John Cena Movies That Are Too Hysterical Not to Watch on Repeat

John Cena, 45, Reveals The TRUTH Behind His Iconic ‘You Can’t See Me’ Catchphrase

Legendary WWE wrestler John Cena recently opened up about the story behind his iconic catchphrase “You Can’t See Me.”

John Cena, 44, Happily Says His WWE Career is Not Over Yet: 'I Haven't Had My Last Match'
Sam Aronov / Shutterstock.com

The 16-time world champion has been a reputable force in the wrestling industry for well over a decade, prior to his career as an actor. During his time in the ring, the wrestler became famous for his notable phrase “You Can’t See Me,” which he would use to taunt his opponents. Over two decades have passed since his wrestling debut, yet the champion is still largely identified by this phrase.

So, where exactly did the phrase come from?

When Cena sat down for an interview with IGN Sports, one topic of discussion that came up was the origin story of “You Can’t See Me.” According to the wrestler-turned-actor, the inspiration stemmed from his brother Sean.

“Believe it or not that’s a joke on my little brother,” Cena began, launching into the story behind his identifiable phrase. “Whenever we would freestyle, before I really actually got into rap music, we would freestyle.”

“As far is ‘You can’t see me’, my brother Sean, when we freestyle he kind of messes around, he’ll put on a beat, he’ll do his thing or do whatever, and he and a couple buddies of his were doing [the hand motion portion of ‘you can’t see me] and I’m like man I gotta put that on TV,” he further explained.

John Cena’s ‘You Can’t See Me’ was born in order to make fun of his little brother

Cena went on to share that he believed bringing the catchphrase and hand signal to television would be an attempt at publicly making fun of his brother, which he felt inclined to do.

RELATED: 2-Time Super Bowl Champ Travis Kelce Proves He’s Terrible at Baseball During Cleveland Guardians Game

John Cena Movies That Are Too Hysterical Not to Watch on Repeat
lev radin / Shutterstock

“So his name is Sean but we call him Boog, I said Boog watch TV I’m going to make fun of you. So I did the you can’t see me thing, its kind of a mortified [version] you know, I just waved my hand in front of my face, and it was a joke to him,” he said. “But it was a thing that was heartfelt and caught on.”

The phrase and hand gesture has bled into many areas of pop culture and is recognized as one of the most iconic aspects of Cena’s identity. While it is used to taunt opponents in the ring, the backstory behind the gesture makes it even more special.

About At The Buzzer

At The Buzzer, or ATB is the place for those who love sports, life, family, community, and so much more. We are far from the run-of-the-mill 24/7 sports news websites. We not only bring you what’s happening in the world of sports in terms of trades and breaking news, but we also bring you the news that goes on behind the scenes, like big life moments, and so much more. So take a minute and read one of our articles, we promise you won't regret it.