10 Wrestlers Who Beat John Cena But Didn't Become Big Stars

The sixteen-time World Champion is a guaranteed Hall Of Famer. The former viewer will probably ask, "Is Ric Flair not already in the Hall Of Fame?" Regular fans may have even forgotten that John Cena is a sixteen-time champion as well, tying the record at the 2017 Royal Rumble.

Cena has main evented WrestleMania many times and is seen as the last homegrown and true star of WWE. Cena has now semi-retired from competition but his career has had some surprising losses. Although they hold a win over the Cenation leader, here are ten wrestlers who did not become big stars.

10 Billy Kidman

Billy Kidman came to WWE in 2001 as part of the asset purchasing of WCW. The WWE audience was familiar with Kidman because of his multiple reigns as WCW Cruiserweight Champion and his Shooting Star Press finisher that he would sometimes botch but fans still loved it.

Kidman was part of the Smackdown roster in 2002 after the brand split and on an episode that October, Kidman pinned a rookie John Cena using the ropes for leverage. Kidman would win the WWE Cruiserweight and Tag Team Championship before fizzling out as a wrestler to become a producer.

9 Rhyno

"The Man Beast" Rhyno wrestled Cena a handful of times in 2003 and 2004. In May 2003, Cena was coming off an unsuccessful challenge for Brock Lesnar's WWE Championship and on an episode of Smackdown when he faced a raging Rhyno.

Rhyno won with a roll-up pin after Cena was distracted by Spanky, better known as Brian Kendrick. Rhyno would win the Smackdown Tag Team Championship thirteen years after this victory but also won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 2005. Still, the latter title win did not excel Rhyno to superstardom.

8 Billy Gunn

Billy Gunn is currently a producer and occasional wrestler with AEW. Billy spent more than ten years in WWE where we won the 1999 King Of The Ring and was a mid-tier and tag champion as part of D-Generation X and the New Age Outlaws. Gunn became a singles competitor on Smackdown in 2003, reviving his Mr. Ass character.

Gunn fought John Cena in July 2003 as part of a tournament for the newly launched WWE United States Championship. Gunn won with a roll-up after The Undertaker distracted Cena. Gunn would win one more title in WWE after that victory, eleven years later.

7 Carlito Caribbean Cool

Carlito Caribbean Cool, later known just as Carlito, debuted on Smackdown in October 2004 and immediately targeted the United States Champion, John Cena. In his debut match, Carlito won the United States Championship from John after using Cena's chain for a cheap shot. Carlito would lose the title back to Cena a few weeks later.

Carlito was a Heavyweight Champion in Puerto Rico before joining WWE and would later win the Intercontinental and Tag Team Championship, but never the top prize. After his 2010 release, Carlito last appeared in WWE at the 2014 Hall Of Fame ceremony.

6 Orlando Jordan

Surprisingly, Orlando Jordan's run in WWE started similar to John Cena's. After Jordan's Smackdown debut match against Cena in June 2003, he was praised by The Undertaker. Cena interrupted, reminding Taker that he did the same thing after John's debut a year prior.

The two met for Cena's United States Championship in March 2005 while Cena was in a rivalry with Jordan's mentor, WWE Hall Of Famer JBL, who hit Cena with the title, allowing Jordan to win his only championship in WWE. Jordan was released a year later, would join TNA and wrestle The Ultimate Warrior in Warrior's 2008 retirement match.

5 Umaga

"The Samoan Bulldozer" Umaga debuted on the Raw after WrestleMania 22, brutalizing two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair. Umaga would go undefeated until the 2007 New Year's Revolution event, losing to John Cena in a WWE Championship match.

The first meeting between the two took place on the July 17, 2006 edition of Raw. The WWE Champion Edge distracted Cena, allowing Umaga to hit his Samoan Spike finisher for the pinfall. Umaga would only go on to win the Intercontinental Championship twice. He passed away in December 2009, six months after his WWE release.

4 The Great Khali

The Great Khali debuted in WWE on the April 7, 2006, edition of Smackdown, confronting and decimating The Undertaker. Khali spent time in Japan, Mexico, and even WCW before joining WWE in 2006 after staring in the 2005 movie The Longest Yard.

Khali challenged John Cena unsuccessfully for the WWE Championship in the spring of 2007 but he scored a pinfall win over Cena at Saturday Night's Main Event on June 2nd in Toronto. Khali won the World Heavyweight Championship on Smackdown a month later and had a lackluster title reign to peak his career.

3 R-Truth

R-Truth first joined the WWE in 1999 and debuted in November 2000, winning the Hardcore Championship twice before joining the upstart TNA Wrestling. There, he won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Truth returned to WWE in 2008 and challenged for John Cena's WWE Championship unsuccessfully in 2011. Truth defeated Cena by count-out on a Raw that May and won a tables match a few weeks later after interference by CM Punk, who subsequently dropped his infamous "Pipe Bomb" promo. Truth has yet to win the WWE Championship following his Cena victories.

2 Lord Tensai

Lord Tensai debuted on the Raw after WrestleMania 28 and fans were quick to recognize the former NJPW star known as Giant Bernard to be the former "Prince Albert" of WWE. Tensai, previously known as Albert and A-Train in WWE, faced John Cena in an extreme rules match on Raw two weeks after re-debuting.

After interference from David Otunga, Tensai spewed green mist in Cena's face and hit his Ichiban finisher for the pinfall win. Following the win, Tensai was reduced to a comedy act by year's end. Tensai retired in 2014, transitioning to NXT commentator and eventually head trainer.

1 Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura was a major star in New Japan Pro-Wrestling before joining WWE in 2016, starting in NXT. Nakamura would win the NXT Championship twice before debuting on the Smackdown after WrestleMania 33. A massive opportunity came on the August 1, 2017, edition of Smackdown.

Nakamura faced John Cena in a WWE Championship #1 contender's match and shockingly won cleanly by pinfall. Shinsuke was unsuccessful in his WWE Championship hunt. Despite winning the Intercontinental and United States Championship afterward, Nakamura has yet to reach the pinnacle of WWE since defeating Cena.

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