The latestMonday Night Rawepisode reminds theWWEUniverse who John Cena’s first WrestleMania opponent originally was. When readers think about John Cena’s firstWrestleMania, they’ll likely think about The Doctor of Thuganomics overcoming The Big Show to win the United States Championship atWrestleMania XX. While this was Cena’s firstWrestleManiamatch, it was not his firstWrestleMania.
John Cena’s first Mania appearance was the year before,WrestleMania XIX, on WWE’sSunday Night Heatpre-show, during which the then-rookie was given the unusual task of battle rapping to cardboard cutouts ofGrammy-nominated rappers Jay-Z and Fabolous. Fab made a cameo onthis week’s episode ofMonday Night Raw,and his appearance reminds older viewers of his more unusual “cameo” at the 19thWrestleMania.
The circumstances of Jay and Fab’s Mania “appearance” (or lack there of) are strange in themselves, but with John Cena approachingretirement as a heel, WWE could now rectify a 22-year-old missed connection.
Why Didn’t Jay-Z and Fabolous Show Up at WWE WrestleMania XIX?
In 2003, before touting a more family-friendly “Never Give Up” persona in the years to come as WWE’s franchise player, John Cena’s rookie year saw him gain relevance asa shady rapper character. The story goes that for his first WrestleMania as a WWE Superstar, John Cena was planned to battle rap both Fabolous and Jay-Z on the Grandest Stage of Them All in 2003. On the day of the show, neither Jay nor Fab made their presence known at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, forcing Cena’s pre-show rap to be directed at two cardboard cutouts of the celebrities.
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Some weeks beforehand, Jay-Z would let WWE know that he couldn’t commit to The Show of Shows due to what has only been described in reports as “other commitments.” Meanwhile, there have been conflicting reports regarding Fabolous' lack of appearance. Cena would speculate toESPNthat he “[didn’t] think [Jay-Z or Fabolous] had a realization of what WWE andWrestleManiaare.” However, in a 2019 post onX, Fab said that hedidn’t recall anyone from WWE contacting himto battle Cena in the first place.
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In both his rap and the aforementioned ESPN interview, John Cena implied that both Fab and Jay-Z’s egos and lack of awareness of the WWE product kept them from showing up, while Fab professes a misunderstanding. In either case, this is a moment that often goes overlooked and forgotten in Cena’s Mania history because it was on theHeatpre-show. Fab’s unexpectedRawappearance, while coincidental, nonethelessmakes for fun timingnow that John Cena is a heel in 2025.
Fabolous' interest in wrestling seems to largely stem from his sons, Johan and Jonas Jackson, being fans themselves. Fab had previously brought his sons to All Elite Wrestling events, most notably 2022’s AEW Grand Slam where he accompanied World Tag Team Champions Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee to the ring. Before that, in 2015, he showcased on social media that he had transformed young Johan’s bedroom into a wrestling ring as a Christmas gift.
If meeting Fab in a wrestling ring remains on John Cena’s bucket list, the time is now forWWE to bring Fab and Cena together. Now that he’s aligned himself with The Rock and Travis Scott, fans are expecting the 16-time World Champion to prioritize wrestlinghigh-stakes matches as a heelbefore retiring. However, that doesn’t mean there’s no room for him to still commit to fun segments, especially when they’re 22 years in the making. If Fabolous truly has a special interest in professional wrestling,WWEand John Cena may want to capitalize on it before it’s too late.
