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Ranking John Cena’s Greatest WrestleMania Matches

By Ernesto Solano

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - APRIL 1: John Cena looks on before his match against Dwayne ''The Rock'' Johnson during WrestleMania XXVIII at Sun Life Stadium on April 1, 2012 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Ron Elkman/Sports Imagery/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - APRIL 1: John Cena looks on before his match against Dwayne ''The Rock'' Johnson during WrestleMania XXVIII at Sun Life Stadium on April 1, 2012 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Ron Elkman/Sports Imagery/Getty Images) /
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WWE, John Cena
WWE, John Cena (Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images) /

This year’s WrestleMania is set to be the first without John Cena in any capacity since 2003. In years where he wasn’t scheduled to compete because of injury of Hollywood commitments, he managed to make cameo appearances at the very least. This year, it appears he won’t be able to do that either.

Surely, the 16-time world champion has a few ‘Mania appearances left in him, (he’s part of the ad campaign for WM in 2023). Until that next one comes, though, let’s reminisce on his best bouts at the biggest show of the year and revisit the moments that made them worth remembering.

WM 22: John Cena vs. Triple H for the WWE Championship (2006)

By late 2005, everything about John Cena riled up audiences all over the world and message boards throughout the world wide web. Cena’s polarity among fans reached its peak in Chicago, where he defended his WWE Championship against Triple H at WrestleMania 22. This match was a great example of the relationship between the crowd and the wrestlers and how their symbiosis could make or break a match.

The hostility towards Cena boosted this match from average to entertaining. Technically, not much stood out. The two delivered the drama in the closing stretch, with a fun finish that saw Cena slip out of a Pedigree attempt to apply his STFU (now the STF) submission hold to the challenger. Triple H reached his left arm out to grab the bottom rope, and when it seemed he was close to breaking the count, he tapped out instead. That proximity sent the crowd into delirium and made for a surprising finish when HHH decided enough was enough and it was time to surrender.

WM XXX: John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt (2014)

This storyline sucked. The blame for that, however, mostly goes to their post-‘Mania matches, because this match wasn’t particularly bad. I think Cena hammed it up a bit too much with his “tormented soul” selling only to come out of the match as pure-hearted and happy-go-lucky as ever. Heading into this match, Bray Wyatt and the Wyatt Family felt like a very big deal, only for that to be tarnished with Bray’s clean loss to Cena.

Still, the match was fun and Harper & Rowan’s involvement made for some exciting moments. Cena would neutralize them when he jumped off the top rope and landed on Wyatt’s devotees outside of the ring and then sent Harper through the barricade. This match was in the early stages of the Bray Wyatt character, and with all the work he has done since WrestleMania XXX, it’s easy to forget how compelling he was from the start.

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