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The spring of 2002 saw John Cena being promoted to WWE's main roster after a brief stint in Ohio Valley Wrestling. Three years later, he had become possibly the hottest Superstar in WWE and won the WWE title for the first time in his career when he defeated JBL at WrestleMania 21.
Following his victory at The Show of Shows, John Cena began getting pushed to the moon, and he put down some of the biggest names in the company, including Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Edge, and Triple H.
He became a 16-time World Champion over the next 12 years or so, and became a polarizing figure in the eyes of the WWE Universe. Many accused John Cena of always looking out for himself and not pushing someone else.
The truth is far from that, though. In this slideshow, we'll look at five WWE Superstars John Cena has put over, after he became a big name in the company.
#5 Roman Reigns
By the time 2017 came around, Roman Reigns had become possibly the biggest Superstar in the promotion. He had become one of only two Superstars who could say that they had beaten The Undertaker at WrestleMania. Soon after SummerSlam 2017, where John Cena defeated Baron Corbin, he got into a feud with The Big Dog, in what many dubbed as a dream rivalry between two big names of their respective eras.
The duo cut scathing promos on each other, leading up to their match at No Mercy 2017. Reigns made it clear that John Cena was old news, while the latter hit back hard by stating that he had to come back because Roman couldn't do his job. The eventual match saw Reigns defeating Cena, who proceeded to endorse Reigns following the match, in a "passing of the torch" moment.
#4 AJ Styles
Many fans feared about how WWE would use AJ Styles when he made his big debut at the Royal Rumble 2016 PPV. Styles had a strong showing in the free-for-all and went on to feud with a bunch of major stars like Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns.
Looking back now, it is safe to say that WWE handled Styles as well as they could have. He is one of the biggest names in the company today and has won the WWE title on two occasions. Styles targeted John Cena a while after WrestleMania 32, and the two fought at Money In The Bank 2016, with Styles winning due to interference by The Club.
Styles and Cena faced each other in a one-on-one setting again at SummerSlam 2016, with John Cena again suffering a loss. The Phenomenal One went on to defeat Dean Ambrose to become WWE Champion for the first time.
Soon after, he faced John Cena and Ambrose in a Triple Threat match at No Mercy and won the contest by pinning John Cena in the end. Styles' successive victories against John Cena were instrumental in cementing him as one of the biggest Superstars on the Blue brand.
#3 Daniel Bryan
In 2013, as SummerSlam approached, the WWE Universe was as ready as they had ever been to see Daniel Bryan get a major push and a shot at the WWE title. He had been a fan-favorite for a long time at that point and fans couldn't wait to see the underdog get a push he deserved. John Cena got into a feud with Bryan on the road to SummerSlam and a WWE title match was set between the two at The Biggest Party of the Summer.
At the event, the two Superstars collided in the final match of the show, officiated by Triple H. In the end, Daniel Bryan managed to pin John Cena in the biggest victory of his career at that point in time. Bryan had just pinned the biggest Superstar of the modern era in clean fashion.
The crowd erupted in unison, as there were many who were fearing that John Cena wouldn't put their favorite Superstar over. Bryan's celebration didn't last long though, as Randy Orton cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase soon after and won the title with some help from Triple H.
#2 Brock Lesnar
When Brock Lesnar made his big return to WWE in 2012, he targeted John Cena immediately. After weeks of clashes, the two finally met at Extreme Rules. The bloody brawl ended with John Cena somehow managing to put The Beast down. Lesnar had been built up as an unstoppable force leading up to the event, and John Cena's win was a surprise for many fans.
A couple of years later, Lesnar became the first Superstar to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania. WWE had made it clear that he was going to be pushed heavily. At SummerSlam, Lesnar faced John Cena for the WWE World title. This match is widely regarded as a major shocker, as it saw Lesnar completely squash the biggest Superstar in WWE at the time.
16 German Suplexes were delivered to John Cena. The second F-5 did the job and Lesnar won the WWE World title in possibly the most dominant performance of his WWE career. John Cena, who had been pushed like no one else for a long time, had just been destroyed by Lesnar without The Beast breaking a sweat.
#1 CM Punk
Soon after WrestleMania 27, CM Punk cut one of the greatest promos in WWE history, now famously known as The Pipebomb. He promised that he would defeat John Cena at Money In The Bank 2011 and leave the company with the WWE title on his shoulders.
Vince McMahon did everything he could to prevent that from happening, but Punk defeated John Cena in a 5-star classic to win the WWE title. Immediately after, Vince called out Alberto Del Rio to cash in his MITB briefcase on Punk, but he was put down with a kick to the head as soon as he entered the ring.
Punk left WWE but returned in a matter of days to continue his feud with John Cena. At SummerSlam, the two met again in one of the most anticipated rematches of all time. When all was said and done, Punk defeated John Cena again to retain his WWE title.
This was almost a decade ago when John Cena losing two major back-to-back matches was a rare occurrence. Unfortunately, Punk lost the title minutes after, due to an attack by the returning Kevin Nash and a cash-in by Alberto Del Rio.
