"One of the best wrestling matches I've ever seen" - JBL praises underrated John Cena WWE match

John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) says John Cena vs. Umaga at the 2007 WWE Royal Rumble is one of the best matches he has ever seen in person.

Cena defeated Umaga to retain the WWE Championship in a Last Man Standing match. One of the most memorable moments from the 23-minute encounter came when Cena moved out of the way of Umaga’s splash onto the announce table.

Speaking on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw, JBL recalled how he watched the physical match unfold from ringside.

“He [Umaga] wrestled a match with John Cena one time. I think it was a Royal Rumble. That’s when you have different commentary teams for different tables, so I was not doing commentary. I remember taking off my headphones and just listening to the crowd, because I was sitting ringside, and at one point Umaga goes running across the table and does a splash, Cena moves and he [Umaga] goes through a table. It was one of the best wrestling matches I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen tens of thousands of matches,” JBL said.

JBL added that Umaga, who passed away in 2009, was “such a good athlete” and his matches were “unbelievable” to watch live in person.

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John Cena’s WWE rivalry with Umaga

John Cena defeated Umaga in WWE Championship matches at New Year’s Revolution and the Royal Rumble in January 2007.

The match at the Royal Rumble ended when Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment on Umaga before using a rope to lock in his STF submission. The Samoan failed to answer the referee’s 10-count, which meant Cena won the grueling Last Man Standing match.

Later in the year, Cena defeated Umaga again in a Triple Threat match – also involving The Great Khali – on RAW in June 2007.

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