The Top 20 Matches of John Cena: The Results

[Waffel113]

(Hmm...don't know why that picture isn't working.)



6.
John Cena vs. Edge - TLC for the WWE Championship - Unforgiven 2006 - September 17, 2006 - 41 Points (Voted #3 once)

From one encounter with Edge to the other we go.

Edge had recently recaptured the WWE Championship from John Cena and, in a mock-up of Cena's Spinner title, Edge had his new Championship custom-made to have a spinning "Rated R" logo as the centerplate.

A cocky Edge would place his title on the line in a match he had never lost (Tables, Ladders and Chairs), and in his hometown (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). With everything playing in his favor, one would assume that Edge had the win in the bag. However, he forgot the First Immutable Law of Cena: John Cena always wins his first match in any given stipulation.

However, this was a fantastic match between the two rivals that'd only end after Edge took a one-way trip off a ladder and through some well placed tables. A few seconds later, The Champ was here once again.

[Waffel113]

5.
John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels - Monday Night Raw - April 23, 2007 - 59 Points (Voted #2 twice)

It was about a month after WrestleMania, and in non-title action at the top of the second hour of Raw from London, Shawn Michaels would face WWE Champion John Cena in a match that apparently wasn't supposed to go past 20 minutes.

At the first commercial, the match was still going.

That was the case at the second.

At the third, people began to think we were seeing something special.

And indeed we were. For close to an hour, The Champ and The Heartbreak Kid held down the second hour of Raw, only coming to a stop in the 53rd minute, making it the longest non-Iron Man Match in Raw's history.

Oh, and Shawn won.

[Waffel113]

4.
John Cena vs. CM Punk - Winner goes to WrestleMania - Money Night Raw - February 25, 2013 - 66 Points (Voted #1 once)

The last, and some would say best, encounter between John Cena and CM Punk was a fitting cap to their amazing feud.

It was soon after Royal Rumble; CM Punk's historic 434-day WWE Championship reign had ended at the hands of The Rock. Meanwhile, John Cena had won the Royal Rumble and seemed destined to challenge The Rock in a rematch of their WrestleMania 28 encounter.

However, The Best in the World cried foul, and demanded Cena put his #1 Contendership on the line on Raw's main event. And the result was an instant classic.

Cena pulled out both his Huricanrana and a sit-out powerbomb. Punk kicked out at two.

Punk hit Cena with a Piledriver. Cena kicked out at two in turn.

The two rivals left everything in the ring, but in the end, Cena wouldn't be denied, putting the Straight Edge Savior away and continuing his path to WrestleMania 29.

[Waffel113]

3.
John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar - Extreme Rules - Extreme Rules 2012 - April 29, 2012 - 71 Points (Voted #2 four times)

When Brock Lesnar returned to lay out Cena the night after WrestleMania 28, people were skeptical. Cena wasn't WWE Champion and hadn't been since the last year. What did Lesnar have to gain by fighting him? Moreover, how would Lesnar do in his first WWE match in nearly 10 years?

Answer to the first question? Because Brock wanted to bring legitimacy back to WWE. Answer to the second? As if he never lost a step.

Early into the match, Lesnar rained down on Cena with a series of punches that cut The Champ open. After the ref cleaned Cena up, Lesnar returned and busted Cena over a second time.

Across the next half hour, Lesnar would beat John within an inch of his life, slowly, painfully, and without remorse.

In the end, it took a lucky shot with a chain-wrapped fist and an Attitude Adjustment onto steel steps to put The Beast away. But two years later, he would have his revenge...

[Waffel113]

Oi…final two tomorrow. Swear on my life. Hopefully next week won't be like this.

[Waffel113]

And so, after a long (needlessly long on my part) road, we've come down to our final two. The best two matches in John Cena's career as voted on by you, the FANs.

We have here two WWE Championship matches, and two WWE Championship losses for The Champ. Both could be claimed as the best matches of their respective years; one was the first Meltzer-certified ***** match in WWE since the 90s, the other came close with **** and 3/4. However, when all is said and done, #1 has a wide margin over #2. Without further ado...



2.
John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan - WWE Championship - SummerSlam 2013 - August 18, 2013 - 75 Points (Voted #1 once)
Special Guest Referee: Triple H

Shortly after his victory over Mark Henry at Money in the Bank, John Cena revealed that on Raw, he would handpick the man he would face for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. After teasing others, Cena chose Daniel Bryan.

Now Bryan, since the split of Team Hell No, was still putting on excellent matches, but seemed trapped in the midcard. However, many saw this to be his chance to break into the main event scene for good. The match was highly anticipated, even after the addition of Triple H as guest referee. But, the question was, could this match actually deliver?

Well, in the words of Bryan himself, the answer was a resounding "YES!" A spectacular main event filled with drama, continuity (part of the match is a spot-for-spot remake of a match the two had on Velocity nearly ten years earlier), excitement and yes, even terror (for a moment, it looked like Cena had spiked Bryan on his head during a spot).

After Cena shook off everything The Dragon threw at him, Bryan would pull out a never-before-seen maneuver that would soon earn the name "The Knee That Beat John Cena". Cena went down like a sack of potatoes, and Bryan would win his first WWE Championship.

Then, of course, Hunter betrayed Bryan and let Randy Orton cash in his Money in the Bank contract, but that's another story for another time...

[Waffel113]

1.
John Cena vs. CM Punk - WWE Championship - Money in the Bank 2011 - July 17, 2011 - 101 Points (Voted #1 eight times)

I imagine most of you saw this coming from the start.

By now the story is almost burned into the collective psyche of wrestling fans; after costing John Cena a Tables Match against R-Truth on Raw, CM Punk sat down on the stage and aired his grievances with not only Cena, but with the company itself, the fans, and his soon-to-be expired contract. However, he had one clear message: come July 17th, he would be leaving WWE, Championship in tow.

After a build which got WWE some of it's first mainstream press in years, things finally came to a head in front of a boiling hot crowd in Chicago, Illinois. CM Punk was hailed as the returning hero, a rebel with a cause. Cena, meanwhile, got arguably his most vicious crowd reaction since ECW One Night Stand way back in 2006. The resulting match was nothing short of extraordinary.

Punk survived two Attitude Adjustments and escaped the STF.

Cena kicked out of a GTS and got out of the Anaconda Vise.

And so it went for close to 45 minutes. By the end, The Champ caught Punk in a second STF, and the challenger seemed on the verge of tapping, when Mr. McMahon came down to ringside with Johnny Ace and ordered the bell be rung. Now of course, Cena doesn't play like that. So he broke the hold, headed outside, and did the boys in the back a favor by clocking the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations before he could ring the bell.

Cena headed back into the ring...and fell victim to the GTS! One 3-count later, CM Punk was WWE Champion. Vince ordered newly-minted Mr. Money in the Bank Alberto Del Rio to cash in on the champ, but Punk simply kicked Del Rio in the head and headed off into the crowd. Truly, one of the most legendary matches in WWE history.

[bob]

1 John Cena vs CM Punk MITB 2011 (1)
2 John Cena vs Shawn Michaels RAW from England (5)
3 John Cena vs Brock Lesnar Extreme Rules 2012 (3)
4 John Cena vs Daniel Bryan Summer Slam 2013 (2)
5 John Cena vs Rob Van Dam One Night Stand 2005 (10)
6 The Miz vs John Morrison vs John Cena Extreme Rules 2011 (16)
7 CM Punk vs John Cena Summer Slam 2011 (19)
8 CM Punk vs John Cena Night of Champions 2012 (20)
9 John Cena vs Shawn Michaels WM 23 (9)
10 2008 Royal Rumble (26)

[Waffel113]

Oh, and as for next week. Start brushing up on your late era WCW, because it'll be eligible.

[MikeyMania]

1. John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan - SummerSlam 2013 (2)
2. John Cena vs. CM Punk - Money in the Bank 2011 (1)
3. John Cena vs. CM Punk - Monday Night Raw (4)
4. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels - Monday Night Raw (5)
5. John Cena vs. Edge - Unforgiven 2006 (6)
6. John Cena vs. Umaga - Royal Rumble 2007 (8)
7. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar - Extreme Rules 2012 (3)
8. John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam - ECW One Night Stand 2006 (10)
9. John Cena vs. JBL - Judgement Day 2005 (11)
10. John Cena vs. Randy Orton - Bragging Rights 2009 (26)

[AdamAFL was sooooo wrong]

1) John Cena vs. CM Punk, WWE Championship - Money In The Bank 2011 (1)
2) CM Punk vs. John Cena - RAW (25th February 2013) (4)
3) John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan, WWE Championship - Summerslam 2013 (2)
4) Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena, Extreme Rules - Extreme Rules (3)
5) Edge vs. John Cena, TLC, WWE Championship - Unforgiven 2006 (6)
6) John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels - RAW (23rd April 2007) (5)
7) John Cena vs. Edge, Last Man Standing, WWE Championship - Backlash 2009 (7)
8) John Cena vs. Chris Jericho vs. Edge vs. Kane vs. Mike Knox vs. Rey Mysterio, Elimination Chamber, WWE Championship - No Way Out 2009 (20)
9) John Cena vs. Umaga, Last Man Standing, WWE Championship - Royal Rumble 2007 (8)
10) John Cena vs. Kurt Angle - No Mercy 2003 (26)

My top 7 was a muddled up version of the actual top 7 and 8 of the overall top 10 were in my top 10. Nice to see plenty of FANs with a similar opinion to myself.

[Hulk With A Mustache]

John Cena
10. John Cena VS Edge, TLC Match For The WWE Title, Unforgiven 2006 (6)
9. John Cena VS Batista, WWE Title Match, WrestleMania 26 (24)
8. John Cena VS Rob Van Dam, WWE Title Match, ECW One Night Stand 2006 (10)
7. John Cena VS Batista, SummerSlam 2008 (12)
6. John Cena VS Edge, Last Man Standing Match For The World Heavyweight Title, Backlash (7)
5. John Cena VS Shawn Michaels, WWE Title Match, WrestleMania 23 (9)
4. John Cena VS Triple H, WWE Title Match, Night Of Champions 2008 (14)
3. John Cena VS Daniel Bryan, WWE Title Match, SummerSlam 2013 (2)
2. John Cena VS Brock Lesnar, Extreme Rules Match, Extreme Rules 2012 (3)
1. John Cena VS CM Punk, WWE Title Match, Money In The Bank 2011 (1)