The Big Picture

John Cena hung up his jorts at WrestleMania 41 last month in Las Vegas. We thought that was the end. Instead, he just announced the John Cena Classic Tournament, ensuring his fingerprints remain on WWE programming long after his in-ring departure. Looking back at his two-decade run, picking his definitive moments is an exercise in editing out Hall of Fame matches. He was the company's anchor, but he was also frequently shoved down fans' throats during the Super Cena era. Now that the dust has settled and his farewell is in the books, let's rank the top 10 moments that built the legend of the franchise player.

10. The Debut Against Kurt Angle (2002)

Everyone knows the ruthless aggression promo. Kurt Angle issued an open challenge, and a generic guy in colorful trunks marched down to answer it. Cena slapped the Olympic gold medalist, which was a bold booking choice for a rookie. The match itself was clunky in spots, and Cena's early offense looked heavily choreographed. Still, forcing him to keep up with Angle on night one established a baseline of expectation. He didn't win, but the post-match handshake with The Undertaker backstage told the audience everything they needed to know about his internal standing.

9. The 2015 United States Championship Open Challenge

By 2015, the internet wrestling community had spent a decade screaming that Cena couldn't wrestle. The US Title Open Challenge completely shut that down. Every week on Raw, Cena defended the midcard belt against guys like Cesaro, Sami Zayn, and Neville. He adopted a bizarre, occasionally sloppy springboard stunner, but the match quality was undeniable. This run elevated the US title to main event status while proving Cena could seamlessly adapt to the fast-paced, indie-style workrate of his younger peers.

8. WrestleMania 36: The Firefly Funhouse Match (2020)

This shouldn't have worked. The pandemic forced WWE into an empty Performance Center, and Bray Wyatt challenged Cena to a cinematic match. Instead of a wrestling bout, Cena walked into a surreal, psychological deconstruction of his own career. He was forced to confront his backstage politics, his Hogan-esque run on top, and his failure to turn heel when the crowd begged for it. It was a bizarre, uncomfortable watch that stripped away the superhero veneer. For a guy who tightly controlled his brand, agreeing to look this foolish and vulnerable was a minor miracle.

7. Unforgiven 2006: TLC Match vs Edge

Edge was the ultimate foil for Cena. The Rated-R Superstar constantly outsmarted the babyface, pushing Cena into a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match in Edge's hometown of Toronto. The crowd viciously turned on Cena, throwing his t-shirt back at him repeatedly. The finish remains iconic. Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment off the top of a massive ladder, sending Edge crashing through two stacked tables to win the WWE Championship. It proved he could handle a grueling, dangerous stunt-brawl outside his usual five moves of doom.

6. Raw 2007: One Hour with Shawn Michaels

WrestleMania 23 featured Cena tapping out Shawn Michaels in a solid main event. But the rematch a few weeks later in London is the one people remember. They wrestled for nearly 60 minutes on free television. Cena was essentially wrestling blind for the last quarter of the match after taking a stiff superkick, but he followed Michaels' lead perfectly. It was a grueling, stamina-testing clinic. Michaels eventually won clean with another superkick, giving Cena a rare definitive loss and proving he could anchor an iron-man style broadcast without a gimmick.

5. SummerSlam 2016: The AJ Styles Masterpiece

AJ Styles arrived in WWE with a massive chip on his shoulder, and a collision with the company's golden boy was inevitable. Their SummerSlam bout was a flawless counter-wrestling exhibition. Cena threw everything he had at Styles, including an avalanche Attitude Adjustment from the top rope. When Styles kicked out, Cena just sat in the corner, staring at the mat in disbelief. Styles countered the next move into a Styles Clash, followed by a Phenomenal Forearm for the clean pin. Cena leaving his armband in the ring afterward felt like a genuine passing of the torch.

4. WrestleMania 21: Crowning the New King (2005)

This is where the era officially started. JBL had held the WWE Championship hostage for nearly 280 days, dragging SmackDown through endless, plodding main events. Cena, riding the momentum of his rapper gimmick, finally unseated him in Los Angeles. The match was surprisingly short and incredibly average from a technical standpoint. It honestly felt rushed. But the visual of Cena lifting the custom spinner belt a few nights later changed the merchandising game forever. It wasn't his best match, but it was the most necessary victory of his career.

3. ECW One Night Stand 2006: Entering the Lion's Den

If you want to understand heat, watch Cena walk into the Hammerstein Ballroom. The ECW crowd wanted to murder him. The "If Cena Wins We Riot" sign wasn't a joke; it was a legitimate threat. Fans threw his t-shirt back so many times he eventually just kept it. Cena leaned into the hatred perfectly, acting arrogant and bullying Rob Van Dam. When Edge interfered in a motorcycle helmet, costing Cena the title, the building exploded. It remains the gold standard for how a babyface should handle a hostile crowd without breaking character.

2. Money in the Bank 2011: The Chicago Masterpiece

CM Punk's pipebomb promo set the stage, but the match in Chicago delivered on the hype. Cena walked into the Allstate Arena knowing Punk's contract was legitimately expiring that night. The atmosphere was suffocating. Cena played the reluctant company man, trying to win a fair wrestling match while Vince McMahon attempted to force a Montreal Screwjob finish. Cena punched John Laurinaitis to stop the screwjob, allowing Punk to hit the GTS and escape through the crowd with the WWE Championship. It was a perfectly executed collision of reality and storyline.

1. WrestleMania 41 and The Cena Classic (2026)

Night 1 of WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas delivered the final chapter. Cena wrestled his farewell match, putting over his opponent clean in the middle of the ring. It was emotional, but he didn't disappear into Hollywood forever. Instead, as explained in recent interviews, he immediately pivoted to creating the John Cena Classic Tournament. He realized the developmental system needed a high-stakes, purely in-ring gauntlet to elevate new talent. Retiring on his shield at Allegiant Stadium was one thing. Launching a tournament designed to find his successor within weeks of retiring is the ultimate flex.

Honorable Mentions

His 2008 Royal Rumble return from a torn pectoral muscle remains the loudest surprise pop in Madison Square Garden history. The "I Quit" match against JBL at Judgment Day 2005 featured an absurd amount of blood. His brutal Last Man Standing match against Umaga at Royal Rumble 2007 is arguably the most violently creative defense of his first title reign.