WWE legend believes John Cena's championship record "holds more water" than Ric Flair's

WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray recently shared his thoughts on John Cena and Ric Flair's legendary 16-time world championship record.

The Cenation Leader tied Flair's long-standing record when he won his 16th world title after defeating AJ Styles at Royal Rumble 2017. Comparisons have been made between the two stars' title reigns since then, with fans being split between the record holders.

Sharing his thoughts on the eternal debate on the latest Busted Open podcast, Bully Ray stated that Cena's accomplishments have come in WWE. However, Flair's title record consists of titles from various other promotions:

"John Cena has the highest number of WWE World Heavyweight Championships,"- said Bully. "Since it is the same number, Cena is at 16 WWE World Heavyweight Championships and Ric Flair is at 16 total World Heavyweight Championships, WWE and other companies included, Cena's record holds more water to me. And that's who we should be talking about when it comes to Randy Orton breaking a record." (From 6:04 to 6:34)

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Bully Ray continued to talk about John Cena and Ric Flair's record

The former team 3-D member went on to discuss both stars' title runs in detail. Bully stressed that while Flair's accomplishments are legendary, Cena has accomplished more in the world of WWE.

The Hall of Famer reiterated that the Hustle Loyalty Respect Soldier sits at the top of the WWE World Championship ladder:

"John [Cena] has held 16-time WWE World Heavyweight Championships. Thus, the conversation should be about John Cena and not Ric Flair. From now on I am talking about Randy Orton beating John Cena's World Heavyweight Championship streak. We're not talking about the NWA or the AWA or any other championship. You wanna talk about total World Heavyweight championships? Different conversation. But in the world of WWE, Cena sits at the top of the World Heavyweight Championship ladder," Ray added. (From 9:50 to 10:32)

Besides being a 16-time world champion, Big Match John is also a five-time United States Champion, a four-time world tag team champion, a two-time Royal Rumble match winner, and a one-time Money in the Bank match-winner.

The legendary superstar has now transitioned to a part-time role in the company. Cena was last seen inside the squared circle at SummerSlam 2021, where he unsuccessfully challenged Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship.

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If you use any quotes from the article, please credit the Busted Open podcast with H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for transcription.