What’s the story?
In an interesting debate amongst the wrestling fans of the internet community, Reddit user SteVanDan pointed out every instance where John Cena lost ‘clean' since 2005. However, the list is not comprehensive as we have only included singles and triple threat matches.
In addition to that, this list only accounts matches in which Cena was either pinned or submitted, and the loss was ‘clean.’
Shawn Michaels, RAW, April 23, 2007Great Khali, Saturday Night's Main Event, June 2, 2007Triple H, Night of Champions 2008Batista, Summerslam 2008Big Show, RAW, March 30, 2009Randy Orton, Hell in a Cell 2009The Rock, Wrestlemania 28Daniel Bryan, Summerslam 2013Brock Lesnar, Summerslam 2014Kevin Owens, Elimination Chamber 2015Alberto Del Rio, Hell in a Cell 2015AJ Styles, Summerslam 2016Dean Ambrose, Smackdown, September 20, 2016Randy Orton, Smackdown, January 31, 2017
Bray Wyatt, Elimination Chamber, January 12, 2017Bray Wyatt, SmackDown, February 14, 2017
In case you didn't know...
In wrestling terminology, a clean finish refers to a match that ends without the use of illegal weapons or outside interference, usually in the centre of the ring. Cena’s most recent loss came earlier this week when he was pinned by Champion Bray Wyatt during the Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship which also included AJ Styles.
Here are some highlights from the match:
The heart of the matter
John Cena is without a doubt one of the most protected wrestlers in the history of Sports Entertainment. The Franchise player has done it all when it comes to in-ring accolades and has been at the top of the WWE food chain for over a decade.
Over the years, Cena has garnered a bad reputation for burying budding talents. However, the Cena we see today appears to be more open to the idea of putting over other wrestlers. As a singles competitor, Cena has already lost three of the five matches he has fought since the beginning of 2017.
Also, AJ Styles recently confirmed that Cena insisted on taking a pin from Bray during their match on the February 14th edition of SmackDown. A class act indeed!
What's next?
As reported earlier, Cena is expected to take an eight-month long hiatus from WWE TV following Wrestlemania 33. While the reason behind the sabbatical has not been established, Cena’s commitments outside the ring might trigger the move.
Sportskeeda's take
As much as he would deny it, Cena these days is nothing more than a decorated part timer. And while we do appreciate the work he is doing within the ring and outside of it, it is certainly the time for him to take a back seat and maybe even help WWE to create a few Superstars in the process.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
