I feel it's my duty to preface this review by stating that I am not a fan of John Felix Anthony Cena. His recent title reign was one of the most painful ones that i've been subjected to. It's not that he's not a hard-worker, after watching My Life, it'll become apparent he is. It's just that he really hasn't grown or improved his wrestling skills.

Anyways, My Life is a three-disc set documenting Cena's days in Massachusetts all the way to becoming WWE Champion. Disc one is where the documentary can be found. It runs one hour forty-seven minutes long and I thought it was interesting that Cena didn't participate whatsoever. Sure, his friends, family and contemporaries are interviewed, but Cena doesn't make his presence felt. Disc two features seven matches that were "hand picked" by Cena himself and he gives us his thoughts as he introduces the matches. The rest of the disc is filled up with interviews and various promos from Cena over the years. The third and final disc is a collection of segments that were originally found on WWE.com, where Cena would answer the fans' questions.:

Disc One:

• West Newbury
   
• Hard Nock's - Dave Nock and others talk about Cena's work out regimen at Hard Nock's and his competing in weightlifting competitions. From there, we go to Springfield College, where fellow students, players and coaches talk about Cena's football and scholastic career. This chapter ends with Cena heading to California, which is where he first gets involved in professional wrestling.
   
• OVW - Tazz, JBL, Edge, Mick Foley and Vince talk about John's time as the Prototype in OVW
   
• Ruthless Aggression - This chapter touches on John's first appearance on SmackDown! - in 2002 and against Kurt Angle.
   
• Throwbacks & Pumps - In case you were wondering, John's "unique" style of ring wear is discussed here.
   
• Freestyle - Vince talks about John's rapping and how he exploited Cena's "ability".
   
• Iraq
   
• Spinner Championship Belt - During this chapter, JR states that doesn't like that damn spinning belt and thinks that "it's good for ShopZone". You have no idea how refreshing it is to hear someone in the industry agree with my feelings.
   
• JBL - John's program against JBL is discussed here. Layfield talks about about "passing the torch" at WrestleMania 21 and the "I Quit" match at Judgment Day.
                      
• Signature Moves - As Vince is stating that John has the most ridiculous finishing moves he's ever seen, he pauses and then mentions the Rock's "People's Elbow", Stone Cold's "Stunner", Hulk Hogan "Leg Drop", etc, etc. Frankly, he might have a point as far as the Rock and Hogan are concerned, but there's nothing ridiculous about Steve's "Stunner". I was also amused at how much they were trying to put over that the STFU is painful.
   
• Weight Training - John's training regimen is talked about here.
   
• You Can't See Me - Hip-Hop luminaries such as Snoop Dogg, Reverend Run and Ice-T weigh-in on Cena's ability to rap. Cena's album is mentioned and it's stated that it debuted at #15 and sold half a million albums.
   
• Number One - I don't know why it's titled "Number One", but Cena's move to Raw on June 6, 2005 is what this chapter is about.
   
• Edge - Edge talks about his program with Cena, specifically their TLC match at Unforgiven in 2006. I'm sure i'm not the only one that will chuckle when Edge states that he thought he had the advantage, since it was in his hometown and it was the type of match that he had more experience with.
   
• Superstar - Booker T talks about how hard Cena works to build the WWE brand and his work ethic. This, I can not deny.
                      
• One Night Stand - Cena's warm reception at ECW's first PPV - One Night Stand - is discussed by Edge, Joey Styles and Tazz.
   
• the Marine - This chapter is about Cena's first movie and its premiere.
   
• WrestleMania - Cena's WrestleMania appearances, starting with his debut against the Big Show at WMXX and JBL at WM21 to his match against HBK at WM23, is discussed. As funny as I found Edge's comments regarding his match against Cena at Judgment Day, I have to say, once again, HHH aims to outdo a fellow wrestler. Here, he talks about Cena being the "fan favorite" going into the match and mentions how half the audience was cheering Cena, while the other half was booing. I'm guessing Hunter wasn't watching Raw at the time, no?
   
• What's Next?
   
• Car Collections - Ever wished you could hear Cena talk about the cars he owns? Well, this extra is just for you gearheads!
  • 2006 Dodge Viper Pickup • 1970 Plymouth Superbird • 1966 Dodge Hemi Charger • 2007 Dodge Charger SR8 Super Bee • 1971 Ford Torino GT • 1971 AMC SC Hornet 360 • 1969 AMC AMX • 2006 Ford GT • 2007 Ford/Saleen Parnelli Jones Edition Mustang • 1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator • 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge • 1970 Buick GSX • Oldsmobile Cutlass Ralley 350 • 1969 "COPO" Camaro

Disc Two: The following matches are introduced by Cena, who shares some brief thoughts on them.

• Randy Orton's Farewell Match - OVW - 1/19/02 [the Prototype vs. Randy Orton]
   
• Vengeance - 7/21/02 [John Cena vs. Chris Jericho] - This match was Cena's first WWE PPV appearance.
   
• SmackDown! - 3/27/03 [John Cena vs. Rikishi] - Cena's comments before this match, to me, illustrates his thoughts about "wrestling".
   
• "I Quit Match" WWE Championship - Judgment Day - 5/22/05 [John Cena vs. JBL] - From my Judgment Day review: "I re-entered the lovely world of the WWE right around the time that Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio and John Cena made their debuts. I admit to being excited/impressed by the trio's initial appearance on SmackDown! Since that time, Rey's still a favorite, Randy's been sidelined with injuries and I could really care less about Cena. See, Cena has turned out to be more of a brawler than a wrestler. There really aren't that many technical wrestling moves in his repertoire and he has a tendency to become annoying on the mic. JBL, on the other hand, is only a slight step above Cena as far as pure wrestling moves are concerned. However, once he cut the mullet, shaved his face and became a Wall Street tycoon, he has truly embraced his role as heel. Both fighters put on a brutal, bloody brawl that had a less than satisfactory conclusion."
   
• Raw - 6/27/05 [John Cena, HBK, Hulk Hogan vs. Tyson Tomko, Chris Jericho, Christian] - While I didn't much care to see Hogan's never-changing schtick, the highlight of this match was seeing Jericho, Tomko and "Captain Charisma" again. And, say what you want about Tomko, but he helped sell Hogan more than Khali did the recent 15th anniversary Raw show.
   
• Extreme Rules Match For the WWE Championship - ECW One Night Stand - 6/11/06 [John Cena vs. RVD] - This truly should've been billed as a handicap match - John Cena vs. RVD & the ECW audience.
   
• "TLC" Match For the WWE Championship - Unforgiven - 9/17/06 [John Cena vs. Edge] - From my Unforgiven review: "Well, I can't say I was surprised by the results of this match. It's a shame that this TLC only had one competitor familiar with how to wrestle using tables, ladders and chairs. Oh, how I long for the days when i'd hear "Bubba! Get the tables!" I also really wish they'd make Edge something other than a "transitional" champion. Maybe once Lita "retires"?"

Interviews & Promos:

• John Cena Returns To OVW - A quick minute about Cena returning to OVW at Six Flags on a rainy day.
   
• Military Coin Collection - A 3 minute look at Cena's Military Coin Collection.
   
• Fast Cars & Superstars: Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race - Nearly two minutes spent about Cena's participation in ABC's recent reality show. Though, it doesn't tell viewers the outcome (he placed third).
   
• Cena Goes Camping - Cena's college buddies spend two minutes talking about Cena "roughing it" while camping.
   
• Right Now Music Video - A video off of Cena's album.
   
• K-Fed - A lonnnnnnnnnnnng two minute look at Federline's "illustrious" WWE run.
   
• WrestleMania 22 Entrance - HHH talks about his "King Conan"-esque entrance and Cena's zoot suit. Favorite new word - "outstupid".
   
• WrestleMania 21 - John Cena/JBL WrestleMania Goes Hollywood Promo - Nearly three minute long skit parodying "A Few Good Men" starring Cena, JBL and Coach.
   
• OVW 1/12/02 - the Prototype In Ring Promo - 2½ minutes of Cena insulting Sean O'Haire and some other guy.
   
• Cena Trains With Gold's Gym Contest Winner - Cena spends almost 2 minutes with a Gold's Gym contest winner.

Disc Three:

• 5 Questions With the Champ - Originally a feature on WWE.com, this sometimes lewd and juvenile feature is pretty self-explanatory: Cena spends roughly ten minutes answering five questions sent in from various WWE fans. This feature runs almost 3 hours long.
  • Apri. 14, 2006 • May 5, 2006 • May 12, 2006 • May 19, 2006 • June 16, 2006 • June 23, 2006 • June 30, 2006 • July 28, 2006 • August 18, 2006 • August 25, 2006 • September 15, 2006 • September 29, 2006 • October 6, 2006 • October 13, 2006 • November 10, 2006 • November 24, 2006 • December 1, 2006 • December 8, 2006 • December 15, 2006 • December 22, 2006

Video: John Cena: My Life's picture was pretty sharp and colorful. It's presented in the WWE's standard full frame 1.33:1 ratio.

Audio: Whatever was going on during Rey Mysterio's 3-disc set has apparently been fixed, since the Dolby Digital 5.1 was clear for this entire set.

Conclusion: If you're a John Cena fan, chance are that, even if I told you to avoid this at all costs, you'd still buy it with a quickness. Even as a Cena disliker (hate is such a strong word), I thought the documentary was pretty informative. However, the remaining two discs were disappointing since more than half the matches have already been released on DVD and if you're a fan, you probably already own them. I understand that these matches have sentimental reason to Cena, but it's too bad they didn't add more OVW or Raw/SmackDown! content - Lord knows he's been shoved down our throats enough that they could fill up a ton more multi-disc sets. Anyways, fans will definitely get a {Brooklyn Brawler} over this 3-disc set, and for them it's Recommended. Those that aren't fans of Cena's? Well, they, like myself, will definitely come away with an appreciation for Cena's work ethic, but i'd suggest you Rent It instead.