John Cena was on top of WWE longer than anyone in the modern era. While Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin were the faces of the company during their runs, they were in and out in under a decade. Meanwhile, John Cena hit the main roster in 2002 and won his first world title three years later. He was then a top main event star in WWE for the next 16 years.

In all, John Cena wrestled in 16 different WrestleMania matches over his career, many of them near the top of the card each year. As expected, his record was almost perfect with 10 wins and six losses with almost every match for a title. He also won six titles and successfully defended his title twice at the biggest WWE event of the year. Here is a look at all 16 of John Cena's WrestleMania matches, ranked.

UPDATE: 2024/03/23 17:30 EST BY TEVON KING

John Cena is a sure-fire WWE Hall of Famer. Cena was the undisputed face of the company for a decade before he decided to wind down his in-ring career by becoming an actor and making part-time appearances. Big Match John has been an integral part of the success of WrestleMania, and he has competed in seven World Championship matches in succession at WrestleMania which is an outstanding record. Cena has a remarkable win-loss record at WrestleMania, and he has competed against the very best in the business. Furthermore, not all of his WrestleMania matches have been show-stealers, but Cena has participated in five WrestleMania main events with some brilliant wins and heartbreaking losses.

16 John Cena Vs. The Undertaker - WrestleMania 34

April 8, 2018 - New Orleans, Louisiana (Mercedes-Benz Superdome)

John Cena and The Undertaker's match at WrestleMania 34 was underwhelming, and it could have been an instant classic had the match been pre-advertised. In the early stages of the show, Cena was at ringside with the WWE Universe, watching the show unfold. However, Cena had an impromptu match with The Undertaker and it didn't go according to plan.

While John Cena was at WrestleMania 35, he did not wrestle at the show. Instead, he came out and cut an old-school Doctor of Thuganomics promo and attacked Elias. Interestingly, the year before that, Cena was begging for a match and Elias interrupted him then -- also to be taken out by Cena.

That was WrestleMania 34, but before Cena could celebrate his beat down of Elias, Undertaker came out. Cena had called out Undertaker for over a month and insulted the legacy of the Dead Man. In one of the most surprising WrestleMania matches ever, Undertaker beat up John Cena and pinned him in a squash match, Cena's most decisive defeat at any WrestleMania show.

15 John Vs. Austin Theory - WrestleMania 39 Night One

April 1, 2023 - Inglewood, California (SoFi Stadium)

John Cena was bidding to win the WWE United States Championship for the sixth time in his career and for the third time at WrestleMania when he squared off with Austin Theory in the curtain-raiser at WrestleMania 39. Unfortunately, this match didn't live up to the expectation.

Big Match John was competing in his first WrestleMania match in five years, and he had the crowd on his side. Theory resorted to cheating by low-blowing Cena, and he scored one of the biggest wins of his career with A-Town, Down to remain as the United States Champion.

14 John Cena Vs. Big Show - WrestleMania 20

March 14, 2004 - New York City, New York (Madison Square Garden)

It was only a matter of time before John Cena was going to be getting his hands on some silverware before he challenged Big Show for the United States Championship at WrestleMania 20, the pair were involved in a triple threat match alongside Kurt Angle at No Way Out 2004 and the winner would go on to face Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Championship, which ended up being the Olympic Gold Medalist.

John Cena competed at his first WrestleMania in 2004 when he challenged Big Show for the United States Championship. The two began to feud at the Royal Rumble that year when Cena legitimately injured his leg when Big Show eliminated him.

Cena worked the underdog angle in the match and surprised fans when he pulled off the major upset and beat Big Show for the title. It wasn't without controversy, as Cena used brass knuckles. However, Cena hitting the FU on Big Show was a sight to see.

13 John Cena & Nikki Bella Vs. The Miz & Maryse - WrestleMania 33

April 2, 2017 - Orlando, Florida (Camping World Stadium)

John Cena and The Miz renewed their rivalry in 2017 and whilst they may have closed out WrestleMania 27, six years prior they were featured in a mixed tag team match at WrestleMania 33. Cena and his girlfriend Nikki Bella teamed up and they clashed with The Miz and his wife Maryse, who was a former two-time Divas Champion.

John Cena missed out on WrestleMania 32 -- the first he did not wrestle at since WrestleMania 20 -- due to an injury. He did show up anyway to mess around with The Rock but did not compete. The next year, Cena was back and it was a first for the former champion.

Not only was this the only tag team match Cena ever competed in at a WrestleMania event, but it was also a mixed tag match with his girlfriend at the time, Nikki Bella. They beat Miz and Maryse in a forgettable match and then Cena dropped to a knee and proposed to Nikki after the match. They broke up one year later.

12 John Cena Vs. JBL - WrestleMania 21

April 3, 2005 - Los Angeles, California (Staples Center)

John Cena was ready to move to the next level after he did a superb job as United States Champion in 2004, but he was eyeing up JBL's WWE Championship. Cena defeated Kurt Angle at No Way Out 2005 in a number one contender's match, and JBL retained the WWE Championship against Big Show in the first-ever Barbed Wire Steel cage match in the main event. This set up Cena vs. JBL and Layfield was defending his 280-day run as WWE Champion at WrestleMania 21.

By the time 2005 rolled around, John Cena was one of the most popular stars on the roster. He was nowhere near the over-pushed megastar that he became and, at the time, was actually someone the fans had gravitated to, morphing him from a cocky heel to a confident underdog babyface.

JBL had been champion for 280 days and the fans hated the arrogant Texan. That made this a perfect match for Cena, who came in with the entire crowd solidly behind him and won his first WWE world title in what was, honestly, a lackluster and mediocre match.

11 John Cena Vs. The Miz - WrestleMania 27

April 3, 2011 - Atlanta, Georgia (Georgia Dome)

John Cena ensured that he'd be competing in his seventh consecutive World Championship match at WrestleMania as he outlasted five other competitors to become the number one contender for The Miz's WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber 2011. 24 hours later, they beat the Corre for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but they dropped the titles back to the Corre on the same night. Nevertheless, Cena and Miz had the honor of going on last at WrestleMania 27 with Miz's WWE Championship at stake but it wasn't the best of main events.

While this WrestleMania 27 match does not have the best reputation, it was significant for one huge reason. The Miz beat John Cena in a WWE world title match at WrestleMania. What really keeps this match from receiving any praise is that it was not as much about The Miz as it was about The Rock.

Despite that, The Miz pulled out one of his better performances and looked to be on even ground with the more respected Cena. The end was controversial, as The Rock came down and Rock Bottomed Cena which is how Miz pinned him, but it was Cena's second loss at a WrestleMania and Miz won his only main event.

10 John Cena Vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt - WrestleMania 36 Night Two

April 5, 2020 - Orlando, Florida (Performance Center)

John Cena and The Fiend clashed at WrestleMania for the second time on night two of WrestleMania 36. Unfortunately, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no fans in attendance, and they squared off in a Firefly Funhouse match. There was hardly any wrestling in this bout, and it was a flashback to Cena's old career with his old gimmicks making an appearance.

This was Wyatt's creativity in full flow, and this match may have not been for the purists, but it was a good match considering the circumstances. Ultimately, Wyatt scored one of the biggest wins of his career as he put Cena out of his misery.

9 John Cena Vs. Bray Wyatt - WrestleMania 30

April 6, 2014 - New Orleans, Louisiana (Mercedes-Benz Superdome)

Bray Wyatt cost John Cena a chance to beat Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the 2014 Royal Rumble. This planted the seeds for Wyatt's biggest match of his career against John Cena at WrestleMania 30. This was the Eater of World's first outing on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

When Bray Wyatt arrived in WWE with his Wyatt Family, he ran roughshod over the company. While The Shield ended up stealing a lot of the spotlight concerning the idea of a new faction, Wyatt captured the imagination of WWE fans who missed unique characters in the company.

However, things took a wrong turn for Wyatt when he turned to start a feud with John Cena. While Wyatt turned in some memorable moments during the feud, the fact that it culminated at WrestleMania 30 doomed him. Wyatt needed the win to legitimize his reign and ended up losing to Cena to end his momentum.

8 John Cena Vs. Edge Vs. Big Show - WrestleMania 25

April 5, 2009 - Houston, Texas (Reliant Stadium)

The World Heavyweight Championship title picture heading into WrestleMania 25 was strange as Edge regained the World Heavyweight Championship from John Cena in an Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out 2009, which left Raw without a World Title. Although Triple H was on SmackDown he feuded with Randy Orton, who was on Raw. Nevertheless, Cena wormed his way into the World Heavyweight Championship title picture as he collided with Edge and Big Show in a triple threat bout at WrestleMania 25.

John Cena was involved in two straight triple threat matches at WrestleMania and the one at WrestleMania 25 was the lesser. With that said, the fact that this match saw Edge and John Cena fighting each other proved this was going to be a great match, as their rivalry was arguably the best of Cena's career.

The third man involved was Big Show, years after Cena made his WrestleMania debut by lifting the big man on his shoulders for the FU. The biggest moment in the match came when Cena lifted Big Show and Edge onto his shoulder at the same time and hit a Double FU. He hit a second one on Big Show and won the match, his third title win at WrestleMania.

7 John Cena Vs. Randy Orton Vs. Triple H - WrestleMania 24

March 30, 2008 - Orlando, Florida (Florida Citrus Bowl)

John Cena won the 2008 Royal Rumble match, but he used his WWE Title opportunity against Randy Orton at No Way Out 2008. Orton retained via disqualification, and Triple H won the number one contender's Elimination Chamber match at the same event. However, Cena was involved once again as Orton defended his WWE Championship in a triple threat match at WrestleMania 24.

John Cena had back-to-back title defenses at WrestleMania against Triple H and Shawn Michaels and was legitimizing himself to fans as the Face of the WWE. At WrestleMania 24, Cena's fifth at the big event, he was involved in his fourth consecutive world title match -- this one a triple threat match for Randy Orton's WWE title.

Triple H was the third man involved, working as a babyface at this time with Orton as the only heel in the match. The match itself was great, with a ton of big spots, and ended with Triple H hitting the Pedigree on Cena and Orton covering for the cheap pin -- Cena's first-ever WrestleMania loss.

6 John Cena Vs. Rusev - WrestleMania 31

March 29, 2015 - Santa Clara, California (Levi's Stadium)

John Cena began 2015 hunting down a record-equaling 16th World Championship at the Royal Rumble but he came up short in a triple threat match with Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship at the event. Afterward, Cena shifted his attention toward Rusev's United States Championship. At Fastlane, Rusev earned a huge win over Cena, but their rivalry wouldn't end there as Cena was chasing after his fifth United States Championship at WrestleMania 31.

Just like he did with Bray Wyatt the year before, at WrestleMania 31, John Cena was put into place to end the monster momentum of Rusev as well. After debuting in WWE as an unstoppable monster, Rusev even got an awesome entrance to this match, riding to the ring on a tank.

Rusev did the best he could, turning in a great match with Cena and proving he belonged, but the end was never in doubt. This match was for Rusev's United States Championship and Cena ended up winning with the Attitude Adjustment to push his record to 9-3 while Rusev lost the first match of his main roster career.

5 John Cena Vs. Batista - WrestleMania 26

March 28, 2010 - Glendale, Arizona (University Of Phoenix Stadium)

John Cena and Batista briefly locked horns in 2008, but their rivalry ended prematurely with Cena sustaining an injury. Nevertheless, they reignited old hostilities in 2010 with Batista turning heel towards the end of 2009, and Batista defeated Cena in an impromptu bout at Elimination Chamber 2010 to become a six-time World Champion.

John Cena was the Face of WWE and, at the time, Batista was easily the second biggest name in the entire company. This was a time when the two men easily could have carried their own brands and did for a while. However, the time came at WrestleMania 26 when WWE booked the dream match -- John Cena vs. Batista.

Batista had turned heel and beat up Bret Hart leading to his feud with Cena. The Animal won the title from Cena and this was their rematch. The match was another underdog match for Cena, with Batista dominating the entire match until Cena overcame the odds, locked in the STF and Batista tapped out to give Cena his sixth WrestleMania win.

4 John Cena Vs. The Rock - WrestleMania 29

April 7, 2013 - East Rutherford, New Jersey (MetLife Stadium)

John Cena and The Rock had a rematch at WrestleMania 29 with Rock's WWE Championship on the line. The Great One clinched the WWE Championship from CM Punk at the 2013 Royal Rumble, and John Cena won his second Royal Rumble match at the same event. Punk tried to get himself back into the title picture, but both Rock and Cena beat Punk in matches along the way.

One year after The Rock beat John Cena, the two men fought again. This match was not as good as their battle the year before and it honestly wasn't as good. One thing that this match had going for it that their first one didn't was the WWE title, which Rock had won from CM Punk.

The end was a nice play on the previous match, but while Cena got cocky the year before and lost, he played it smart this year and ended up hitting The Rock with the Attitude Adjustment to win the match, and the title, and put an end to their feud.

3 John Cena Vs. Triple H - WrestleMania 22

April 2, 2006 - Rosemont, Illinois (Allstate Arena)

John Cena needed to cement his spot as the undisputed face of the business by the time WrestleMania 22 rolled around as he was poised to defend the WWE Championship against Triple H. This was Cena's first WrestleMania main event, and Triple H was involved in a World Championship match at WrestleMania for the fifth year in succession, and he was seeking his first WrestleMania victory in three years.

This match was John Cena's third WrestleMania match and the fact that he was defending his world title against Triple H proved that Cena was now sitting at the top of the WWE. In some fun trivia, John Cena came out to a gangster entrance theme and one of the gangsters that came out with Cena was a pre-WWE CM Punk.

Interestingly, this was also the year that the fans started to turn on Cena and many cheered the heel Triple H. With that said, Cena defended his title successfully in a pretty good match and went 3-0 at the biggest event of the year.

2 John Cena Vs. The Rock - WrestleMania 28

April 1, 2012 - Miami Gardens, Florida (Sun Life Stadium)

John Cena was looking to regain the WWE Championship from The Miz at WrestleMania 27, and he was poised to do that but Rock, who was the host of WrestleMania, hit Cena with the Rock Bottom. Miz took advantage and he retained the WWE Championship. Cena and Rock's blockbuster match at WrestleMania 28 in Rock's hometown of Miami, Florida was set up one year in advance.

John Cena and The Rock had back-to-back WrestleMania matches. The first was set up when The Rock showed up at WrestleMania 27 and attacked Cena, allowing The Miz to pin him in the title match.

This put The Rock and Cena on a collision course for WrestleMania 28, with Cena standing up for WWE fans who watched The Rock abandon them for Hollywood -- although fans were still on Rock's side. Much like The Rock and Hogan from year's prior, this was a Dream Match that was bigger than the action in the ring. Despite that, The Rock always puts on a show and here he beat Cena.

1 John Cena Vs. Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania 23

April 1, 2007 - Detroit, Michigan (Ford Field)

John Cena and Shawn Michaels were the reigning World Tag Team Champions but that didn't stop them from going head-to-head for Cena's WWE Championship at WrestleMania 23. The Heartbreak Kid became the number one contender for Cena's WWE Championship, and the pair put their differences aside as they battled with SmackDown's Batista and The Undertaker at No Way Out 2007 with Raw's duo getting the job done.

Is it any surprise that the best WrestleMania match of John Cena's career came against the man known as Mr. WrestleMania? One year after Cena successfully defended his world title against Triple H, he ended up stepping into the ring to defend it against The Game's best friend Shawn Michaels.

Most wrestlers can say that their best WrestleMania match was against Shawn Michaels and John Cena is no different. It was Cena who won the match and retained his title, and while fans turned on him the year before, they recognized the talent on display in this match -- possibly the best of Cena's entire career.