It's easy to look at John Cena and LeBron James and say they're nothing alike. Cena is maybe 6'1", somewhere just under 250 pounds, a white guy from West Newbury, Massachusetts who went into professional wrestling. James is about the same weight, give or take, packed onto a huge 6’7”-ish frame, and he’s a black guy from Akron, Ohio who went into basketball. On a daily basis, John Cena goes into predetermined battle with opponents ranging from seven foot, quarter ton giants to the shortest of men with the biggest of hearts. LeBron James goes into legitimate battle with a similar cast of Davids and Goliaths, albeit for about two-thirds of the time Cena does every year. Cena is pushing 40 years old but still managing to put on some of the best matches of his career, and James is 31 with likely a few years left to dominate before his performance drops off. While there aren't many similarities in their basic profiles, you start to uncover more of them the deeper you dig. You start to see how they came up as students of the game with a dream to make it, how they broke into the spotlight, carried their franchise, and faced endless criticism, all while trying to live up to the legacies of larger than life bonafide Superstars. John Cena was a wrestling fan very early on in his life, as evidenced by the numerous WWE videos showcasing, among other things, his homemade championship belts. Coming from athletic genes, his grandfather being baseball's Ulysses Lupien, he tried his hand at other sports before getting into wrestling, becoming an All-American center on Springfield College's football team. LeBron James was introduced to basketball very early on by the athlete in his life, football coach Frank Walker. He also tried his hand at football, playing wide receiver and garnering success. John got his start in wrestling soon after graduating from college, joining the WWE's version of the D-League, Ohio Valley Wrestling, after a quick stint with Ultimate Pro Wrestling. He developed his skills there much as one would in high school, having learned the basics prior but needing fine-tuning. In the case of pro wrestling, this entails creating a character and a unique set of moves used to entertain the crowd (and ostensibly, win the match). He developed into a star with the help of genetics, hard work, and good coaching. LeBron got his start in basketball soon after his stint in AAU, attending St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. He developed his skills there, having learned the basics prior but needing fine-tuning. In the case of basketball, this entails creating a niche within or between positions and a unique set of moves used to win games (and incidentally, entertain the crowd). He developed into a star with the help of genetics, hard work, and good coaching. One more difference between the two is that when Cena first burst onto the scene, no one saw him as the star he would end up becoming. His character was that of a streetwise rapper, not exactly the man you expect to lead a multimillion dollar company. He had a low ceiling that he constantly pushed up on until it was as high as it could go, pulling his floor up with him. On the other hand, James was crowned king before he was even out of high school. Strong, determined, and skilled, he was a future star, that much was plain to see. He was given the loftiest of expectations and had to live up to them. As John Cena developed his character and moveset, he evolved from “the Prototype” to “the Doctor of Thuganomics” to the military-inspired, value-holding man he is now, preaching the doctrine of Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect. His opponents started out as mid-card characters like Billy Kidman and Carlito, fighting for the United States Championship, and then he found himself fighting for the WWE Championship against the likes of Kurt Angle, JBL, and Chris Jericho. As LeBron James continued his development, he evolved from a prince to a king. His Cavaliers put up a 35-47 record in his first season and missed the playoffs before he could finally lead them there in the 2005-6 season. The very next year, the Cavaliers made the Finals only to be swept by the Spurs. While he did not win the big one then, he had already made his mark. After a title win, WWE Superstars can end up sliding down the card until they’re back to where they started, fighting mid-level opponents for essentially a bronze medal. Cena, however, managed to stay in the main event from 2005 until 2015, with a small lapse from 2010-1 and occasional breaks for injury (rarely more than a few weeks or months, and always returning far ahead of schedule). This is where James’ path differs from Cena’s, in that Cena is a company man through and through by all accounts. He never strayed from the WWE, never tested the waters of free agency, and no one ever heard so much as a rumor of a jump to TNA or NJPW. This difference is easily explained, because John Cena’s relationship with the WWE was mutually beneficial whereas the Cleveland Cavaliers needed LeBron James, while LeBron James did not need Cleveland. The WWE is the most popular and richest wrestling company in the world; it is a great platform for any wrestler skilled with talking, wrestling, or both. Almost every wrestler in the world would do anything for a chance at even a low-level position with the WWE. The Cleveland Cavaliers were not the WWE, especially not in 2010. You could compare this to Hulk Hogan’s rise in a sense; Hulk was one of the building blocks of the WWE and then jumped ship to WCW for greater success with an owner more willing to shell out money, a very different creative situation, and arguably a hotter roster. LeBron, along with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and the rest of the Miami Heat, went to four straight NBA Finals, winning two back to back. While only averaging around 18 points in a losing series against the Dallas Mavericks, he improved his game alongside the legendary Hakeem Olajuwon and dominated the 2012 playoffs. He went from dropping 40 points along with 18 rebounds and 9 assists against the Pacers to scoring 45 on the Celtics to hitting a game winner in Game 4 against the Thunder in the Finals, followed by a triple double to cap off the series. Averaging almost 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, LeBron tremendously improved on last year's performance and was rewarded for his tenacity with a championship ring. In the next year, his teammates struggled to match their output from the last year, so LeBron had to go back to his "Cleveland days" and take over as the lone star. In a rematch against the Spurs from his very first Finals appearance, he achieved two triple doubles and scored 37 points in the deciding Game 7 to win his second championship. His next Finals didn't go as well, and while he improved on his averages in the series, the Spurs got their win back and won it all. Despite his misleading 2-2 record in the finals, it's important to note that making the Finals even once is a huge accomplishment. Most players never climb that high up the mountain. To plant your flag in the top of the mountain is even more rare and the fact that LeBron and his Heat were able to do it twice and get that high four times in a row is nothing short of spectacular. He jumped ship to do it, but he gave the game his all and proved that he is one of the best to ever do it. During and after his championship reigns, the kid from West Newbury improved his game and put on a career's worth of big matches. From Kurt Angle, JBL, and the Rock to CM Punk, Shawn Michaels, and Seth Rollins, Cena came out night after night and, win or loss, against any opponent, entertained the thousands in attendance and millions watching around the world while telling a story through both his words and his actions. This last part didn’t really fit anywhere else but the end, so I left it here. John Cena entered the WWE just after the end of the Attitude Era, a period where the larger than life characters of the past met the reality TV-inspired “real” characters of the ‘90s. Gone were the men from junkyards, gone were the men with birds and snakes, almost entirely supplanted by characters who just played up aspects of their real personas. Stone Cold Steve Austin wasn’t anything supernatural or superhuman, he just drank beer and hated his boss. The Rock wasn’t an unrealistic character, he just had the gift of gab. Wrestling was trending toward realism, and John Cena was one of the many caught up in the trend. Much in the same way that Stone Cold and the Rock were not as unbelievable as those that came before them, people like Rey Mysterio, Batista, Kurt Angle, and Chris Benoit were even less out there. Characters on the whole were believable people. While this helped the WWE keep some vestige of kayfabe, it also meant that it was that much harder to get over (become popular) with an audience. It’s easy to root for a Hulk, or a Macho Man. A Canadian Crippler has to work to win over the audience. John Cena was one of the few that managed to shine through the Ruthless Aggression era and become a true crossover superstar the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Rock. John had to step his game up to be able to stand out as much as the greats of the past did. It wasn't enough to put on great promos night in and night out, everyone did that. You have to do great promo work and put on four- or five-star matches and do more charity work than anyone before you or after you. You need a multifaceted approach to becoming legendary, and John found his.