5 John Cena feuds we'd like to see before he retires

John Cena has competed in the sport of professional wrestling since the year 1999. He made his WWE debut, primarily wrestling at house shows, in the year 2000, following which, Cena finally made his on-screen debut for WWE in 2002, which industry pundits consider being the beginning of the Ruthless Aggression Era in the WWE.

What followed isn’t unbeknownst to anyone. We’re all familiar with how Cena went on to become one of the greatest WWE Superstars, etching his name among the legends in the professional wrestling dominion.

But with that being said, Cena gradually transitioned to the role of a part-time WWE Superstar over the past few years, with the 'Doctor of Thuganomics' spending the vast majority of his time working on his Hollywood projects.

Cena is 42 years of age, and has been quite vocal about his belief that he’s unsure about how long he’ll be able to continue as an active, albeit part-time, in-ring performer. Keeping that in mind, today, we take a special look at a few notable feuds we’d love to see John Cena in before he retires:

#5 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt

The Fiend is the deadliest Superstar in WWE today

I figured we’d get the most obvious choice of them all out of the way right from the get-go. Yes, granted that Bray Wyatt and John Cena have faced each other on several occasions in the past and done battle in memorable matches against one another; we’d love to see Cena feud with the current avatar of Wyatt.

Don’t get me wrong; the old Bray Wyatt as the patriarch of The Wyatt Family was as menacing as anyone could be. We all remember him dragging Cena to the brink of insanity – the children’s choir serenading Cena during his feud with Wyatt, comes to mind!

However, The Fiend is a different animal altogether. If the old Wyatt Family patriarch avatar could rattle Cena to his core, it isn’t hard to imagine what havoc The Fiend could wreak on Cena when the latter returns to feud with him.

Cena losing clean to The Fiend will mark an important ‘passing of the torch’ moment in WWE and professional wrestling history.

#4 Killer Kross

It was on February 4th, 2020 that an announcement on the WWE Backstage show confirmed that Killer Kross has indeed signed with the WWE. While some fans and critics alike would potentially be skeptical about Kross facing someone like Cena this early in the former’s WWE career, there’s something about this booking that feels just right.

Cena is a company man through and through, and as someone who has lately been putting over several top WWE Superstars, he could engage in a lengthy feud with Kross in the months to come.

While the professional wrestling rumor mill suggests that Cena could likely end up facing Elias at WrestleMania 36 this April, judging by the WWE Universe’s reaction to the aforesaid rumor, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility for the company higher-ups to change their mind and book Cena against someone else.

To be fair, I don’t mind watching Cena feud with Elias. However, what bothers me about a possible Cena vs. Elias rivalry is that a clean loss to Cena at WrestleMania 36 would absolutely destroy the momentum that Elias has built over the past few months.

This is where Kross fits in perfectly! Kross can be booked to feud with Cena, with their feud reaching a crescendo in a match at WrestleMania 36. Cena wins after a back-and-forth war, but Kross – even in defeat – gets a considerable amount of exposure with regard to the casual fans as well, who’ll all tune in to WrestleMania and be glued to the show during Cena’s match in particular.

I sincerely hope the WWE considers booking Kross as Cena’s WrestleMania 36 opponent instead of Elias. That brings me to...

#3 Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman has to face John Cena before the latter steps away from the ring

I can visualize certain sections of the professional wrestling community vehemently disagreeing with this choice, their heads shaking in collective disagreement when it comes to the idea of even remotely considering a feud between John Cena and Braun Strowman.

I’m a huge fan of 'The Monster Among Men' Braun Strowman. He’s a hardworking Superstar, incredibly athletic, masterfully pulls off the traditional big man role, and is self-admittedly committed to the WWE for the long run. However, Strowman hasn’t really experienced much success in past encounters with Cena; and I’m not talking about winning or losing the match per se.

I’d like to hark back to when I’d noted that something about a feud between John Cena and Killer Kross feels just right. Honestly speaking, it’s quite the opposite when it comes to a feud between Braun Strowman and John Cena, and that’s because Strowman almost always loses momentum after feuding with Cena.

Now that’s nothing to be ashamed of; most Superstars end up being overshadowed by Cena’s charisma, even if they’re booked to defeat Cena in their feud. Strowman’s problem in past encounters with Cena has been that of his promo work, which is, in fact, a tad surprising because The Monster Among Men is blessed with the ability to cut good promos.

The only way for Strowman to redeem himself is to face Cena in one last feud between the two before the latter hangs up his wrestling boots. The WWE has to book Strowman in a few strong promo segments; wherein Cena’s comebacks are kept to a bare minimum at the very least, so that the booking strategy isn’t too obvious to the casual audience.

Strowman facing Cena in a rivalry where the former wins the promo battle, regardless of whether or not he wins the final match of the feud, is what would be ‘best for business’, not only for The Monster Among Men but also for the WWE.

#2 AJ Styles

AJ Styles would love to once again beat up John Cena

I vividly remember an incredibly enthusiastic gentleman who liked to “Beat up John Cena"! Said gentleman is a former WWE Champion and also happens to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. AJ Styles is no stranger to Cena. We’ve been privileged to witness several electrifying matches between these two icons in the past.

Why then, would we shortlist Styles as one of the top picks to face Cena before the latter steps away from the ring? Well, for starters, there’s the fact that every time Styles and Cena face off in a match, they manage to create pro wrestling magic.

What is pro wrestling magic, you ask? We as fans of this wonderful sport have varying definitions of what constitutes great pro wrestling, but a classic match or feud would generally be one that features great characters, an entertaining storyline, and good in-ring wrestling!

Out of all the Superstars listed in this conversation of ours, Cena vs. Styles could most definitely take the cake for every fan’s dream feud. It doesn’t matter whether the feud takes place on the “Road to WrestleMania” or during the post-Mania season, a Cena vs. Styles rivalry always delivers quality matchups and excellent promos.

While I’d love to see Cena feud with Styles before walking away from the sport, there’s another mysterious Superstar whom Cena would be remiss to not feud with...

#1 Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura would be the perfect rival for John Cena

Mysterious, marvellous, methodical, yet underutilized, is what comes to mind when a professional wrestling fan thinks about 'The Artist' Shinsuke Nakamura. The talented Superstar is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, and has not only dominated the Japanese circuit but also won hearts in the WWE as well.

Nakamura is recognized worldwide by pro wrestling fans as one of the most eccentric characters and skilled in-ring performers to have ever walked the face of the earth. The King of Strong Style is an icon, but so is The Champ.

Nevertheless, what fans often remember from the brief period of time that Cena and Nakamura shared the ring with one another was an accident; wherein Cena was mistakenly dropped on his head and neck and narrowly escaped a serious injury during his match with Nakamura.

Cena continued the match regardless, and eventually asserted how much respect he has for Nakamura, while the latter too paid his respect to 'The Leader of the Cenation'. I truly believe that both pro wrestling gladiators surely deserve another shot at putting on a better match before Cena retires from the sport.

In fact, the WWE Universe would like to see a lengthy rivalry featuring several matches between Cena and Nakamura – the discipline and dedication of Cena against the eccentricity and unpredictability of Nakamura – before Cena bids adieu to the sport professional wrestling as an active performer.

Which WWE Superstars would you like to see John Cena feud with before he retires? Sound off in the comments!