John Cena has had an illustrious career that guarantees him a spot in WWE’s coveted Hall of Fame.

From his ruthlessly aggressive debut in 2002, the Leader of the Cenation embarked on a two-decade run of dominance. Having won all there is for a main event-calibre WWE Superstar, The Champ’s record-breaking 17 World Championship reigns place him on a pedestal unparalleled by many wrestlers in history. He overtook Ric Flair‘s record at WrestleMania 41, beating Cody Rhodes to become the record holder for the most title wins.

Having announced his plans to retire at the end of 2025, the WWE Universe has been spending Mr Hustle, Loyalty and Respect’s last months reminiscing on his best moments in the squared circle. Experiencing countless highly acclaimed matches throughout his career, Cena has had the pleasure of mixing it up with numerous generations’ greatest grapplers.

From Triple H to CM Punk, there isn’t a main event star that the 17-time champ hasn’t thrived with. As he prepares to sail into the sunset, let GIVEMESPORT take you down memory lane as we rank John Cena’s 10 best WWE rivals.

10

Brock Lesnar

Starting off the list is the battle between two of WWE’s biggest stars. Having both sat under the learning tree of Ohio Valley Wrestling before their main roster ventures, the duo would have to wait until 2012 before they could showcase their talents together. With a handful of short SmackDown encounters against each other, The Beast Incarnate‘s return to the WWE in 2012 created a rivalry for the ages.

Having lost to The Rock at WrestleMania 28, the Raw after ‘Mania saw Brock Lesnar return to WWE and attack The Leader of the Cenation. The pair would face off at Extreme Rules, in their best-rated encounter, before moving on to SummerSlam and Night of Champions in 2014..

Notably, the SummerSlam encounter saw The Beast Incarnate dominate Cena like no one had before, winning the World Heavyweight Championship in the process. Despite few in-ring interactions between the pair, every time Lesnar and Cena squared off, the WWE Universe could feel the aura of two larger-than-life stars.

9

Kevin Owens

The only rivalry on this list to not include a World Championship, Cena’s 2015 encounter with Kevin Owens was some of his most inspired work. Embarking on weekly open challenges, Cena would face off against any daring challenger. From established stars to up-and-comers, the surprise feud with Kevin Owens led to a trilogy of fantastic matches.

Answering the call, The Prizefighter didn’t fight Cena on Raw, but instead attacked him. Setting up the pair’s first encounter at the Elimination Chamber PLE, Owens would win the nearly 20-minute bout. The Leader of the Cenation would go on to defeat Owens at the two PLEs after that, only one of those being for the United States Championship specifically.

A pairing with undeniable chemistry, it set up Owens to have an incredible main roster career. A certified star, Cena’s ability to make his opponents look incredible and cement them as credible threats is commendable. A feud that Cena ultimately won, proved that he wasn’t just about putting himself over, but was also willing to create new stars.

8

Bray Wyatt

A classic battle of good vs evil, John Cena spent the first half of 2014 locked in a psychological battle with The Eater of Worlds. For fans, Bray Wyatt was the shot in the arm that the WWE roster needed, and many gravitated towards him as a future star following the departure of CM Punk and the injury to Daniel Bryan. Although, in typical fashion, Cena didn’t let the darkness win the day.

Many are still of the opinion that John Cena’s constant victories over Wyatt were unneeded and ultimately damaged the mystique of his character in the long run, but the segments involving the two created truly captivating television. Plus, after initially being obsessed with the deconstruction of Cena, the Firefly Funhouse match the two shared in 2020 will go down in history as one of the most genius ideas in wrestling history, as Bray finally stood tall over a defeated Cena, making an impression on fans that they won’t soon forget.

7

Kurt Angle

Next, let’s take you back to John Cena’s famous WWE debut. It’s a moment that has been replayed countless times before, so the line about having ‘ruthless aggression’ is etched in the minds of almost all wrestling fans, but it’s fair to say there may not have been many better options to bed Cena into the WWE landscape than the Olympic Hero.

With four pay-per-view one-on-one matches in this series, Kurt Angle was the measuring stick for Cena for almost four years, and they went from their first encounter in 2002 to clashing over the WWE Championship in 2005. Kurt was pivotal in making John the main event player he’d go on to be for the following decades.

6

Triple H

When on top for as long as both Triple H and John Cena were, it was inevitable that they’d meet on the biggest stage. The first time they met in singles action was in the main event of WrestleMania 22, where the King of Kings tapped out to an STF, and they’d meet a further five times one-on-one, including as recently as 2018 at the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia.

Cena and Triple H were as natural a babyface and heel duo as you could find, and The Game played the perfect villain for John to overcome during their showdowns. They met in tag team matches, handicap matches, triple threats, and more over the years, and it felt like a never-ending tussle to be the best.

5

AJ Styles

Throughout Cena’s dominant run across the 2000s and 2010s, AJ Styles was building his name outside WWE. Working for TNA and New Japan Pro Wrestling, many thought he’d never cross the boundary into the company dominated by Cena. Yet, in 2016, the two locked eyes and the atmosphere was palpable. Fans were seeing an impossible dream match happen in front of their eyes.

Thankfully, the two shared incredible chemistry in the ring, putting on a trilogy of awesome matches across the span of eight months and adding on a fourth on an episode of SmackDown in 2018. AJ even won the first two meetings against Cena, something which delighted many of Styles’ career-long fans, and John’s victory in their third encounter will go down in history as the moment he won his 16th world title and tied the record. Unforgettable.

4

CM Punk

Covered in tattoos, anti-authority, and popular with the fans, it always seemed as if CM Punk was the exact opposite of John Cena. It always felt as if the Chicagoan was fighting an uphill battle to be seen in the same light as the now 17-time world champion, but it all climaxed when they met in Punk’s hometown of Chicago in 2011 when the Second City Saint won his first WWE Championship in the company’s first five-star match in many years. Plus, in the lead-up, we got the infamous Pipebomb promo which shook the industry to its very core.

The pair circled each other throughout 2011 and 2012. Punk went on his incredible 434-day reign at the top of the company, but even then, a power struggle existed between the two as they battled for main event slots and the right to be considered the best. They are two icons of the modern era of WWE, and their clashes enhanced both men’s careers for the better.

3

The Rock

A storyline spanning two years and three WrestleManias, John Cena vs The Rock saw two of wrestling’s biggest ever icons meet in a ‘Once in a Lifetime’ encounter. Of course, as we all know, once turned into twice, and they ended up having two clashes on the biggest stage. But, when a match is as big as this, it’s no surprise that WWE wanted to set up the first match the day after ‘Mania 27 and continue it into ‘Mania 29.

The rivalry itself was aided by events away from the ring, as Cena’s loss to The Rock in 2012 came in the same year as John’s real-life divorce, allowing WWE to play up the idea that the ‘Once in a Lifetime’ match had sparked a downfall in all areas of Cena’s life. This led to the ultimate redemption one year later, as the WWE Championship changed hands in New Jersey. It was a clash between two genuine legends that was backed by a story and saw fans get more than initially thought.

2

Edge

Beginning when Cena became the first to fall victim to the Money in the Bank briefcase in 2006, Edge’s run at the top saw him do battle with The Leader of the Cenation right up until his first retirement in 2011. The pair fought over both the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships on multiple occasions and even competed in a WrestleMania match in a triple threat with The Big Show in 2009.

Their feuds were often very personal, too, and The Rated-R Superstar even entered Cena’s home during their rivalry and struck his father. Plus, Edge was responsible for putting his own spin on the ‘spinner’ WWE Championship, by having Lita throw John’s iconic title into a river to introduce his own design.

1

Randy Orton

When you think of John Cena, it isn’t long before you think of Randy Orton. The careers of The Apex Predator and The Face That Runs The Place have been intertwined since they both debuted, and every wrestling icon needs a rival to push them on to the next level. The pair simply wouldn’t have had the same level of impact if it wasn’t for each other.

Whether it was Randy at his psychotic best or as part of The Authority later in his career, there’s no getting away from the fact that Orton has been Cena’s most iconic foe for decades.