John Cena squatting 611 lbs. / YouTube
John Cena is very, very strong. In fact, he’s one of the strongest pro wrestlers of all time. And that’s saying a lot when you consider that many WWE wrestlers outweigh the 6’1″ 250-lb. Cena by more than 100 pounds, sometimes much more. One of the very biggest of those wrestlers, Big Show, said last year, without hesititating, that John Cena was stronger than Goldberg or Brock Lesnar, stating: “As far as people picking me up, nobody’s like John. Cena picks you up it’s like you’re standing on concrete. I’ve never seen a guy so composed, so strong and when you’re on there, on his shoulders, you’re not going anywhere. He is literally like a machine.”
A former college football player and bodybuilder, John Cena made his WWE television debut in 2002. He eventually became one of the most popular and successful pro wrestlers of the new millennium, including extended stints as world champion. In Wrestlemania XXV, he momentarily held Big Show and Edge on his shoulders, who together weighed approximately 700 lbs. This should be no surprise when you can watch a training video of him squatting 611 lbs.
In fact, John Cena, pro wrestler and actor, is the rare celebrity who films his workout personal records. So you can believe the legend. Let’s sort through those best lifts to verify just how strong John Cena is.
JOHN CENA: SQUAT
In 2015 at age 38, Cena filmed himself squatting 611 lbs. (277 kg.) wearing knee sleeves but without the benefit of a squat suit or knee wraps.
JOHN CENA: BENCH PRESS
Also in 2015, John Cena was recorded bench pressing 487 pounds (221 kg.), with elbow sleeves but no bench shirt. He claimed this was his all-time best.
John Cena had the biggest verified bench in our ranking of Celebrity Bench Presses.
JOHN CENA: DEADLIFT
To celebrate his 40th birthday in 2017, John Cena pulled a 602-lb. (273 kg.) deadlift with a conventional stance.
JOHN CENA: POWERLIFTING TOTAL
If Cena had hit his best squat, bench press, and deadlift in a powerlifting meet, he would’ve totaled 1700 pounds (771 kg.).
JOHN CENA: POWER CLEAN
But he doesn’t just hit impressive singles in the three powerlifts. On his 41st birthday in 2018, John Cena power cleaned 160 kg. (353 lbs.).
HOW STRONG IS JOHN CENA?
In our list of the Strongest Pro Wrestlers of All Time, we placed John Cena eighth, and he was the lightest guy on that list. He’s likely the strongest WWE wrestler ever who weighed 250 pounds or less. And when we get into the movie or TV actor category, which includes The Rock and Dave Bautista, Cena is successfully moving more heavy metal than anyone. We love that his lifts are strict and verified, and he’s putting up his biggest numbers in middle age. He turns 45 this week. Can John Cena continue to grow his personal records? Whether he does or not, the short answer to how strong is John Cena is: very, very.
