The Legacy Of John Cena's Doctor Of Thuganomics Gimmick (& Why He Put A Stop To It)

John Cena's early WWE career wasn't working until he adopted a character change and became the Doctor of Thuganomics.

John Cena's Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick from the early years of WWE's Ruthless Aggression Era is something fans still cherish as some of his best work. Because of the overwhelming success of that gimmick, Cena's WWE career skyrocketed to stardom in 2005 when he won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21, becoming one of the biggest names in professional wrestling. However, not long after winning his first World title in WWE, when Cena got drafted to the Raw brand in 2005, he slowly morphed away from the Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick to a more family-friendly Marine-like persona, which ultimately caused many fans to turn on him. And although John Cena continued his main-event success after retiring from the Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick, some might wonder why such a popular gimmick was retired in the first place.

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Although he's one of the most polarizing WWE superstars in history, there's no denying that John Cena is among the all-time best in professional wrestling history. Someone who's been a top draw for WWE throughout his reign as the franchise player for the company, Cena may not be the most liked WWE superstar in history, especially during his reign as WWE's top performer. However, he deserves the respect he gets for everything he accomplished in professional wrestling.

Even after Cena stopped using the Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick, he continued to have classic moments throughout his active WWE run. From classic matches with names including Shawn Michaels, AJ Styles, and CM Punk to memorable rivalries with names like Brock Lesnar and The Rock, John Cena may have his goofy moments but always finds a way to turn up the notch and provide entertaining TV for fans.

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For some who may not be familiar with John Cena's early work when he was the SmackDown brand during the early 2000s, he had a rough start after debuting on the main roster in 2002. Although he made a tremendous impact after standing toe-to-toe with Kurt Angle in his in-ring debut on a June 2002 episode of SmackDown, Cena had nothing much going for him regarding his on-screen character.

However, when Stephanie McMahon saw John Cena doing a freestyle rap during a European tour, it enabled him to take his character into something completely different. In late 2002, he adopted a stereotypical 1980s white rapper gimmick as part of his heel persona, eventually turning into something more in the long run for his WWE career. John Cena's rapping gimmick allowed him to show WWE fans his tremendous verbal skills while exhibiting an edgy attitude that helped him become one of WWE's most popular acts soon after debuting the gimmick.

Being referred to as the Doctor of Thuganomics, Cena became one of WWE's hottest acts early in his career because he was the "cool thing" to get behind. Because of the Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick, Cena would come out with an attitude wearing different sports clothing, and proceed to drop a freestyle on any opponent that was put in front of him, naturally coming off as a hip figure for many fans. Although his rapping gimmick was initially perceived as a comedy gimmick when he first started it in late 2002, the Doctor of Thuganomics persona helped him get launched to the same level of credibility as top SmackDown stars like Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, and The Undertaker.

After John Cena won the WWE Championship from JBL at WrestleMania 21 and established himself as WWE's franchise player, he soon got drafted to the Raw brand in mid-2005, where his in-ring success continued for another decade as WWE's most featured act. However, his popularity began to wind down not long after moving to the Raw brand as he slowly transitioned out of the Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick to a Marine superhero-like persona, turning many older fans against him for the rest of his WWE run on top.

Regarding why John Cena decided to retire the gimmick despite it helping him reach the very stardom he enjoys today, he explained his perspective on the WWE Ruthless Aggression documentary series. In the episode where he was highlighted as the Doctor of Thuganomics, John Cena said that because he started seeing more children attending live shows when getting drafted to Raw, he felt continuing his rapping gimmick wasn't appropriate.

RELATED: 10 Things WWE Fans Should Know About The John Cena Vs. Big Show RivalryCena leaving behind the Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick wasn't the most popular move in his in-ring career, but he deserves credit for attempting to be a role model for children. And he is, especially for holding the record for granting the most wishes for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Furthermore, even though the gimmick is mostly a thing of the past, at least John Cena has brought back the Doctor of Thuganomics persona on more than one occasion, including in recent years at WrestleMania 35.

Ali is a lifelong fan of professional wrestling fan. He's also a writer that's covered many topics that not only include professional wrestling but other forms of sports.