You could be a John Cena lover or a John Cena hater, either way; you cannot take away his importance in the WWE. The face that WWE stamps in all the posters and milk carton still belongs to Cena and he deserves some respect for being there for the whole of past decade.Last years WrestleMania saw Cena being relegated to the midcard where he faced off with Bray Wyatt. This year, he might cement his space in the same hole thanks to his feud with Rusev.The plan could always change between now and WrestleMania but what doesnt change will be the past. WrestleMania and Cena has been a deadly combination so far and here is a look at some of his best matches from the pay-per-view.
#6 Honorable Mention: John Cena vs Big Show (WrestleMania XX)
WrestleMania XX was an overall success and the opener of the pay-per-view deserves some credit as well. John Cena and Big Show battled out for the United States Championship in the match and delivered a strong big man small man dynamics in the match.
The moment when Cena lifted up Show on his shoulders to deliver an Attitude Adjustment (FU back then) was a treat for the fans and the win was Cenas first big moment under the WrestleMania limelight.
#5 John Cena vs Bray Wyatt (WrestleMania XXX)
Cenas win over Bray Wyatt is probably the reason why fans overlook this match. Everyone wanted to see Bray go over at Mania but since it ended up with the usual dose off Cena winning, they stamped this match as a failure. However, it wasnt.
Apart from the ending, everything about the match was solid. There was a great sense of narrative throughout the match as Cena was looking to stick to his good morals when Bray was luring him into the dark side.
Brays unorthodox and weird style was a fresh approach amidst Cenas regular moves. Harper and Eric Rowan played perfect supporting characters as well. There will be a lot of debates about the ending, but it was clearly one of Cenas better outings at WrestleMania.
#4 John Cena vs Triple H vs Randy Orton (WrestleMania XXIV)
Despite being one of the WrestleMania matches in Cenas career, this triple threat is not always celebrated. The WWE booking team is to blame for the same. This championship match was put after the farewell match of Ric Flair and the fans were a bit tired.
With a wealth of experience among them, all three men delivered a great match. Counters and reversals were plenty in the match and at certain points; it was hard to predict who will walk away with the gold.
Triple H looked destined to win when he gave a pedigree to Cena. However, Orton took advantage and knocked out Hunter with a punt kick before pinning Cena and winning the match.
#3 John Cena vs Triple H (WrestleMania 22)
Remember the match where Triple H entered as Conan the Barbarian and John Cena entered as the old Chicago gangster? Well, this was it. After a forgettable outing at WrestleMania 21, Cena needed a credible opponent at the next edition, and enter Triple H.
He was resigning as the top heel and with the star quality that Hunter had, WWE felt like it was the perfect match. There was however a big problem: the fans in Chicago. They were cheering for Triple H from the start while both superstars delivered a solid match.
Hunter pushed Cena to the limit but at in the climax sequence, Cena made Triple H tap out with the STF. The fans were not on the happy side but it was a great match.
#2 John Cena vs The Rock (WrestleMania XXVIII)
WWE billed the match between Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and John Cena as a ‘once in a lifetime’ affair and it was just that since their second outing at WrestleMania 29 bombed.
The excitement around the bout was sky high since it was Rock’s first one in a long time. Though the excitement was high, the expectations were long on a technical level. The fans knew clearly that these two aren’t the best technicians out there, but the star power was enough to keep them rooted.
Rock won the match with a Rock bottom to wrap up the angle which ran the good portion of a year. On the whole, the match lived up to its hype and WWE did a big mistake by trying to recreate the magic on the year that followed.
#1 John Cena vs Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 23)
The best WrestleMania match in John Cena’s career came thanks to Mr. WrestleMania Shawn Michaels. At WrestleMania 23, John Cena defended his WWE Championship against the heartbreak kid.
Despite Cena’s shortcomings on the wrestling side, the match literally stole the show. Of course, Michaels deserves a lot of credit for carrying Cena around but then again, we need two superstars to have a match.
Cena was built up as a resilient champion during the bout when Michaels delivered everything in his arsenal to take the gold away. The chemistry was groundbreaking and in the end, Cena made Michaels tap out with the STF to retain his title. (Yes, Super Cena again, ladies and gentlemen)
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