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John Cena is without a doubt one of the greatest of all time. His run from 2005-2015 will be looked back on fondly, despite the polarizing status he had at the time. However, it's been over four years since his push essentially stopped and his appearances have decreased to once or twice a year.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, John Cena revealed that he thinks Brock Lesnar is the best in-ring performer he's competed in the ring with.
“And I can say with the utmost sincerity that I believe Brock Lesnar is best in-ring performer that I've seen and I know it's an opinion, and if you want a cool quote, here it is: I think he's the best in-ring performer of all time.
We must remember that Cena is a man who has faced many of the all-time greats in WWE, including The Rock, Kurt Angle, Edge, Triple H, Batista, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and so much more. Except for Ric Flair, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, and Hulk Hogan, there aren't many megastars who Cena hasn't faced.
Many have criticized his opinion, but here are five reasons why Cena is right.
#5. His ability to have a good match when he wants
Brock Lesnar can have a great match when he wants to. People criticize him for "winging it" during a match, but when you get paid so much to simply hit suplexes, who can be blamed? Certainly not Lesnar.
He's proved time and again that he can have a great match when he's motivated. When I asked AJ Styles how he brought the best out of Lesnar at Survivor Series 2017, he said:
I think that it's something he's always capable of [having a great match]. It's all up to him if he wants to do it. I think he and I put on a spectacular match and it was a good opportunity for me to be in the ring with Brock Lesnar. It was an exciting match, one that one kind of expected but at the same time didn't know what to expect. I think it was a great match and I'm very proud of that match.
It's a rare talent that hardly anyone can claim to have.
#4. The ability to establish someone - win or lose
Brock Lesnar gets a lot of flak for his win streak, but how does anyone expect a "monster" to be booked? He's a special generational talent that has an ability that few in the world have. John Cena pointed out how great his WWE Royal Rumble performance was in the same interview with Sports Illustrated:
"I thought his performance at the Rumble was a clinic on how to establish yourself, how to establish those around you, establish the championship, establish the importance of one event.”
There's no denying that Brock Lesnar has helped to establish quite a few superstars in this run. He's had major feuds with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins - both of whom he ultimately put over and even established Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman as legitimate threats in 2017, even if both men were booked to lose.
To be able to help put over and establish other superstars in win or defeat is a criminally underrated quality of his that most people don't seem to understand.
#3. His undeniable aura
When Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio was asked a few years ago about which superstars still felt larger-than-life, it turned out to be a more interesting question than we initially realized. Meltzer named Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, and The Undertaker as the only superstars who have the "larger-than-life" feeling.
It's hard to forget that in today's WWE, there aren't any full-time superstars on the current roster who feel "larger-than-life". Perhaps it was due to it being a different time, but the company has preferred to build their brand name rather than making any star transcend it the way The Rock eventually did and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin did at one point.
When Brock Lesnar is in the ring, you tune in, and it's as simple as that. There aren't many superstars who are must-see anymore and while we aren't denying that Lesnar has had average matches in the ring, we've all seen how it goes when he turns it up.
Lesnar has an aura in the ring that nobody in wrestling really has anymore and it translates well in the ring.
#2. A physical specimen and an incredible athlete
Physical presence in the ring is important. While today's wrestling allows smaller superstars to become main eventers, there was a reason why WWE and other top companies would be called a "land of giants".
Historically, bigger superstars have done better and WWE has managed to make a few larger-than-life stars out of physical specimens. Brock Lesnar is that and more. He's perhaps the greatest athlete to ever compete in WWE - being a former NCAA Division I Heavyweight Champion, former UFC Heavyweight Champion and doing well in his NFL tryouts.
It translates well to the ring and he's always been a physical specimen who has used his athleticism to his advantage in the ring. He looks like a heavyweight but can move like a Featherweight.
We feel that Lesnar has a lot to show us still from that perspective and if one day, he becomes motivated enough to put on another clinic, we could see a side of him that we never have before.
#1. His in-ring IQ and storytelling ability
You either have this or you don't. It's great to have a flashy set of moves and offense but if it's not utilized with great storytelling to complement it, it's virtually pointless. We're in an age where many wrestlers lack a personality and use their flashiness in the ring to make up for it.
Brock Lesnar doesn't need any of that. He doesn't have a flashy moveset but the reactions in his matches remain the loudest in WWE consistently. He has an underrated in-ring IQ and storytelling ability - something that truly makes him among the best in the world.
When looking at the all-time greats, it wasn't their in-ring ability but how they told a story that made them such big superstars. Whether we like to admit it or not, Lesnar is far superior to the majority of the roster when it comes to storytelling in the match and it doesn't take much for him to get the crowd invested.
While John Cena's claim might be controversial, we believe that he's right about Brock Lesnar and his in-ring ability.
