The wrestling career of John Cena is unquestionably one of the greatest of all time. Cena may have not been the best technical wrestler, but he works his socks off. He is one of the most polarizing wrestlers in WWE history, and he has divided opinions over the years. His commitment to WWE is unmatched, and Cena has dedicated his time to granting tons of wishes to the Make-A-Wish foundation.Inside the squared circle, Cena has feuded with some of the best that WWE has to offer, and he has worked his way up from a mid-carder to the main event scene. Big Match John's days of being a full-time performer are over with his acting commitments, but when he returns to WWE it's always a great moment.
12 OVW
Before John Cena made a name for himself in WWE, he honed his craft during his time in OVW. Cena's in-ring name was The Prototype. With that ring name, he was never going to be a main event-level competitor. Nevertheless, Cena had a successful run there.
He captured the OVW Heavyweight Championship, and he won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship alongside Rico. The OVW class of 2002, arguably boasted the strongest cast, and Cena was the cream of the crop.
11 Memorable Debut
WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon waxed lyrical about "Ruthless Aggression" and John Cena epitomized it. He made his main roster on the June 27, 2002 edition of SmackDown. He bravely answered Kurt Angle's open challenge and pushed Angle close with the Olympic Gold Medalist just about getting over the line.
Cena may have come up short but he was serenaded by his peers when he returned to the locker room. WWE's newest star was born, and Cena worked his way up the card and improving with every second that passed.
10 Doctor Of Thuganomics
It's hard to believe that John Cena was going to get released from WWE in 2002. However, the Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick was born, and Cena found his niche. Cena turned heel, and he began to do freestyle rap. He did a good job of it, and fans were soon on board with it.
Cena could spit bars, and he would insult his opponents before his matches. 2003 was an excellent year for Cena, and he found himself challenging Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. He came up short, but Cena's stock rose and credit has to be given for taking a plunge with this gimmick which could have gone wrong.
9 United States Champion
Towards the end of 2003, John Cena turned face, and he has never returned to the dark side since then. Cena was missing something and that was some championship gold. He challenged Big Show for the United States Championship at WrestleMania 20. It was Cena's maiden outing on the Grandest Stage of them All.
Cena rose to the occasion, and he slew the giant for his first United States Championship reign. It was Cena's first piece of silverware, and he did the US Title some justice. He won the gold three times in 2004, and he feuded with the likes of Booker T, Rene Dupree, and Carlito during his championship runs.
8 First World Title Reign
WWE didn't rush Cena's development, but by the start of 2005, it was evident that Cena was ready to become a main eventer. Cena was tasked with ending JBL's 280-day WWE Championship reign at WrestleMania 21. Their title match wasn't spectacular but it served its purpose with Cena beating JBL to become WWE Champion for the first time.
Cena was overcome with emotion, and he celebrated his victory with his fans in attendance. It was a legendary moment in Cena's career which still holds up today, and he went on to become the undisputed face of WWE.
7 Feud With Edge
The rivalry between John Cena and Edge is one of the greatest in WWE history. Cena moved over to Raw in June 2005, and he did an excellent job as WWE Champion. However, it was the Rated-R Superstar, who ended Cena's maiden WWE Championship reign by way of the first Money in the Bank cash-in at New Year's Revolution 2006.
Cena and Edge's feud dominated 2006, and Cena wasted no time in regaining the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble. Their battles were always at a high level, and despite Edge being the heel, he often got a better reception than Cena.
6 Year-Long WWE Championship Reign
John Cena became a three-time WWE Champion when he beat Edge for the WWE Championship in a TLC match at Unforgiven 2006. This kickstarted a historic 380-day WWE Championship reign for Cena.
Big Match John was at his best, and he took out all sorts of challenges. The likes of Umaga, Shawn Michaels, Edge, Randy Orton, and Bobby Lashley could not take the WWE Title away from Cena. Had Cena not sustained a pectoral injury, his WWE Title reign could have gone on for longer.
5 Unexpected Royal Rumble Return
When the clock struck zero for the 30th entrant at the 2008 Royal Rumble, no one expected it to be John Cena. Super Cena rocked up to Madison Square Garden, and fans were pleasantly surprised with the roof almost blown off the building.
Cena had an exceptional outing and he won the Royal Rumble match for the first time in his career. It's remarkable how fast Cena recovered, and he was undeniably the right choice to win the Rumble.
4 Feud With The Rock
John Cena and The Rock took jibes at each other in real life, and they feuded with one another for two years from 2011-13. Cena and Rock's match for WrestleMania 28 was announced on the Raw after WrestleMania 27 which was unprecedented.
They teamed at Survivor Series 2011 in a winning effort against R-Truth and The Miz. A few months later, they finally battled at WrestleMania 28 with Cena coming up short against Rock. Big Match John was crestfallen, but a year later, he got his revenge by beating Rock for the WWE Title at WrestleMania 29. Two of the biggest stars in the history of professional wrestling going head-to-head was huge for Cena's career.
3 Battles With Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar was a man on a mission in 2014 as he ended Undertaker's 21-0 unbeaten streak at WrestleMania 30. Next for Lesnar was to hunt down Cena's WWE Championship. Cena was taken to suplex city at SummerSlam as the Beast Incarnate successfully executed 16 suplexes.
Fans salivated at Cena getting a beat down with Lesnar winning the WWE Title for the fourth time with ease. Cena failed to regain the title at Night of Champions and the 2015 Royal Rumble. Nevertheless, Cena looked strong in defeat.
2 Record-Equaling 16th World Championship Reign
It has always been a matter of "when" and not "if" of where the site of John Cena's record-equaling 16th World Championship reign was going to come. Cena feuded with AJ Styles in the summer of 2016 in some of the best matches in both men's careers.
At the 2017 Royal Rumble, Cena challenged AJ Styles for the WWE Championship. They hit a home run in a breathtaking WWE Championship match at the highest order. Cena got the job done with an AA, and he tied Ric Flair for his 16th World Championship reign.
1 Epic 2021 Return
John Cena hasn't always been loved by the WWE Universe, but he got the reception he deserved when he made a return to WWE at Money in the Bank 2021. The pop he received was deafening, and he set up a Universal Championship match with Roman Reigns at SummerSlam.
The Tribal Chief was in a rich vein of form, and Cena was gunning for a record 17th World Championship. History was on the line, but Cena came up short in his quest to end Reigns' Universal Championship run.