John Cena returns to Raw later this month to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of his first WWE match.
Since that iconic moment against Kurt Angle that made the term ‘ruthless aggression’ part and parcel of the WWE vocabulary, Cena has gone on to be one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time.
Ahead of the sixteen-time world champion’s milestone return, GiveMeSport ranks the ten best matches of John Cena’s career.
10
John Cena vs Cesaro
United States Championship
Raw 2015
John Cena’s US Open Challenge bought many good things (there’s more of that to come), and it includes this little doozy with Cesaro. Sometimes a match comes out of nowhere and smacks you across the face with how good it is, and this was the case when Cena clashed with the Swiss Superman.
Cesaro was already showcasing his ability as one of the finest workers in the industry, but this match with Cena gave him the bigger platform to cement that reputation. This closely fought fight, fooled fans into thinking Cesaro could upset the US Champ, with a selection of near falls that were sold expertly by Cena. In the end, it was Cena who retained, but the result almost didn’t matter thanks to the entertainment were had be treated too.
9
John Cena vs JBL
I Quit match for WWE Championship
Judgement Day 2005
An early outing and one that could be seen as John’s first big performance in a world championship match – and certainly his bloodiest. JBL was the perfect foil for WWE’s newest babyface star and in this match played both the aggressor and the coward in equal measures.
Very much a brawl, the setting was like a bingo card for WWE hardcore matches with chairs, announce tables, pipes, TV monitors all coming into play as both men ended in a crimson mess. JBL eventually quit as Cena prepared to attack him with an exhaust pipe from the semi truck that he entered the match on. Allowing WWE’s new hero to retain his WWE championship gold.
8
John Cena vs Edge
Last Man Standing Match for WWE Championship
Backlash 2009
Edge may just be Cena’s ultimate rival when we look back on his illustrious WWE career and the pair may not have hit any higher high than this Last Man Standing match at Backlash, just a month after Cena had reigned over both Edge and Big Show at WrestleMania.
In a match rammed with innovative spots, which included The Rated R Superstar taking an Attitude Adjustment into the crowd, the pair ended up at the top of the entrance way. With Cena looking like he had the upper hand, Big Show interfered, picking the champ up and chokeslamming him through a spotlight on the stage. It led to Cena being unable to stand and one of his greatest rivals regaining his gold.
7
John Cena vs Brock Lesnar
Extreme Rules match
Extreme Rules 2012
The night after Cena had lost his first epic battle against The Rock, Brock Lesnar memorably returned to WWE to interrupt the WWE icon and dish out on F5 slap bang in the middle of the ring. The interaction led to an immediate meeting between the two OVW graduates at Extreme Rules.
The match was classic John Cena storytelling. For the majority of the bout, Cena was beaten and battered by a Lesnar who was competing in his first WWE outing in eight years. However, a bloody and seemingly down and out Cena manged to pull a win out the bag very much against the run of play. Catching The Beast while he went airborne and finishing him off with an Attitude Adjustment on to the steel steps that had been placed in the ring. Lesnar would later get the last laugh when a subsequent meeting between the two birthed the phrase ‘Suplex City’.
6
John Cena vs Shawn Michaels
Raw 2007
Rated as one of the best matches in Raw’s long history, this epic is also the longest main event in the red brand’s history – but it was worth every second. Due to a change in scheduling thanks to Randy Orton’s misdemeanours seeing him sent home, HBK and Cena had time to kill – and kill it they did.
Live from London the two WWE icon’s put on a fifty-five-minute classic, that’s easily the best WWE TV match to ever take place on a UK tour. It proved that Cena could hang with the very best inside the ropes as the pair kept fans on their feet with a back-and-forth bout, that only ended when Michaels counted an Attitude Adjustment into his Sweet Chin Music. The Hall of Famer then collapsed with exhaustion on top of Cena to get the win amidst a standing ovation from those in attendance.
5
John Cena vs Kevin Owens
Elimination Chamber 2015
Of all the good Cena’s US Open Challenge gave WWE, the most beneficial aspect was the introduction of Kevin Owens to the main roster. Owen’s answered Cena’s challenge during an episode of Raw, but instead of taking on the champ then and there, KO attacked WWE’s franchise player and it led to this meeting at Elimination Chamber.
Many expected Owens to then be fed to Cena at the pay-per-view, but in fact the exact opposite occurred. The NXT Champion dominated Cena, who played on the story that he was unfamiliar with his opponent. Owens threw everything at the United States Champion and in the end got his reward. Pinning John Cena clean after a Pop-up Powerbomb and proving Cena was always happy to put someone over when the time was right.
4
John Cena vs Daniel Bryan
WWE Championship
SummerSlam 2013
Another example of John Cena ‘putting someone over’ as he gave Daniel Bryan his moment in the sun as the challenger to his WWE Championship. And did it all the while he was seriously injured thanks to a torn triceps, however, he soldiered on to deliver another classic.
Cena played the power route in this one, trying to combat the technical prowess of Bryan, and the clash in styles allowed the match to feel different to some of Cena’s other feuds and matches of the time. Bryan frustrated the champion by a series of reversals out of the Attitude Adjustment and it proved enough to gain a memorable victory over him. Time will tell the story of what happened next, with Randy Orton’s cash-in Triple H’s turn, but what shouldn’t be overlooked is the unselfishness of Mr. Cena.
3
John Cena vs Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins
WWE Championship
Royal Rumble 2015
Triple-threat matches are notoriously hard to pull off and not many of them stand the test of time or end up on lists like this, however this is very much an exception. You had John Cena as the face of WWE, the dominating beast that is Brock Lesnar and the up-and-coming Seth Rollins, and together the three styles mixed perfectly.
Cena and Rollins eliminated Lesnar early on and turned the match into an exciting one-on-one before Cena dispatched of his cronies. However, it would be Lesnar who came back into the match and dominated his opponents like only he can, to get the win and take home the gold. Cena may have lost but played a vital cog in the brilliance of this bout.
2
John Cena vs AJ Styles
WWE Championship
Royal Rumble 2017
Take your pick from either this epic outing or their equally as good meeting at SummerSlam later that year and you could make a case for both being among the best in their respective back catalogues. The Royal Rumble showdown pips it, down to not only the quality of the match, but also the freshness and sight of seeing Cena and AJ Styles meet in a WWE ring.
A match very much in John’s ‘big match Cena’ style, right out the gate the two men busted out the big guns. With kickouts of both an Attitude Adjustment and a Styles Clash to set the tone for the match. That pace rarely let up, as Cena upped his aggressiveness to down the Phenomenal One and eventually it paid off. Seeing off Styles with two final powerful AA’s to win his sixteenth world championship crown.
1
John Cena vs CM Punk
WWE Championship
Money in the Bank 2011
A match that combined so much, that changed an industry and defined an era. John may have lost this match, but what you can’t deny is how good a display it was from him and CM Punk. 2011 of course was Punk’s summer, fresh off the pipebomb, this pitted the WWE Champion and everything the company stood for in John Cena, against the rebellions voice of the voiceless – in Punk’s hometown of Chicago.
The atmosphere was electric and as good if not better than the days of the Attitude Era, and the pair lived up to the frenzied expectation amongst the crowd. The fans hung on every move and every near fall as Punk looked to upset the applecart and get one over the face of the company. Cena, ever the noble champ, ignored help from Vince McMahon and defended his own honour – but that wasn’t the story to tell. Yes, it was CM Punk’s night, topped off with him blowing a kiss to Vinnie Mac as he exited through the crowd. But it was the story Cena help tell that makes this so, so good – and his very best.