5 of John Cena's Toughest WWE Opponents

John Cena was the face of WWE from 2005 until 2016. He is a 16-time champion, a 5-time US champion and a 4-time tag team champion. Cena is a sure-fire WWE Hall of Famer and will go down as one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time.

Along the way, Cena has headlined countless WWE pay-per-views and matched up with nearly every major WWE Superstar of the past 15 years. In that time, he’s had feuds with the likes of Batista, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho. While those encounters were memorable, they were not the best feuds or toughest opponents for Cena at the time.

Cena’s ring style featured power and physicality shown by few others. His style worked better with some than others. Some WWE Superstars were able to push Cena to the limit because of the perfect meshing of styles.

Here is a list of the 5 toughest opponents John Cena has faced.

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#5. WWE’s champion vs. champion rivalry: Kevin Owens

As the long-time face of WWE, John Cena was often criticized for not elevating up-and-coming talent. Cena’s battles with Kevin Owens should make his critics rethink this notion. Kevin Owens, the reigning NXT Champion at the time, attacked Cena on an episode of RAW. Cena would seek payback against KO at WWE’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

Surprising nearly everyone, Owens went on to defeat Cena in an incredibly entertaining match at the Elimination Chamber. Owens survived Cena’s assaults, showed off his own skills and put Cena away with a powerbomb. This one victory, as decisive as it was, elevated Kevin Owens more than any title could have.

Owens and Cena would go on to complete their trilogy of matches at two more pay-per-views: Money in the Bank and Battleground. Cena would win both matches but each match was more grueling than the next. The feud would end with Cena on top but with Owens earning the respect of the entire WWE Universe.

#4. WWE’s twice in a lifetime matchups with The Rock

In 2011, the WWE set up a match between two icons: John Cena and the Rock. Following a WrestleMania loss to the Miz in which the Rock screwed Cena, the two agreed to have a match one year later, at the next WrestleMania. For a year, the two would exchange barbs and even tag team together briefly in anticipation of the mega-match.

At WrestleMania 28, in the Rock’s hometown of Miami, the two finally went at it in the main event. The match, like the pre-match exchanges, lived up to the hype. In the end, Rock was able to defeat Cena in what many thought would be the last battle between the two WWE Superstars.

When the Rock returned the following year to defeat CM Punk for the WWE Title, a rematch seemed inevitable. Cena would win the Royal Rumble and the rematch, this time for the WWE Championship, would headline WrestleMania for the second straight year.

In front of a packed house at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the two went toe-to-toe in another classic back-and-forth match. The match featured multiple near falls before Cena was finally able to gain his revenge and get his payback, defeating the Rock for the WWE Title. Rock would raise Cena’s hand in admiration after the bout.

Cena and the Rock were the perfect pairing at the right time. Two WWE icons, one a movie star and one about to be a movie star. Each a face of the WWE during their prime. The two would be featured in three straight WrestleManias before the feud came to a close.

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#3. WWE’s pipe bomb feud with CM Punk

CM Punk vs. John Cena was a near perfect meshing of contrasting styles. Punk was the indie darling beloved by hardcore fans. Cena was the supposed creation of the WWE machine, marketed and polished. Punk was an old school performer with tons of talent. Cena was a beefy bruiser that showcased his power. The two couldn’t have been more different and yet, more perfect for each other.

The two had three epic matches pitting their contrasting styles and defining WWE from 2011-2013. It started with Punk complaining that he was not the chosen one like Cena and ended with WWE fans clamoring for more bouts between the two as the two put on a three-match clinic.

Punk lived up to his reputation as a great worker in each encounter, winning the WWE Title from Cena at Money in the Bank in his hometown of Chicago in match one. Cena would defy his critics by putting on an outstanding performance in that match and again in their follow-up confrontation at SummerSlam. Punk would win again but the match was a five star classic.

The two met one final time, this time on an episode of RAW before Cena’s second WrestleMania match with the Rock. It was a 30 minute classic in which, this time, Cena pulled out the victory. CM Punk brought out the best in John Cena and John Cena helped Punk become the star he deserved to be.

#2. WWE’s Rated R Superstar Edge vs. WWE’s PG Champion

As WWE continued to build up John Cena as the ultimate “good guy”, the company needed a perfect “bad guy” to counter him. In 2006, that guy was Edge. Edge won the Money in the Bank briefcase, became WWE Champion by pinning a bloodied Cena following his own title defense inside the Elimination Chamber, and a rivalry was born.

Perhaps no one, outside of the #1 WWE Superstar on this list, has met Cena in as many title matches as Edge. The two would feud throughout 2006 and headline five different pay-per-views. They would go on to exchange the title on four separate occasions. Like Punk, Edge was able to bring out a side of Cena rarely seen. In this case, it was the darker side of Cena rarely seen during the PG era. Cena famously gave Edge an “Attitude Adjustment” from the top of a ladder in a TLC match.

The two would face off countless times between television matches and pay-per-views, however, the pairing never felt stale. The encounters were violent, dark and often pushed each superstar right to the, pardon the expression, edge.

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#1. Cena’s longest running WWE advisory: Randy Orton

John Cena and Randy Orton came into the WWE together in 2002. They were part of a legendary foursome that included Batista and Brock Lesnar known as the OVW 4. The two would not lock horns in WWE until 2007. Orton battled the then WWE Champion Cena on three separate occasions. Cena retained the title throughout, though he eventually relinquished it due to injury. Orton would end 2007 as WWE Champion.

The rivalry was renewed in 2008 when Cena returned and won the Royal Rumble. He would eventually face Orton, along with Triple H, at WrestleMania in a triple threat match but was unable to take the title from Orton. The title would soon change hands with Triple H and the Orton-Cena feud was on hold again.

The Orton vs. Cena rivalry would heat up two more times, in 2009 and 2013-14. They would exchange the title on three different occasions in 2009.

The stakes were even higher when the two met in 2013. This time Cena held the World Heavyweight Championship while Orton was WWE Champion. Orton would defeat Cena with outside interference to successfully unify the titles.

Randy Orton came in with John Cena and met him in the ring more than any other WWE Superstar. The rivalry was Cena’s toughest and one of the greatest in WWE history.