John Cena and Brock Lesnar look set for another huge WWE match after The Beast’s SummerSlam return.
Lesnar attacked Cena at SummerSlam as The Beast shocked the world with his first WWE appearance in two years.
Cena and Lesnar have a storied history throughout WWE, with the pair colliding 39 times between 2001 and 2015.
However, their first high-profile WWE match in 2003 was heavily criticised, but not for the reason you might think.
Fans felt John Cena wasn’t ready for the huge WWE spotlight
Cena and Lesnar’s first PPV match took place all the way back in 2003 as the then-Doctor of Thuganomics challenged The Beast for the WWE Championship.
“Definitely felt like a bit too early to put Cena in the main event scene,” said one fan on internet wrestling database CageMatch, where it holds a 5.42 rating out of 10.
Another fan agreed, writing: “Cena at this stage just doesn’t feel like a credible threat to Brock in a title match.”
Many fans felt Cena was pushed too early at the time, and he just wasn’t ready for a match of this stature against Lesnar.
One fan wrote: “Cena is sloppy and a bit tentative,” while another said: “Cena showed promise, but was green.”
Another wrote: “The problem with this match is Cena was still green at the time and two years shy of a serious push.”
Lesnar picked up the win to continue his WWE Championship run after a 15-minute bout in Cena’s home state.
When was John Cena and Brock Lesnar’s last WWE match?
Lesnar and Cena collided several times after The Beast returned to WWE in 2012, including his first match back in the company.
The pair’s last match came a decade ago at the 2015 Royal Rumble, but it wasn’t just Cena and Lesnar in the match.
Lesnar defended his WWE Championship in a triple-threat match against Cena and Seth Rollins, escaping the match with his title.
Cena and Lesnar look set for one more match before the 17-time champion retires, with the most likely destination looking Clash in Paris on August 31.