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Although John Cena turned 44 last April, he is still younger than a few current superstars on the WWE roster.
John Cena could return to WWE in July. Reports have stated that WWE is keen to bring back the 16-time world champion for the first show that the live crowd returns. If Cena shows up, it would be his first appearance since his Firefly Fun House match against Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36.
Cena made his WWE debut nearly two decades ago during the Ruthless Aggression era. Since then, the WWE roster has witnessed drastic changes. Very few superstars from that era remain active on the roster today. Upon his return, Cena would be one of the oldest superstars in WWE but not the oldest.
Here are five current WWE Superstars who are older than John Cena.
#5. WWE Champion Bobby Lashley
While he has not spent as much time in WWE as John Cena, current WWE Champion Bobby Lashley is older than the Cenation leader. Lashley was born in July 1976 and is about to turn 45 in two months. He is currently one of the oldest superstars on the WWE roster.
Lashley and Cena's paths have crossed several times throughout the past two decades. They have mostly shared the ring in tag team matches either as teammates or opponents. However, they once went head-to-head for the most precious prize, the WWE Championship.
Lashley and Cena's singles bout came at The Great American Bash pay-per-view in 2007. Cena put his WWE Championship on the line as the former ECW Champion attempted to win the title for the first time in his career. Although Lashley gave it his best, he could not defeat Super Cena.
Lashley had to wait nearly 14 years to fulfill his dream of winning the WWE Championship. He was finally crowned WWE Champion when he defeated The Miz for the title on Monday Night RAW.
#4. WWE Superstar Shelton Benjamin
WWE Superstar Shelton Benjamin is on the verge of turning 46. He was born in July 1975, a little over two years before John Cena was born.
Benjamin and Cena shared the OVW locker room before both joined SmackDown in 2002. Despite being older, Benjamin's Smackdown debut came a few months after Cena's.
On their debuts, both Superstars worked with WWE Legend Kurt Angle. Cena faced The Olympic Gold Medalist in his first match on SmackDown as he answered the latter's open challenge. Benjamin, on the other hand, joined forces with Angle and Charlie Haas to form Team Angle.
Cena and Benjamin surprisingly faced each other only twice in singles competitions on the main shows. While The Gold Standard dominated Cena in OVW, things have gone the other way around since their promotion to the main roster. Benjamin has never defeated Cena one-on-one.
Benjamin and Cena's first bout came at Monday Night RAW in December 2005, which The Champ won by submission. In June 2006, the two superstars went head-to-head again on RAW. Once again, Cena forced Benjamin to tap out to the STFU.
Shelton Benjamin is currently active on Monday Night RAW. He suffered defeat in his last two matches against his former Hurt Business partner Cedric Alexander.
#3. WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champion Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio is one of the oldest superstars on the current WWE roster. He is 46 years old and is now one-half of the Tag Team Champions, alongside his 24-year-old son, Dominik.
John Cena is two years younger than Rey Mysterio. However, they joined the WWE main roster in the same year in 2002. Mysterio signed with WWE after spending a few years in ECW and then WCW. He made his debut on SmackDown a month following Cena's.
Although they shared the ring several times as partners, it was only twice that they faced each other one-on-one. Just like Shelton Benjamin, Mysterio was never able to defeat Cena.
Cena and Mysterio's first face-off came on SmackDown in November 2003, in which The Doctor of Thuganomics pinned The Master of the 619. Mysterio had to wait eight years to get his chance to settle the score with Cena. He challenged The Champ to a WWE title match on Monday Night RAW in July 2011 but came up short again.
While Cena is currently busy with his Hollywood projects, Mysterio and Dominik will put their tag team titles on the line against The Usos next Friday on SmackDown.
#2. WWE Superstar Edge
Edge came out of retirement and returned to WWE last year after nine years of absence. The former 11-time world champion is a little over three years older than John Cena, as he will turn 48 next October.
Edge and John Cena share a lot of history in WWE. They have given the WWE Universe one of the best rivalries ever, which one can only hope will reignite if Cena returns to WWE, too.
Since his return to WWE, The Rated R Superstar has had some ups and downs. Although he defeated Randy Orton at WrestleMania 36 in a Last Man Standing Match, he later lost to The Viper at Backlash. During his Backlash match against Orton, Edge also suffered a torn tricep that put him on the shelf again for a few months.
Upon his second return, Edge won the 2021 Royal Rumble to secure his place in the main event of WrestleMania. However, things did not go according to his plan. While Edge chose to face Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 37, Daniel Bryan interfered and found a way to insert himself in the match to make it a triple threat.
Edge's dream of becoming Universal Champion was shattered at The Grandest Stage of Them All as Reigns emerged victorious from the triple threat title match. Edge has not yet returned to in-ring action since his loss at WrestleMania 37.
#1. WWE Superstar R-Truth
R-Truth is the oldest full-time WWE Superstar on the current roster. He recently turned 49 last January and is a little over five years older than John Cena.
R-Truth joined WWE for the first time in 1999 but left a few weeks before Cena's debut in 2002. It was not until 2008 that Truth returned. Since then, he has shared the ring with Cena numerous times, either as partners or opponents. However, they went one-on-one on only five occasions.
Surprisingly, R-Truth holds a singles victory over Cena. The multi-time 24/7 Champion took on Cena in a Tables match a decade ago on Monday Night RAW. Taking advantage of CM Punk's interference, Truth speared Cena through a table to claim victory. Except for that match and another that ended in a draw due to double disqualification, Cena won all his other bouts against Truth, including a WWE title match.
R-Truth is currently active on Monday Night RAW. He recently lost his 24/7 Championship to Akira Tozawa. At his age, Truth remains one of the most entertaining superstars on the WWE roster.
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