Summary
- John Cena proved to be a master of the ring, not just the microphone, through his exceptional in-ring work and iconic matches.
- Cena's matches against top talents like Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, and CM Punk showcased his skill in storytelling and in-ring psychology.
- From facing legends like Shawn Michaels to emerging talents like AJ Styles, Cena's versatility and dedication to his craft are evident in every match.
The term GOAT (Greatest of All Time) has become an overused hyperbole in just about every industry, including WWE, but one of the few people to whom that moniker accurately applies is John Cena. He carried the company squarely on his shoulders as its top star for a decade and ended up matching Ric Flair (another GOAT contender) in holding a record-setting 16 World Championships (nevermind the fact that Ric Flair is technically a 21-time Champion.)
While Cena was criticized for his in-ring work for a long part of his career, even his staunchest haters had to rethink their opinion, as the talent kept improving and showing he's a master of the ring, not just of the microphone. Cena is one of the rare, once-in-a-lifetime talents who has earned the right to call himself an icon, Not only for the hard work he has dedicated to WWE, but for the exceptional matches he put on there.
10 John Cena vs. Cesaro - United States Championship Match
Monday Night Raw, July 6, 2015
Some of the best matches of John Cena's career came during his fourth United States Championship reign, during which he'd hold an open challenge every week on Raw. This list would be remiss if at least one of those matches weren't mentioned and perhaps the best of that U.S. Open Challenge phase was his mini-feud against Cesaro. The week before, the two put on a clinic that was interrupted by Kevin Owens, who emerged causing a DQ when the Swiss Superman was seconds away from winning the title.
Claudio Castagnoli Explains Why He Respects John Cena So Much
John Cena means many things to many wrestlers who have been a part of WWE at some point. Claudio Castagnoli recently revealed why he respects Cena.
The Swiss Cyborg refused to be denied a second week in a row, so in honor of Fourth of July week, a rematch took place. Nothing felt like a better means of celebrating America than to have the company's most beloved wrestlers and one of its best in-ring technicians partake in an absolute masterpiece.
9 John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan - WWE Championship Match
SummerSlam 2013
One of the best qualities of John Cena is knowing when to play up being as heel as much he possibly can. He may have never gone the full turn at the height of his career, but he knew when to recognize he was the opposition going into the match and how to follow suit whilst remaining babyface. This is one of those examples. At the very start of the YES! Movement, Daniel Bryan had the crowd eating out of his hands at every turn, so more than usual, Cena was the de facto heel who the fans would boo.
Cena, meanwhile, had something to prove in-storyline to an opponent who doubted his wrestling ability and to fans watching him wrestle someone considered the best in-ring wrestler on the planet. The WWE Champion carried the match as if he had a chip on his shoulder. This dynamic combined with the actual ability of both men produced a masterclass of a match. No one would chant "You can't wrestle" to Cena anymore after that.
8 John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam - WWE Championship Match
ECW One Night Stand 2006
Speaking of John Cena being able to go heel as closely as he can without actually turning, the 2006 edition of One Night Stand is, by far, the closest the man has come to actually being a heel. There is nothing quite like John Cena in enemy territory. From the moment he walked into the Hammerstein Ballroom with his hat pulled down approaching a hostile crowd that actually would have rioted had he won, it was evident that the Doctor of Thuganomics was locked in.
With full range to go extreme, this was a Cena who was not hesitating to inflict mounds of damage onto a beloved Rob Van Dam in hopes of keeping his WWE Championship. As ECW was in desperate need of a World Championship as its official revival neared, that's the last thing anyone wanted to see. Thankfully, audiences got the feel-good moment they wanted at the show's end.
7 John Cena vs. CM Punk - Winner Faces The Rock at WrestleMania
Monday Night Raw, February 25, 2013
A strong argument can be made for CM Punk being John Cena's best in-ring opponent. Their chemistry always seemed on par with the best dance partners of wrestling's past (Rock and Austin, Flair and Steamboat, etc.). With each match they had, their chemistry only improved, and the matches got better. In fairness, it is hard to top their match at Money in the Bank (more on that later), but their match on Raw a couple of years later comes the closest.
This match is best ed for the shock that came with seeing the Straight Edge Superstar dish out a then-banned piledriver, while the Leader of the CENAtion unleashed a headscissor takedown. However, what's often overlooked is how easily a match of this caliber wouldn't seem out of place on a Mania card due to the sheer stakes, anticipation, and emotion this had on the road to the Grandest Stage.
Unfortunately, this was also the beginning of the end of Punk's first run in the WWE, as the result of this match denied him the WrestleMania main event match that he longed for more than anything else.
6 John Cena vs. AJ Styles
SummerSlam 2016
John Cena is just as synonymous with his presence at SummerSlam as he is with his appearances at WrestleMania, if not more so. As such, all eyes were on AJ Styles in 2016 when it came time for him to face John Cena at his signature PPV. This was Styles' biggest test since coming to WWE: facing the Face That Runs the Place at the second-biggest show of the year.
Anyone remotely familiar with The Phenomenal One's work prior to WWE knew he had a match like this in him, but on the off chance that anyone was watching who wasn't familiar with Styles, the styles clashing between him and Cena made for a great introduction. Their first singles match was laden with interference, but this match allowed both men room to breathe and take in the booming atmosphere.
5 John Cena vs Umaga - Last Man Standing Match
Royal Rumble 2007
John Cena is a man of many nicknames, but one moniker absent from his resume is monster slayer. He'd often see himself battle-tested by taking on behemoths like The Great Khali, Mark Henry, and most notably, Umaga in a Last Man Standing match. The Samoan Bulldozer had not been pinned or submitted, let alone actually lost a match, so Cena's underdog status was truly put to the test.
Usually, when his underdog persona is at stake, Cena tends to find himself bleeding like a leaking faucet in this era, be it during a match like this or an I Quit Match with JBL. Cena was never afraid of bleeding, and when he did, it made watching him fight from underneath all the more awe-inspiring to watch, easy to get sucked into at that. When Cena bled, audiences knew they were watching something special, and this was no exception.
4 John Cena vs. Randy Orton - I Quit WWE Championship Match
Breaking Point 2009
John Cena and Randy Orton notoriously are wrestling soulmates. They have wrestled each other a countless number of times. Some fans hate that fact about them, and would say in 2009 especially that this is when their dynamic started to grow stale. However, some will point to this very match as proof as to why their matches were must-see TV every time they were onscreen.
This match is actually a good example of not only their chemistry but of their individual character's best traits: Cena's resilience and Orton's unhinged violent streak. In this I Quit match, Orton is tormenting, even torturing Cena on a physical level, and Cena is able to withstand every ounce of punishment.
3 John Cena vs. Edge - TLC WWE Championship Match
Unforgiven 2006
If Randy Orton is John Cena's in-ring soulmate, then Edge has to be Cena's best storyline opponent. Character-wise, you have two men who are the perfect antithesis of each other. One is the family-friendly role model upholding outstanding moral values, the other is an R-rated party animal who lives for debauchery and being as despicable as possible. Whenever these two met, it made for tremendous storytelling, and much of that storytelling culminated in this show, at least momentarily.
Backlash 2009's Last Man Standing match is often considered the actual conclusion of their multi-year rivalry, but their TLC match at Unforgiven closed a chapter. The cherry on top of an already stellar match is at the end of the violent brigade, John Cena looks more somber than proud to win his third World Championship, almost to the point he's ashamed he felt compelled to stoop to Edge's level of depravity to win. It's an excellent character-driven touch to the match.
2 John Cena vs. CM Punk - WWE Championship Match
Money in the Bank 2011
If this feud and match wasn't a success, the likes of Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins may not have been pushed to the main event scene themselves.
There are matches that are great, and then there are matches that are great enough to define their era. CM Punk vs. John Cena fits in the latter category, even causing a shift in the WWE product as fans knew it to be at the time. In a climate that prioritized homegrown talent and big beefy men, the blending of reality with kayfabe in this storyline and the high praise for the proceeding match seemed to inspire WWE to start putting a bigger spotlight on the smaller-sized talent from the independent circuit.
If this feud and match wasn't a success, the likes of Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins may not have been pushed to the main event scene themselves. As for the match, the drama was at an all-time high. All the right elements - an electric Chicago crowd, an on-edge Vince McMahon, a John Cena carrying the responsibility of protecting the WWE Championship on his shoulders - came together for an exciting contest.
1 John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels
Monday Night Raw, April 23, 2007
On the road to Backlash, the two halves of that show's main event Fatal Four-Way were scheduled to compete in singles competition. However, Randy Orton vs. Edge didn't happen because, to the surprise of a sold-out Earl's Court in London, Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena at the top of Raw's second hour would last 55 minutes and 49 seconds. For nearly an hour, 13,320 Englishmen were on their feet as the former World Tag Team Champions put on an instant classic.
The in-ring psychology made this match especially entertaining, as there were subtle nods to their Mania match and signs that both men were learning from their past mistakes in that match, having new counters for each other. John Cena's wrestling ability was scrutinized during this era, but he proved himself by holding his own for an hour with WWE's original Iron Man.
