Though it seems like John Cena was immediately thrust into the spotlight as a member of WWE, with is his famous – infamous? – “ruthless aggression” promo coming at the tender age of 25, there was a time when the future “Doctor of Thugganomics” had much leaner pockets and no guarantee that he'd ever make a living as a professional wrestler.

Discussing the leaner years of his professional wrestling career with Logan Paul on ImPaulsive, a sports entertainer who likely can't imagine a WWE contract with less than six figures on it, Cena reveals just how little he was paid when he first signed with the promotion, with the future “Champ” having to live in his car in order to keep his dream alive in Los Angeles.

“There was a moment where I knew there was a possible path, and that was when I got my first contract. I'm very vocal about this, because of the times, it was height of the WCW-WWF wars where everyone was under contract because they didn't want you going to the other place. It was like the .com war. You have a .com? I'll buy it,” John Cena told Logan Paul via Fightful. “My first contract was for $12,500 a year. I quit my job. I still lived in Los Angeles. I had to operate pretty lean. I didn't have to, I chose to. In all the stories I tell, ‘I lived in my car,' I did that by choice. I had a warm bed and roof over my head in Massachusetts. My dad is the most giving person to his sons, ‘You always have a home here, I'll always take care of you.' I wanted to do that. I chose to go through some hardships to be where I'm at. I quit because my philosophy was, ‘This is my job. I'm being paid, I'm a professional. This is my job. I will find a way to make it work because someone has bet on me and if I don't let them down, I can inch forward. I did that. My second contract was for like $25,000. Then, they moved me to Kentucky, and it became $50,000. They moved me to TV, and it became $75,000. Then, I ended up signing a better deal and a better deal.”

Wow, and to think Cena has probably gone on to generate at least a billion dollars for WWE since signing that initial contract, with his status as an unquestionable headliner having only recently changed due to his status as a part-timer. The moral of the story? Always follow your dreams, folks, even if you have to live in your car and get by on a grand a month – albeit in Y2K dollars – to make it happen.

John Cena is proud of Logan Paul for caring about WWE.

Speaking of John Cena's recent appearance on ImPaulsive, “The Champ” decided to use some of his time to celebrate the host of the show not just for his ability to conduct a compelling interview, which he's surprisingly good at, but for taking his time in WWE seriously.

“Me, ten years ago would have been very skeptical, but the business has changed, and because the business has changed and we have better distribution and we’re in more places, the perception of what we can offer has changed,” John Cena told Logan Paul via Fightful. “Now, people come to us seeing opportunity and not just what can I take from this place. Right away, with what you were willing to sacrifice in terms of your health and well-being with the moves that you do, I can tell that you give a s**t. That means a lot. You’re not here to just do the thing once. You went from special guest to full-time superstar in five minutes. That’s very refreshing. I think it speaks volumes to you understanding what the WWE can offer and how the WWE has changed.”

Now, as long-time fans already know, there was a time when Cena was far from the most welcoming of part-time performers that he felt were in the business for the “wrong” reasons, with “The Face That Runs the Place” famously lambasting Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson pretty mercilessly when he returned ahead of their WrestleMania showdown. Maybe now that he's a part-timer, it's easier to accept that everybody's life and goals are different, and half a year of Paul does more good for the WWE Universe than no Paul at all, just like a dozen Cena appearances is better than no Cena appearance at this point in the game.