John Cena has cemented his legacy as one of the most famous and beloved names in modern professional wrestling, accumulating multiple championship reigns and setting a heartwarming record for the most Make-A-Wish wishes granted.
However, no record is spotless, and Cena’s 20-year tenure is also marked by several baffling booking decisions and cringeworthy moments. Here are 10 of John Cena’s worst moments in WWE history.
His offensive raps
The “Doctor of Thugonomics” gimmick was a crucial step toward John Cena achieving main event status, emerging after he failed to connect with audiences following his initial debut. WWE management encouraged the gimmick after hearing Cena freestyle on a tour bus, a move that helped him engage with the audience and led to his first United States Championship win at WrestleMania XX.
However, many of Cena’s raps have not aged well, often featuring body shaming, objectification of female talent, and homophobic remarks that crossed several lines during the ’00s. Given his carefully maintained family-friendly image today, it is likely best that these older raps remain strictly in the archive.
Juan Cena
Following a kayfabe termination orchestrated by Wade Barrett, John Cena was banished from WWE TV. Unfortunately, WWE could not bear a long absence, and Cena returned to Raw five minutes later in a “Looney Tunes” cartoon of a disguise: a luchador mask.
This persona, known as Juan Cena, was a ridiculous ruse to keep Cena on television and undermine the drama of his storyline firing. Cena briefly resurrected the cringeworthy gimmick for a cameo alongside the Lucha House Party in 2019.
Being squashed by The Undertaker at WrestleMania
A long-coveted dream match was a WrestleMania encounter between John Cena and The Undertaker, but the match was delayed multiple times due to injuries or creative changes. When the match finally occurred at WrestleMania 34, it was under bizarre circumstances. The storyline centered on Cena not having a match and calling out The Undertaker over several weeks.
After much delay and an Elias fake-out, The Undertaker finally arrived and squashed Cena in a match lasting only three minutes. Relegating this highly anticipated dream match to a rapid-fire squash was a disservice to both stars and the fans.
Canceling his planned heel turn
For years, many fans pushed for John Cena to turn heel, mirroring the success of Hollywood Hogan. WWE was seriously considering the idea in 2012, following his WrestleMania loss to The Rock, to add “extra heat” to their upcoming rematch. Former WWE writer Matt McCarthy confirmed the plans, and Cena admitted to having custom gear and music made for the turn. Ultimately, WWE kiboshed the plan, resulting in several more years of Cena’s virtuous “goober” persona and repelling many long-time fans.
Winning Money in the Bank twice
The Money in the Bank (MITB) briefcase is intended as a golden ticket for a rising superstar or a key backup plan for booking. John Cena managed to damage the concept on two separate occasions. The first instance was when he won the match and then announced his cash-in date, only for the subsequent title match against CM Punk on Raw 1000 to end via disqualification, completely wasting the briefcase.
The second time came at the expense of Baron Corbin in 2017. Corbin, who was on track for a title run, was distracted by Cena during his cash-in attempt, making Corbin only the second person to fail and effectively ruining his momentum.
Losing to John Laurinaitis
John Cena’s storyline rivalry with authority figure John Laurinaitis (Johnny Ace) resulted in some of the most frustrating content WWE has produced. The feud culminated in an actual one-on-one match at Over The Limit 2012, with the stipulation that Laurinaitis would be fired if he lost.
The match, which closed the show, was an absolute mess. Embarrassingly, Cena took the loss via interference from The Big Show, capping off an abysmal main event and prolonging the “People Power” storyline.
Losing to Kevin Federline
In the pursuit of mainstream attention, WWE greenlit a feud between WWE Champion John Cena and Kevin Federline (K-Fed), the rapper and then-husband of Britney Spears. K-Fed, promoting a solo rap album, established himself as a heel on Raw. Following repeated interference that cost Cena matches, the two squared off in a no-disqualification match. Due to outside interference from Johnny Nitro and Umaga, K-Fed shockingly picked up a pinfall victory over the WWE Champion.
Cena eventually demolished K-Fed with the Attitude Adjustment later that night, but the temporary loss remains a baffling example of WWE favoring pop cultural relevance over established wrestling logic.
Revenge for Santa Claus
In a truly cartoony display, a 2012 Christmas Eve edition of Raw featured WWE legend Mick Foley as Santa Claus. Commentary and the wrestlers treated him as the literal Santa about to deliver gifts before Alberto Del Rio hit “Santa” with a car. A comically incensed John Cena vowed to avenge Kris Kringle, squaring off against Del Rio in a “Miracle on 34th Street Fight” main event.
Santa Foley made a triumphant return to help Cena defeat Del Rio, concluding a bizarre segment that injected too much fantasy into the weekly programming.
Facing Rey Mysterio on the same night he won the WWE Title
Following CM Punk’s “walkout” with the WWE Championship, the company held a tournament to crown a new champion. Fan favorite Rey Mysterio defeated The Miz in the finals on Raw, winning the WWE Championship for the first time in his career in what was a huge feel-good moment. However, in a baffling decision, John Cena immediately challenged Mysterio for the title that same night.
This heelish tactic, coming from a supposed babyface who was present for Rey’s post-match celebration, resulted in Cena winning the title back and diminishing Mysterio’s accomplishment to a short reign of mere hours.
Beating the Nexus
The Nexus faction debuted in 2010 after emerging from the first season of NXT. They immediately garnered massive attention by assaulting John Cena and other ringside workers during one of the most shocking conclusions to an episode of Raw. At SummerSlam, Cena aligned himself with other WWE superstars to face the Nexus in a multi-man elimination tag match.
Despite pushback from talents like Edge and Chris Jericho—who wanted the rookies to win—Cena ultimately defeated the final two members of Nexus single-handedly. This decision completely derailed the young faction’s momentum, a move Cena has since spoken out about, admitting he was ultimately in the wrong.
