of muscle cars in general but the way this presentation is put together, I actually got excited at some of the sweet rides! I do agree has nothing to do with wrestling but this is a huge part of John Cena's life and that is what this collection is about, so I welcome it with open arms as it "breaks the mold" of what these documentaries are about and this is what Cena is all about(watch the documentary and you'll understand).
Disc 2
This disc is what most people are complaining about as it is the only disc to feature wrestling matches and only 7 of them. I have no complaints as 6 of them are landmark matches of his career. Granted, there are probably better ones but these all have historical significance in Cena's life (Once again, that is what this collection is about...right?) in the WWE. I do agree there should have been at least one match from his US Title days instead of the 6 man tag match but I won't complain as the others are much better and make up for the omission.
Matches include:
1. The Prototype(Cena) vs Randy Orton - 1/19/02 OVW
2. John Cena vs Chris Jericho - 7/21/02 Vengeance (Cena's 1st PPV)
3. John Cena vs. Rikishi - 3/27/03 Smackdown
4. John Cena vs JBL - 5/22/05 Judgement Day (I Quit Match - Bloodfest)
5. 6 Man tag - 6/27/05 Raw
6. John Cena vs. RVD - 6/11/06 One Night Stand (Cena was threatened by an entire ECW audience - A must see)
7. John Cena vs Edge - 9/17/06 Unforgiven (TLC Match)
The bonus section is a collection of other off the mat pieces of his life such as coin collecting, car racing and other landmark in ring moments such as his return to OVW, the feud with K-Fed, and a couple of odd Wrestlemania moments. I personally think these moments could've been incorporated into the documentary instead of the more boring bits that were there.
Disc 3
Not much to say other than this is a collection of his very popular webisodes that aired on [...] in 2006. I'm not 100% sure we needed an entire disc of this as it could've been very easily edited down to a "best of" segment with the more funny moments. This disc is what it is and can be very long and boring unless you know which segment is your favorite. This disc is what knocked down the score for the entire set for me in an otherwise entertaining set.
In conclusion, this is John Cena's life not yours, mine or the WWE's and to see the many different aspects of the man behind the facade is quite refreshing and it lets you and I get to know the man behind the muscle a little better.
"
Honest Review From Anti-Cena WWE Fan
Umar M. Ahmad | Tempe, AZ | 12/28/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"John Cena's Performances Have Been Disappointing After His Match With JBL At Judgement Day 2005, Which I Believe Was Cena's Last Great Match (As Far As Cena's Performance). Dull Match After Dull Match, Unoriginal Promo After Unoriginal Promo. What Happened To His Days As A Ruthless Heel Or The Entertaining United States Champion? Post Judgement Day 2005 His Range Narrowed And Let His Political Views Affect His Matches Too Much. This Way He Doesn't Have To Worry About Being Entertaining And Could Just Think He Is Like Ric Flair And Use The Fans Irritation Towards Him To Somehow Be A "Strong Powerhouse". Well He Is No Ric Flair Or Triple H, Ric Flair & Triple H Actually Make It A Point To Be Entertaining.
Anyway, Personal Opinion Aside, The Documentary On This Set Is Really Good. You Got To See His Great Career Before Wrestling And His Entrance Into Wrestling. And An Interesting Part Of His Career As Prototype (Since I Never Knew About It Before I Watched This DVD).
I Disagree With The Opinion That You Have To Be A John Cena Fan To Enjoy The Car Segments. This Is The First Time Ever Seen Something Interesting Coming From Cena's Mouth Since Judgment Day 2005. Through His Car Collection Cena Finally Shows Some Personality. I Rented This DVD On Netflix, However, if You Are Considering Buying This DVD Set Do Not Get It For The Matches, As There Are Only 7 Of Them. I Own The Later 4 Matches Of This DVD On Other DVDs, And Im Assuming Many Others Probably Have Them Already Also.
Approx. 90 Minute Documentry.
The Prototype vs. Randy Orton
OVW 1/19/02
John Cena vs. Chris Jericho
Vengeance 7/21/02
John Cena vs. Rikishi
SmackDown! 3/27/03
John Cena vs. JBL - I Quit Match
Judgment Day 5/22/05
John Cena & Shawn Michaels & Hulk Hogan vs. Tyson Tomko & Chris Jericho & Christian
Raw 6/27/05
John Cena vs. RVD - Extreme Rules
ECW One Night Stand 6/11/06
John Cena vs. Edge - TLC Match
Unforgiven 9/17/06
Interviews & Promos
-John Cena's Muscle Car Collection
- John Cena Returns to OVW
- Military Coin Collection
- Fast Cars & Superstars: Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race
- Cena Goes Camping
- Right Now Music Video
- K-Fed
- WrestleMania 22 Entrance
- WrestleMania 21 - John Cena/JBL WrestleMania Goes Hollywood Promo
- OVW - The Prototype In Ring Promo 12/1/02
- Cena Trains with Gold's Gym Contest Winner
- A selection of "5 Questions with the Champ" from [...]"
Even the hardcore Cena fan will be disappointed with this se
a fan | amazon.com | 01/25/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Seeing as how John Cena has been the franchise player in WWE for the last three years, it seems only right that WWE dedicate a three-disc DVD set to him. The DVD includes a documentary tracing Cena's life and career thus far, seven of his best matches, and a lot of extras, including a detailed look at his car and military coin collections and every installment of the popular "5 Questions With the Champ" webcast. That seems like a lot, but in the end, even the hardcore Cena fan will be left disappointed by this set. The documentary is pretty solid, focusing on Cena's childhood, his adventures in college, in bodybuilding and his rise as a professional wrestler. The look at his car collection is pretty interesting as well, as Cena holds some beautiful rides in his possession. The rest of the set, however, falls flat.
The second disc is dedicated to seven of Cena's best matches, in their entirety, complete with a brief commentary by Cena himself before each of them. The matches touch on every portion of his career: his OVW days (vs. Randy Orton), as a gritty up-and-comer in WWE (vs. Rikishi, Chris Jericho), and as WWE Champion (vs. JBL, RVD, Edge). Each match is symbolic of an important moment in his wrestling career, but viewers will feel simply underwhelmed after running through the match section, a portion which is usually the meat of WWE's 3-disc anthology sets.
The third disc only leaves viewers more disappointed, as the disc is simply every installment of Cena's "5 Questions with the Champ" webcast, over fifteen ten-minute segments featuring Cena ranting and raving while answering fan mail. These segments are generally amusing, but WWE could have used this third disc to include more matches, some of Cena's infamous promos or rap battles, or even more deleted scenes from the documentary.
In the end, the set starts off strong but just falls flat with the second and third discs. Still, for 20 bucks, you'll get plenty of bang for your buck."