John Cena's Definitive 10 Best WWE Matches, Ranked
David Mccullough John Cena is one of the biggest stars in WWE history. While many people questioned his in-ring ability throughout his career, Cena proved time and time again that he could have great matches with just about anyone. Even a limited wrestler like The Great Khali had some of his best matches against Cena.
RELATED: Every Major John Cena Feud During WWE's Ruthless Aggression Era, Ranked Worst To Best
From his beginning in the Ruthless Aggression Era all the way to the PG Era, 'Big Match John' worked with pretty much all the top names WWE had to offer during those years. While not all the matches set the world on fire, Cena competed in several classics. Let's go back and look at Cena's ten best matches in WWE.
10 John Cena Vs. Shawn Michaels (RAW April 23, 2007)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10
Storytelling | 2/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.5/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4.25 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.97
At WrestleMania 23, John Cena successfully defended his WWE Championship in a grueling main event match against Shawn Michaels. Three weeks later, the former World Tag Team Champions went at it on an episode of Raw emanating from London, England. The title wasn't on the line, but pride most definitely was.
They got more than enough time to tell a story - the match lasted 55 minutes from bell to bell - and they were able to top their 'Mania 23 match. The fans in London were into the action, which was exciting and ended with Michaels avoiding the FU (AA) before delivering Sweet Chin Music for the win.
9 John Cena Vs. JBL - I Quit Match, WWE Championship (Judgment Day 2005)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10
Storytelling | 2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 1.5/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.5/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4.25 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.12
John Cena established himself as a main eventer after beating JBL for his first WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21. That match was quite basic, but their rematch at Judgment Day was the complete opposite. In his first WWE Title defense on PPV, Cena defended the gold in the first I Quit Match of his career against Bradshaw.
Cena took a huge beating at the hands of the former WWE Champion, but he refused to quit. Both men bled buckets during the exciting brawl, with Cena in particular losing a lot of blood. Somehow, 'The Champ' was able to overcome the odds and made JBL quit after Cena threatened to hit him with an exhaust pipe through a glass panel. Cena still did it anyway, putting a definitive end to their feud.
8 John Cena Vs. The Rock (WrestleMania 28)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9/10
Storytelling | 2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.25/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 3.75 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 7.77
Cena became a huge star during the Ruthless Aggression Era and worked with the biggest names from that time, but fans never thought they'd see the Cenation leader clash with the biggest stars from other eras. That changed when The Rock made his shocking return to WWE in 2011, setting up a meeting between the two icons at WrestleMania 28 the next year.
RELATED: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's Definitive 10 Best WWE Matches, Ranked
The crowd was hot for it before the match even began, but the in-ring action was surprisingly great as well, especially considering Rock hadn't wrestled a singles match in 9 years. They took the fans in Miami on a ride, and Rock picked up the somewhat surprising win over the full-timer Cena after connecting with the Rock Bottom.
7 John Cena Vs. AJ Styles (SummerSlam 2016)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.25/10
Storytelling | 2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.25/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.25/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.80
The best feud of Cena's career after he left the main event scene in 2015 happened against AJ Styles. Just a few months after joining WWE, 'The Phenomenal One' turned heel by attacking Cena, who was returning from injury on that night. Styles beat Cena with help from The Club at Money in the Bank, while Cena pinned AJ in a six-man tag team match at Battleground, leading to a rematch at SummerSlam.
They stole the show that night, putting on a brilliant match that launched Styles straight to the top. The crowd was divided and the action went back-and-forth as well. Cena kicked out of the Phenomenal Forearm and Styles kicked out of the AA. Styles finally put Cena away after hitting the Styles Clash followed by the Phenomenal Forearm, picking up arguably the biggest win of his career.
6 John Cena Vs. AJ Styles - WWE Championship (Royal Rumble 2017)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.25/10
Storytelling | 2/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.5/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.25/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4.75 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.09
After the win over Cena at SummerSlam, Styles captured the WWE Championship from Dean Ambrose the next month at Backlash. After a short hiatus, Cena made his return to SmackDown in December, challenging Styles to a title match at Royal Rumble 2017, which 'The Phenomenal One' accepted.
Much like at SummerSlam, Cena and Styles stole the show at the Royal Rumble, putting on a brilliant performance which ended with Cena winning his 16th WWE World Championship. Styles was able to kick out of Cena's Super AA off the top rope, but he was put down for the three count after Cena hit two regular AA's in a row.
5 John Cena Vs. Brock Lesnar Vs. Seth Rollins - WWE Championship (Royal Rumble 2015)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.25/10
Storytelling | 2/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.5/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.25/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4.75 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.29
Cena suffered the most humiliating loss of his career at the hands of Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2014. Cena's rematch at Night of Champions the next month ended in a DQ after Seth Rollins interfered, trying to cash in his Money in the Bank contract. Rollins was unsuccessful, but did find himself in the middle of the feud going forward.
All three men went at it in one of the best triple threat matches of all time at Royal Rumble 2015. Cena and Rollins smartly took Lesnar out of the match and squared off in the ring, but 'The Beast' was able to come back. Rollins hit an impressive Phoenix Splash on Cena, and Lesnar was able to retain the gold after putting Rollins away with the F5.
4 John Cena Vs. Brock Lesnar - Extreme Rules Match (Extreme Rules 2012)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.25/10
Storytelling | 2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.25/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.25/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.79
Just one month after Cena's legendary clash with The Rock, 'The Champ' participated in yet another classic battle against the returning Brock Lesnar. While they'd wrestled in the past, including a WWE Championship match at Backlash 2003, this was a completely different Lesnar. 'The Beast' was returning from a great UFC run, so Cena was in for the beating of a lifetime.
Cena was absolutely destroyed right from the start, with Lesnar busting him open about a minute after the match began. It was a fantastic encounter and one of the most brutal matches of Cena's career. Somehow, Cena was able to survive and was able to pick up the win over the former WWE & UFC Champion. While the result was questionable, the match was still fantastic.
3 John Cena Vs. CM Punk (RAW February 25, 2013)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.50/10
Storytelling | 2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.5/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.25/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.30
CM Punk's historic 434-day reign as WWE Champion ended at the hands of The Rock at Royal Rumble 2013. Meanwhile, John Cena won his second Royal Rumble on the same night, opening the door for a potential rematch with 'The Great One' at WrestleMania 29. However, the former WWE Champion Punk still had something to say, and challenged Cena for his title shot on Raw.
Fans didn't know it at the time, but it was essentially the end of Cena's rivalry with Punk. From a technical standpoint, it was the best match the rivals ever had. They threw their best shots at each other for nearly 27 minutes, with Punk even hitting a rare piledriver. In the end, Cena hit a hurricanrana(!) straight into the AA for the win.
2 John Cena Vs. Daniel Bryan - WWE Championship (SummerSlam 2013)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.50/10
Storytelling | 2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.5/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.25/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.27
When John Cena was allowed to pick his own opponent for SummerSlam 2013, the WWE Champion chose Daniel Bryan. At the time, the former American Dragon was on fire after a great tag team run with Kane, and Bryan was determined to capture the WWE Championship for the first time in his career. On the final Raw before the PPV, WWE COO Triple H became the special referee for the match.
RELATED: Daniel Bryan Vs. John Cena Is The Best Babyface Vs. Babyface Match Ever
The fact John Cena wrestled this match with a serious elbow injury makes his performance even more impressive. Bryan smartly targeted the injury right from the get-go, which was great psychology. Bryan shocked the world by debuting his running knee finisher and beating Cena clean. However, Bryan's reign was cut short after Triple H hit him with a Pedigree, allowing Randy Orton to cash in Money in the Bank and win the title.
1 John Cena Vs. CM Punk - WWE Championship (Money In The Bank 2011)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.50/10
Storytelling | 2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.5/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.63
Finally, John Cena's very best match of his career took place against one of his best rivals, CM Punk. Emotions were high in Punk's hometown of Chicago, as it was the final day of Punk's WWE contract and the "powers that be" would try everything to avoid a Punk win. That got fans even more behind Punk, who entered to a huge ovation while Cena came down to thunderous boos.
While they had better matches in terms of the in-ring work (like the aforementioned Raw match in 2013 or even their great match at Night of Champions 2012), the epic story puts this one above all the rest. History was made that night as Punk was able to escape Money in the Bank 2011 with the WWE Title after connecting with the Go To Sleep.
