Is John Cena dead or alive? At times the viral world can show no mercy, killing people before their time, which was the case with WWE superstar John Cena.

It appears like the number of celebrities victimized by death hoaxes have risen in number over the last few months. There's been a pattern of RIP tweets, premature obituaries or  false breaking news updates of deaths, disseminated via social media. Among the celebrities who have been hounded by death rumors in the past were Justin Bieber, Jim Carrey, Celine Dion, and Chris Brown, to name some.

In the case of John Felix Anthony Cena, the death rumors have made a second round. It turns out that a website had recycled an old news report.  In other words, the news item reworked a previous celebrity death hoax.

One of the adages that the wrestling superstar who has "muscled" his way into tinseltown believes in is "Never give up." Well, evidently it's the rumored death news that hasn't let up. The recent news cited a vehicular accident as John Cena's cause of death.

While the trending news may be serving the perpetrators some use, fans of Cena don't find it funny at all.  Back in 2011 and then in 2012, fake death reports of their wrestling idol incurred the ire of fans. In early March 2015, viral news of Cena's death once again agitated fans, prompting certain sites to feature a video of John in a rematch with Rusev for the U.S. Title at Wrestlemania.

People/entities fabricating death stories show not just irresponsibility but insensitivity, causing hassles and anguish not just to their targets but to their legions of fans or followers. They can learn a thing or two from the wrestler who has battled more than one fake death reports -- win clean without hurting others.