John Cena's top five best WWE matches

“The Goat” has pretty much all the top names in WWE

John Cena is one of the biggest stars in WWE history. While many people questioned his in-ring ability throughout his career, Cena proved time and time again that he could have great matches with just about anyone. Even a limited wrestler like The Great Khali had some of his best matches against Cena.

From his beginning in the Ruthless Aggression Era to the PG Era, ‘Big Match John’ worked with pretty much all the top names WWE had to offer during those years. While not all the matches set the world on fire, Cena competed in several classics. Let’s go back and look at John Cena’s definitive best WWE matches.

5. John Cena vs Brock Lesnar – Extreme Rules Match (Extreme Rules 2012)

Just one month after John Cena’s legendary clash with The Rock, ‘The Champ’ participated in yet another classic battle against the returning Brock Lesnar. While they’d wrestled in the past, including a WWE Championship match at Backlash 2003, this was a completely different Lesnar. ‘The Beast’ was returning from a great UFC run, so Cena was in for the beating of a lifetime.

Cena was absolutely destroyed right from the start, with Lesnar busting him open about a minute after the match began. It was a fantastic encounter and one of the most brutal matches of Cena’s career. Somehow, Cena was able to survive and was able to pick up the win over the former WWE & UFC Champion. While the result was questionable, the match was still fantastic.

Also Read: A detailed look at all of John Cena’s 16 WWE World Title reigns

4. John Cena vs Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Championship (Royal Rumble 2015)

Cena suffered the most humiliating loss of his career at the hands of Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2014. Cena’s rematch at Night of Champions the next month ended in a DQ after Seth Rollins interfered, trying to cash in his Money in the Bank contract. Rollins was unsuccessful but did find himself in the middle of the feud going forward.

All three men went at it in one of the best triple-threat matches of all time at Royal Rumble 2015. Cena and Rollins smartly took Lesnar out of the match and squared off in the ring, but ‘The Beast’ was able to come back. Rollins hit an impressive Phoenix Splash on Cena, and Lesnar was able to retain the gold after putting Rollins away with the F5.

3. John Cena vs Daniel Bryan – WWE Championship (SummerSlam 2013)

When John Cena was allowed to pick his opponent for SummerSlam 2013, the WWE Champion chose Daniel Bryan. At the time, the former American Dragon was on fire after a great tag team run with Kane, and Bryan was determined to capture the WWE Championship for the first time in his career. On the final Raw before the PPV, WWE COO Triple H became the special referee for the match.

The fact John Cena wrestled this match with a serious elbow injury makes his performance even more impressive. Bryan smartly targeted the injury right from the get-go, which was great psychology. Bryan shocked the world by debuting his running knee finisher and beating Cena clean. However, Bryan’s reign was cut short after Triple H hit him with a Pedigree, allowing Randy Orton to cash in Money in the Bank and win the title.

Also Read: Why is John Cena called the GOAT of WWE?

2. John Cena vs CM Punk (RAW February 25, 2013)

CM Punk’s historic 434-day reign as WWE Champion ended at the hands of The Rock at Royal Rumble 2013. Meanwhile, John Cena won his second Royal Rumble on the same night, opening the door for a potential rematch with ‘The Great One’ at WrestleMania 29. However, the former WWE Champion Punk still had something to say and challenged Cena for his title shot on Raw.

Fans didn’t know it at the time, but it was essentially the end of Cena’s rivalry with Punk. From a technical standpoint, it was the best match the rivals ever had. They threw their best shots at each other for nearly 27 minutes, with Punk even hitting a rare piledriver. In the end, Cena hit a hurricanrana straight into the AA for the win.

1. John Cena vs CM Punk – WWE Championship (Money In The Bank 2011)

Finally, John Cena’s very best match of his career took place against one of his best rivals, CM Punk. Emotions were high in Punk’s hometown of Chicago, as it was the final day of Punk’s WWE contract and the “powers that be” would try everything to avoid a Punk win. That got fans even more behind Punk, who entered to a huge ovation while Cena came down to thunderous boos.

While they had better matches in terms of the in-ring work (like the aforementioned Raw match in 2013 or even their great match at Night of Champions 2012), the epic story puts this one above all the rest. History was made that night as Punk was able to escape Money in the Bank 2011 with the WWE Title after connecting with the Go To Sleep.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Telegram.