We’re on the final stretch of one of the greatest careers in pro wrestling history. At Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13, John Cena will bid farewell in his final match. Fans will undoubtedly be sad to see him go. However, he leaves behind quite a body of work for all to look back on.
With that in mind, we’re taking this opportunity to highlight John Cena’s best matches by listing the 10 essential bouts of his career. There was quite a lot to choose from and plenty to debate. But one unquestioned thing is the volume of quality encounters the G.O.A.T. was a part of.
Read on below for our picks, listed in chronological order.
John Cena vs. Edge (Unforgiven 2006)
Once Cena had been anointed as a top star, he needed the right rival to test his mettle and bring out the best in him. He found that rival in Edge. This terrific TLC match in Edge’s hometown of Toronto was the culmination of months of torment from the “Rated R Superstar,” which included going after Cena’s father. This all pushed Cena to the absolute breaking point. He brutalized his opponent and got the win, announcing to the world he was a force to be reckoned with.
John Cena vs. Umaga (Royal Rumble 2007)
Another early test of Cena’s resolve came in the form of “The Samoan Bulldozer” Umaga. One of those classic, formidable big men who could absolutely go between the ropes, he was a perfect foil for the champ.
At the 2007 Royal Rumble, the two locked horns in a brutal Last Man Standing bout. Brutalized and covered in blood, Cena was pushed to his limit but managed to secure the decisive victory. It was a new side of Cena that fans needed to see.
John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels (RAW – April 23, 2007)
You’d have to actively work at having a bad match when you’re in there with “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. So, it would have been fairly easy to expose Cena if he hadn’t been able to hang with the legend.
But hang he did and then some in a nearly hour-long classic that is considered one of the greatest televised matches in the 30-plus-year history of Monday Night RAW. The crowd was riveted by every move until an exhausted Michaels picked up the win. And though he came up short, Cena proved he could more than hold his own between the ropes.
John Cena vs. Batista (Wrestlemania XXVI)
At the height of the Ruthless Aggression era in WWE, you could easily classify John Cena and Batista as 1A and 1B on the roster. The two superstars were positioned firmly at the top of the card. So, anytime they’d step in the ring, it felt like a battle of franchise players.
Of their confrontations, I was always partial to their bout at WrestleMania XXVI. Having these two titans clash on the grandest stage felt like every bit the huge deal it was presented as. And they delivered a fantastic bout, highlighting their strengths and emphasizing why they earned their spots.
John Cena vs. CM Punk (Money in the Bank 2011)
This bout has become the stuff of legend, and rightfully so. Everything about this match was heightened due to the turbulent circumstances surrounding CM Punk. And if anyone was the perfect person to stand across the ring that night, it was Cena.
The atmosphere in Chicago was beyond electric as the hometown crowd was rooting for Punk to stick it to Cena and to the company. They got their wish as Punk won the WWE Championship in a match that will stand the test of time as an all-time classic.
John Cena vs. The Rock (Wrestlemania XXVIII)
Here’s a matchup that is firmly in the conversation for the biggest marquee matches ever. Billed as “Once in a Lifetime” (which, of course, didn’t last given their rematch the following year), Rock vs. Cena was a massive box office.
The two delivered the goods in the type of main event level bout WWE lives for. Rock got the win here but did the favors for Cena the next year, in keeping with the long wrestling tradition of passing the torch.
John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (Extreme Rules 2012)
Brock Lesnar coming back to the squared circle after conquering the UFC was one of the most shocking returns in WWE history. Naturally, he dove right into the deep end and went toe-to-toe with the current franchise player in Cena.
With it being an Extreme Rules match, the two were allowed to take the brutality up a notch. Cena got the win over Lesnar, but it would be far from the last memorable clash these two would have.
John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan (SummerSlam 2013)
One of the few people who could rival Cena in terms of popularity, Daniel Bryan knew what it was like to be a crowd favorite. The two would lock horns at SummerSlam 2013 in a rare face vs. face showdown. In what was another step towards cementing the “Yes Movement” at the top of the card, Bryan got the huge win here in a fantastic contest. Cena was never afraid to elevate someone when the situation called for it. This was a great example.
John Cena vs. AJ Styles (Royal Rumble 2017)
It was surreal to see AJ Styles, already an established superstar everywhere else he went, wrestling in a WWE ring and mixing it up with the likes of John Cena. But it was evident from the get-go that these two could create magic as opponents.
The apex of their rivalry came with this bona fide classic at the 2017 Royal Rumble. Throwing it down for almost 30 minutes and never leaving the ring once, they put on a wrestling clinic that was a testament to these two talents who many fans thought would never get to square off.
John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes (SummerSlam 2025)
It’s fair to say John Cena’s farewell tour has had its share of turbulence. In particular, his heel turn and Wrestlemania bout with Cody Rhodes were not well received, to say the least. When it came time for their SummerSlam encounter, they wisely hit the reset button and let Cena play to his strengths as a fan favorite. The result was an infinitely better match that gave Cena a standout late-career exhibition worthy of his legacy.
