5 WWE Superstars who beat John Cena clean

John Cena.

To some, he's the ultimate Superstar, with a great look, impressive in-ring ability and the ability to handle himself as a face of the company.

To others, he is everything wrong in wrestling: a squeaky clean goody-two-shoes who hogged the top spot for too long, often at the expense of his fellow Superstars. And though Cena is seen by many as an unbeatable machine, there have been occasions when Big Match John has fallen.

Whilst the majority of Cena's losses have come from nefarious means, there have even been times when Cena simply faced off against an opponent better than him. Whether it be due to size, cunning or experience, these WWE Superstars had his number.

Here are five WWE Superstars who beat John Cena clean.

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#5. The Great Khali

Khali flattened Cena at Saturday Night's Main Event in the opening match of the show.

John Cena is known for being something of a giant-slayer in WWE, with huge stars like the Big Show and Umaga all falling by his hand. But in 2007, Cena faced literally his biggest foe, when the Great Khali made it clear he was gunning for Cena's WWE Championship.

Facing off at the 34th Saturday Night's Main Event in May 2007, the non-title match between the two opened the show, already a shocking thing when you consider Cena's usual position in the main event.

What made the bout even more shocking is that Khali won fair and square. No outside interference, no cheesy gimmicks; just winning.

Clocking in at just over six minutes, the match was one of the shortest of the night, and though Khali never captured the WWE title, he would capture the vacant World Heavyweight Championship not long later.

#4. AJ Styles

Styles definitively won the feud between the pair back in the summer of 2016.

The debut year of AJ Styles may go down as one of the best in WWE history.

Joining at the 2016 Royal Rumble, Styles' rise to the top was meteoric, so it was only a matter of time before the former TNA star faced WWE golden boy John Cena.

After coming up short at Money in the Bank thanks to the club, the 16-time World Champion got his rematch at the following Summerslam.

With neither Gallows nor Anderson in sight, many expected Cena to get his win back, but it was the Phenomenal One who emerged victorious.

With two huge wins under his belt, Styles proved all naysayers wrong, and by the end of the next SmackDown pay per view Backlash, Styles had taken his spot on top as the new WWE Champion.

#3. Kevin Owens

Then the NXT Champion, Kevin Owens made his presence felt on the main roster by flattening Cena.

When Kevin Owens joined WWE in late 2014, the Canadian Superstar vowed to make an impression.

Doing just that, Owens won the NXT Championship just two months into his career and shocked everyone when he appeared on RAW months later to answer John Cena's open challenge.

Refusing to fight Cena for on freeTV, the pair faced off at Elimination Chamber 2015, in what was a sink or swim moment for the Prizefighter.

As both men gave their all, the fans were hooked, though it was Owens who won the bout, demolishing the 16-time World Champion with a devastating Pop Up Powerbomb.

With such a huge win under his belt, Owens would quickly capture the Intercontinental Championship shortly after becoming a main roster star and won the Universal title the next year.

#2. Batista

The Animal demolished Cena in the first singles match between the two in 2008.

Despite spending the majority of their careers on opposing brands, the careers of John Cena and Batista have often been linked. After all, the pair both won their first World Championships on the same night at WrestleMania 21 in 2005.

By Summerslam 2008, both the Animal and Cena had been skyrocketed to the top, with the match between the pair considered a dream bout. During the match though, things turned sour as though Batista would beat Cena clean, John was injured in the process.

Forced to sit on the sidelines, the absence of Big Match John was apparent, as the company played hot potato with the World Heavyweight title.

Returning that November at Survivor Series, Cena quickly returned to his winning ways, toppling Chris Jericho for the gold in his very first match back from injury.

#1. Kurt Angle

Cena came up short in his debut match against Kurt Angle.

In mid-2002, Kurt Angle was not a happy man.

After losing his hair to Edge at Judgement Day, Angle was on a tear on SmackDown and issued an open challenge to any Superstar in the back. This challenge was answered by a new rookie, one that fans had never seen before.

Introducing himself as John Cena, the young Superstar from West Newbury, Mass, was the embodiment of Vince McMahon's ideology of Ruthless Aggression. Unfortunately, the said aggression wasn't quite enough to defeat Angle, as the Olympian beat Cena in his very first match on the WWE main roster.

Despite this loss being a setback, we all know what would happen next, as Cena would bounce back, becoming one of the most popular stars on both SmackDown and RAW and having a truly Hall of Fame worthy career.