John Cena has revealed why he dropped the Doctor of Thugnamics gimmick during the 2000s.

WWE’s Ruthless Aggression Era docuseries has been a hit on the WWE Network. Two episodes have been released so far, and episode three about the iconic stable Evolution is scheduled to be released later today.

Episode one covered the decision to usher in the Ruthless Aggression era following the end of the Attitude Era and the Monday Night Wars with WWE’s acquisition of WCW.

Episode two covered the rise of John Cena, from OVW’s Prototype, to The Doctor of Thuganomics, to the Cena which we know today.

During that second episode, the 16-time world champion revealed exactly why he dropped the Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick in favour of a more family-friendly Cena.

Cena said he took notice of what WWE’s audience was becoming in the 2000s with more kids and families attending shows, so he decided to adapt to that audience.

As a result, the not-so PG Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick was put to bed.

Cena said, via Fightful: "Performers don't stop and look around enough. They don't look at the people they're trying to entertain.

"Here I had a personality that attached to the people who were watching, but then slowly the people who were watching changed and they began to be more kids and more families to come to these events.

“And I saw it happen. I didn't need a sheet of analytics. I can see it. So I said, this is it. We're changing up right now. I remember going into Vince's office and said, 'I have to stop rapping.'"

Cena added as well that this change made it easier for fans of the Attitude Era to complain about what WWE had become and point the blame at him.

He said: “For an older viewer, an older male, if you like what you saw in 1999 when you turn in in 2005 and 2006, it is not the same thing and it's easy to pin it on me.”

Cena was able to adapt with the times, and as a result, he became one of the biggest superstars in WWE history.

He may have split the fans at the time of the Ruthless Aggression era, but today he’s loved by all, and is a guaranteed future WWE Hall of Famer.