5 Times John Cena won a match he shouldn't have

John Cena is set to face "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36, in what is likely going to be a complete cinematic presentation. We cannot wait to see what is in store for this match.

It might involve various elements of the Firefly Fun House, which Wyatt claimed was created by him due to events that happened at the hands of Cena himself.

Over the years, the 16-time WWE world champion has had a stellar win-loss record. In fact, it was so lop-sided that this habit of Cena's became a meme on the Internet, "Cena wins LOL".

While John Cena winning almost every match of his is justified, as he was the face of WWE for a very long time, there have been a few instances where he probably should have put his opponent over.

Some WWE Superstars were seemingly primed for a big victory over Cena to allow them to break through the proverbial glass ceiling and reach the next level.

However, they were beaten by the 'Leader of the Cenation' and as a result, their momentum was halted. Some of them gained it back, while others would take years to recover if they even did.

Here are five times 'Super Cena' should have met his match in the ring.

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#5 vs Rusev (WrestleMania 31)

Rusev Day is delayed.

There are two sides to this coin. If John Cena hadn't beaten Rusev at WrestleMania 31, we would have not gotten those weekly classics in the form of Cena's United States Title Open Challenge.

But had Cena stared at the lights for Rusev at Levi's Stadium, the Bulgarian would have become a made man instantly. Rusev Day would have come way earlier and he might have realized his full potential in WWE.

The match was pretty good, even if it followed the clichéd story of 'American vs Evil Foreigner'. That did not stop Rusev from having the entrance of a lifetime, as he entered 'Mania in a tank. It was incredible.

However, one has to wonder the heights that the three-time US Champion would have reached if he defeated John Cena to retain his title at WrestleMania.

#4 vs Brock Lesnar (Extreme Rules 2012)

An insanely brutal match.

On the RAW after WrestleMania 28, Brock Lesnar made his much-anticipated return to WWE. After eight years away, the Beast came back and immediately began a program with John Cena, one night after he lost his massive 'Mania main event to The Rock.

The feud was bloody and intense, with some brutal brawls taking place between the two of them. It was probably the most gruesome thing to happen on WWE programming since it went PG. Lesnar was an attraction of the highest order so surely he would win his first match back, right? Wrong.

Cena defeated the former UFC fighter in an Extreme Rules Match. Granted, the match was more of a fight and Lesnar dominated it. But in the end, he got caught and got pinned to the man who would lose to John Laurinaitis three weeks later.

It was an unnecessary victory for John Cena, who was supposed to be on a cold streak following his crushing defeat to The Rock. Due to this blow, Brock Lesnar's momentum was halted and he never truly became the 'Conqueror' until he ended The Undertaker's streak at WrestleMania two years later.

#3 vs Chris Jericho (Survivor Series 2008)

Le Champion is here!

In the fall of 2008, the main event scene of Monday Night RAW was a bit different from what would normally happen. John Cena was out for a few months with a neck injury, giving way to the likes of Batista and Chris Jericho to trade the World Heavyweight Championship.

Jericho was involved in a bitter and personal rivalry with Shawn Michaels, with the world title entering the mix for its climax. The 'Best in the World At What He Does' was on the most stellar run of his storied and diverse career.

After finishing off his feud with Batista, Jericho would face the returning John Cena at Survivor Series. The 16-time WWE world champion immediately defeated the red-hot Jericho, halting the heel's run on top of the Red brand.

WWE could have easily booked Chris Jericho to weasel his way into retaining the gold, before putting Cena over at the next event, Armageddon. Also, Y2J fell down the card in the following months, ultimately having to face three '80s stars, before getting knocked out by Mickey Rourke at WrestleMania 25.

#2 vs Bray Wyatt (WrestleMania 30)

The beginning of Wyatt's spiraling.

This is the very reason why "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt challenged John Cena to a match at WrestleMania, with the former cult leader's defeat proving to begin his downward spiral which would eventually form the Firefly Fun House.

While Wyatt has suffered other high-profile defeats to stars like The Undertaker and Randy Orton, this was the first. The 'Eater of Worlds' had been on a major roll heading into WrestleMania 30. He had won matches against Daniel Bryan and The Shield at consecutive pay-per-views but fell to Cena.

Despite being heavily tipped to defeat his heroic opponent, Bray Wyatt was put down at 'Mania as John Cena had his hand raised. This proved to begin a vicious cycle for Wyatt, who would lose big feud after big feud following this defeat in the Superdome.

A big win over a big name like John Cena on a big stage like WrestleMania would have legitimized Bray Wyatt as the next top star in WWE. And while he is at that level now, this defeat to Cena prevented him from reaching that level for years.

Wyatt did get to beat Cena for the WWE Championship, but that was followed by the damaging match he had with Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33. Hopefully, The Fiend can make things right and he can remain one of the best things on WWE programming, post-WrestleMania.

#1 w/Team WWE vs The Nexus (SummerSlam 2010)

Oh, what could have been.

This is the most unfortunate case of them all, as this had so much potential. The rookies from the first season of NXT all debuted in WWE, as The Nexus, and wrecked everything in sight. Barrett and co. had so much momentum on their side, until they ran into prime 'Super Cena'.

The Nexus was originally supposed to win their 7-on-7 elimination match against Team WWE at SummerSlam before John Cena swooped in and changed the finish. Wade Barrett was made to look like a fool for failing to put away Cena after hitting a DDT on the exposed concrete floor.

After that defeat, nothing would be the same for The Nexus. Their threat was wiped out and even Cena himself joining the group did not salvage anything.

Barrett could have realistically become the WWE Champion had his team been put over in the SummerSlam main event, but he and the company can only wonder what could have been.

Out of the seven members of The Nexus, only one of them remains an active performer on the WWE main roster. Heath Slater. Also, not including Daniel Bryan who was in their initial attack, the original Nexus members have won a grand total of zero WWE World Championships.

No matter how bad things got for John Cena's opponents, The Nexus will remain his biggest victims. Wade Barrett truly should have beaten Cena at SummerSlam, but he and his followers had their legs cut out from under them.