The Top 10 Best John Cena Matches

Umar Usman
Jul 11, 2022
7 min read

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10. Edge(c) vs John Cena | WWE Championship Tables, Ladders,& ChairsMatch(Unforgiven 2006)

One of the most infamous feuds of John Cena’s career was his long lasting rivalry with the Rated R Superstar Edge. This all started back in January of 2006 when Edge shockingly cashed in his money in the bank contract to win his first WWE title against John Cena. However he would shortly lose the title back to Cena at the following ppv. Following Edge defeating John Cena and Rob Van Dam in a triple threat match, this feud officially got started and would eventually result in a SummerSlam main event which Cena Lost. Eventually these two’s rivalry was so deep that the only way to solve it was to put them in a TLC Match. The match itself is great with unique use of the weapons, an entertaining crowd, and some great high spots. Eventually Cena won with a huge FU from the top of the ladder through 2 tables to secure his 3rd WWE Title. A great match from a great feud. ***3/4

09. John Cena vs Brock Lesnar | Extreme Rules Match (Extreme Rules 2012)

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After John Cena lost to The Rock in one of the most infamous matches in WWE history, Brock Lesnar made his WWE return and added more to the pain of Cena’s loss. This quickly drew a blood feud where multiple brawls would break out and both men had one objective: beat the living hell out of their opponent. And since it was that season, they settled it in an Extreme Rules Match. The match is very good and has some excellently brutal spots and feels like a legit brawl. Lesnar using his techniques from UFC is a nice touch and Cena bleeding was cool. Lesnar losing is very controversial, but personally I didn’t really care. Cena had his demons and needed to fight them off one by one leading to the rematch with Rock at the next Mania. ***3/4

08. John Cena(c) vs Triple H vs Shawn Michaels | WWE Championship Triple Threat Match (Survivor Series 2009)

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Building up this match, there wasn’t much blood being set out for as it seemed everyone here got along and was ready for some nice competition. Until the match started….SWEET CHIN MUSIC TO TRIPLE H! One of the best match openers ever with a statement made that HBK would do anything to get that belt. Throughout we got a great brawl. The best part to me still is the aggression Michaels and HHH showed towards each other during this match which showed off their determination for this match. Cena was able to counteract the offense from HHH and HBK to his advantage and berid of Michaels and pin Triple H to retain the title in a very good match. ***3/4

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07. John Cena(c) vs John Bradshaw Layfield | WWE Championship ‘I Quit’ Match (Judgment Day 2005)

After JBL won a #1 contender’s match to receive his rematch for the WWE Title, Cena demanded tha they contest it in an ‘I Quit’ Match. This would seal the deal for an upcoming match that would be one of the most infamous of Cena’s career. These two absolutely destroyed each other in a bloody war. For JBL’s character, he is so dangerous in the ring and is not someone to mess with. Especially when it involves these type of stipulations. He beat the shit out of Cena. Cena fought back and beat the shit out of him. It. Was. Amazing! Blood everywhere, JBL was forced to quit after being threatened with a piece of his own car. Even then, Cena did it, and JBL deserved it. Great match. ****

06. John Cena vs Kevin Owens | Singles Match (Money In The Bank 2015)

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After John Cena shockingly lost clean to upcomer and NXT Champion Kevin Owens, the rematch was immediately set and here they went even harder than they did at Elimination Chamber. From better athleticism to a better story, they turned what seemed to an pretty great match into something even better. Cena in 2015 was on a role and was one of the best examples of improval in recent history. Owens was also great and is still great to this day. Shame he didn’t win. ****

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05. CM Punk(c) vs John Cena | WWE Championship Match (Night Of Champions 2012)

After failing to win the WWE Championship from CM Punk after Big Show ruined his cash in, John Cena was set out to win that Championship. Punk had turned heel and was even more vicious than before. Punk managed to retain against Cena and Big Show at SummerSlam, but Cena wasn’t finished. He was determined to win in his home town at Night Of Champions. The match itself is fantastic and is another example of why their chemistry is one of the most iconic in wrestling history. They traded classic moves and finishers. They had one of the best matches all year long. The finish is very controversial, but I think it’s a pretty good false hope for Cena who had a bad year only for Punk to bitch and whine his way into ruining that. Amazing contest. ****1/4

04. Brock Lesnar(c) vs John Cena vs Seth Rollins | WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match (Royal Rumble 2015)

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The long lasting feud between the dominate Brock Lesnar and the keep going attitude in John Cena reached a head as they were set for a 3rd match at Royal Rumnle. However classic Authority schemes changed up the match and added current MITB holder, Seth Rollins. Little would we know thos addition would be the best decision WWE made in terms of this Lesnar vs Cena feud. The match turned out amazing with Lesnar dominating at first before being taken out allowing Cena and Rollins to have a fantastic exchange, genuinely one of the best performances from both. Not long after though, Lesnar returned and destroyed these two and making quick work, without ease, of them with a crazy F5 to Rollins to retain the title. Great match. ****1/4

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03. John Cena(c) vs Daniel Bryan | WWE Championship Match (SummerSlam 2013)

Daniel Bryan was quickly becoming one of the top talents in WWE with the fans being largely behind him throughout 2013. Until that one faithful night when John Cena chose Bryan to face him at SummerSlam for the championship. For an odd reason, Triple H was inserted into the match as a referee. Later we would learn his true intentions behind the decision. The match itself is absolutely fantastic and has some amazing back and forth action that was clean and to the point. The crowd was in love with Bryan and were on the edge of their seats in hopes of a victory from the underdog, and finally….HE DID IT! Bryan won the big one in a clean victory over Cena. Fantastic match. The moment after would be one of the most infamous in WWE history…. ****1/2

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02. John Cena vs AJ Styles | Singles Match (SummerSlam 2016)

In a lowkey dream match these two would first clash at Money In The Bank in what seemed to most as the best they could do, but to me it would not even be close to what this was. Cena and Styles was a great feud and to have it as a fore front in the Styles mega push was a smart decision. Especially how they handled it. Styles would Win clean over Cena in this match. And I haven’t even gotten to the actual match which is damn near perfect and is one of the best performances of both men’s careers. Fast paced, intense, and a clear indicator of what was next for Styles as he kicked out of a double FU which was only done by Kevin Owens. After 23 minutes of fantastic wrestling, Styles would get a shockingly clean victory over Cena to cement his status not only in WWE, but in the industry as a whole. Amazing match! ****1/2

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01. John Cena(c) vs CM Punk | WWE Championship Match (Money In The Bank 2011)

The most infamous match of Cena’s career was right here. This match meant everything to both himself and the challenger…CM Punk. From amazing promos, to plot twist. This was the biggest match in WWE since Hulk Hogan vs Andre The Giant. And they did not disappoint. From the electric crowd, to the storytelling, to the fantastic wrestling. This was perfect. Everything Punk did was cheered by his hometown reps in the entire crowd. Everything Cena was booed to oblivion. This was so cool to watch. Punk would not give up against someone who preached that to himself for 5 years. Just as it seemed it was over, with a quick accidental distraction from the boss himself Mr. McMahon, Punk would hit the GTS and win the title in one of the biggest pops in wrestping history. One of the greatest matches of all time. Seriously, props to everyone involved in this. *****

What do you think of John Cena’s career? What are your favorite matches from him? If you enjoyed the article give it a like, follow our blog, and perhaps share our work. Thank you for reading!

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