WWE Chairman Vince McMahon tweeted a heartfelt message to John Cena on Tuesday in celebration of the latter's 42nd birthday.

McMahon showered Cena with compliments:

While Cena now only appears occasionally on WWE programming due to his burgeoning Hollywood acting career, he was the face of WWE for well over a decade.

McMahon's comparison involving baseball legend Babe Ruth is fitting since Cena's appearance at WrestleMania 35 a few weeks ago was accompanied by a video package celebrating The Great Bambino.

At WrestleMania, Cena reverted to his Dr. of Thuganomics character and dressed down Elias in a one-sided rap battle that resulted in Elias' getting laid out.

Although Cena appears for nostalgic purposes more than anything in WWE these days, there is no denying the impact he has had on the company over the years. In terms of how popular and recognizable he is, Cena can be mentioned in the same breath as Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock.

Cena's 16 world-title reigns are tied with Nature Boy Ric Flair for the most of all time, and he is a surefire Hall of Famer.

Business is booming for WWE, as evidenced by the massive, $1 billion television deal it signed with Fox to begin airing SmackDown Live in October, and there is little doubt that Cena played a big role in helping WWE reach that level.

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