John Cena’s two-decade run at the top of WWE has been legendary, and the 17-time champion has had more than his fair share of iconic matches.
Cena is set to retire from WWE at the end of 2025 after an epic retirement tour that has seen him face Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, and Randy Orton.
The star has produced more ‘big’ WWE matches than anyone else, with Cena competing at all five of the most successful WrestleMania events of all time.
John Cena vs Daniel Bryan – WWE SummerSlam 2013
Cena and Daniel Bryan’s clash at SummerSlam in 2013 looked to be a changing of the guard between the two popular babyfaces.
It didn’t quite work out like that, but the two men did put on a thrilling clash at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The 17-time champion more than matched Bryan’s immense in-ring ability as Cena stepped up to one of the star’s widely considered as the best wrestler of all time.
Cena putting Bryan over felt like WWE was listening to its fans for the first time in a while, but it was used as a vehicle for Orton to cash-in his Money in the Bank briefcase after the match.
Nevertheless, Bryan and Cena produced one of the 17-time champion’s best-ever matches in 2013.
John Cena vs Shawn Michaels – WWE Raw 2007
Cena didn’t always save his best matches for WWE’s PLE, with his near-hour-long clash with Shawn Michaels as the best example of that.
The incredible clash of eras took up nearly a whole half of WWE Raw in 2007 in front of a red hot crowd at The O2 Arena in London.
It’s a testament to both men that they were able to keep WWE audiences thrilled for nearly an hour, almost completely out of the blue.
Alongside his match with Punk on WWE Raw in 2013, this is Cena’s best-ever television match.
John Cena vs AJ Styles – WWE Money in the Bank 2016
For the longest time, AJ Styles vs Cena looked like one of the biggest dream matches that might never happen.
Styles was the face of TNA for a long time, but his Royal Rumble debut in 2016 meant the match could become a reality.
It didn’t take long for WWE to book the two men together and none of their matches were ever a disappointment.
Their clash at Money in the Bank was their best, as both men proved they had an almost sixth sense chemistry when they got together in the ring.
They couldn’t be further from each other in terms of style, but their Money in the Bank clash was magic.
John Cena vs CM Punk – WWE Money in the Bank 2011
Punk is one of Cena’s greatest ever rivals and every single one of their clashes in WWE was utterly fascinating.
And none more so than their Money in the Bank clash in 2011, which saw Punk walk out of the company with the WWE Championship.
The breaking down of kayfabe, especially with Punk’s infamous ‘pipe bomb’ leading into the match, gave it an incredible energy that not many have ever been able to replicate.
Punk was roared on by a hometown Chicago crowd and Cena played his role to a tee as it looked like he might break their hearts.
John Cena vs Rob Van Dam – ECW One Night Stand 2006
Cena’s clash with Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand will forever be his best-ever WWE match for a multitude of reasons.
At the time, Cena had become a dominant babyface – but his popularity was waning with ‘hardcore’ wrestling fans for his cartoon-y character.
Enter ECW One Night Stand and Rob Van Dam, two things hardcore wrestling fans love more than anything, in one of the most legendary wrestling venues of all time, the Hammerstein Ballroom.
The atmosphere was incredible, brimming with a belief it could turn incredibly nasty should Cena pick up the win.
Thankfully, he didn’t, with RVD becoming WWE Champion in one of the loudest and most raucous endings in wrestling history.
Cena and Rob Van Dam reunited at a FanExpo in 2025, which put fans into a stupor online such is the status of this legendary match.