John Cena, the record-breaking 17-time WWE world heavyweight champion, will be having his final match against Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13, 2025. After the event, Cena has promised fans that they will never see him compete inside the squared circle ever again. Here's a look back at Cena's greatest matches while competing in WWE, from his memorable debut in 2002 to now.
5. John Cena vs. Kurt Angle at SmackDown on June 27, 2002
This is John Cena's debut match in WWE, and while it's not the most technically impressive bout or Cena's best performance, it remains one of the most memorable debuts in wrestling history.
Angle, a real-life Olympic gold medalist and a WWE Hall of Famer, held an open challenge on this particular episode of SmackDown that was answered by a young and fresh Cena. The wrestler turned Hollywood star confidently marched down to the ring wearing red and black trunks to generic rock music in order to accept Angle's challenge.
The moment that will be replayed by WWE for years to come featured Cena staring Angle down as he was asked why he thought he had a chance against the gold medalist.
"Ruthless aggression," Cena responded as he slapped Angle in the now iconic moment, a reference to former WWE head Vince McMahon, who had previously said he wanted to see ruthless aggression from his roster of grapplers.
Cena was unable to defeat Angle, but he helped usher in what is known as the ruthless aggression era of WWE. Very few in WWE have had such an iconic debut.
4. John Cena vs. Edge in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match for the WWE Championship at Unforgiven 2006
One of Cena's greatest rivals was the Rated-R Superstar Edge with this hard-hitting TLC bout standing as their greatest encounter.
ADVERTISEMENT
The odds were stacked against Cena as he had to take on his rival in his hometown of Toronto in a match that Edge helped to popularize.
The rivalry between Cena and Edge always kept fans engaged and entertained, as the Rated-R Superstar pulled out all the stops. Edge memorably invaded Cena's childhood home and assaulted his dad, leading to high tensions as Unforgiven arrived.
Cena proved that he could perform at a high level in a chaotic match like TLC and re-captured the WWE Championship after memorably sending Edge into two tables with an Attitude Adjustment from the top of the ladder.
3. John Cena vs. The Rock at WrestleMania 28 in 2012
Cena and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson feuded for a full year before their epic clash at WrestleMania 28, culminating in perhaps Cena's biggest match of his career.
Outside of the sheer spectacle of Cena actually getting to face The Rock - a meeting of wrestling mega stars from different eras - the bout is a highly-entertaining contest that featured all of their signature moves that played to the passionate crowd in Miami.
Cena and The Rock delivered something truly epic, a wrestling version of a summer blockbuster movie. In dramatic fashion, Cena had the match won until his hubris got the best of him. Cena poked fun at the Rock's signature move, The People's Elbow, goofily performing the maneuver before The Rock recovered and earned the three count with a Rock Bottom.
Despite Cena losing, it remains one of the marquee matches that was seen by millions around the world. The pair ended up having a rematch at WrestleMania 29, but nothing could top this grand first meeting between two of WWE's legendary figures on its biggest stage.
2. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels at Raw on April 23, 2007
Another meeting of WWE legends, Cena's second match against Shawn Michaels is still regarded as one of the greatest bouts in the over 30-year history of Monday Night Raw.
ADVERTISEMENT
What gives this bout legendary status is how Cena and Michaels battled for nearly an hour in a roller coaster of a match.
Cena proved to a lot of doubters that he couldn't wrestle or hang with the greats like Michaels, and showed that he did belong at the top of the card.
Cena lost after taking a Sweet Chin Music, but he won dedicated wrestling fans over by showing his grit and delivering a truly impressive performance. Not many wrestlers can keep an audience engaged for an hour, but Cena proved that he could.
1. John Cena vs. CM Punk at Raw on February 25, 2013
CM Punk is simply Cena's greatest rival, and this match remains their best encounter as they fought for the right to challenge The Rock for the WWE Championship.
What sets this match apart from Cena and Punk's iconic meeting at Money in the Bank 2011 is how it subverted expectations and paid homage to their fabled rivalry over the years. As Punk has said himself, he is The Joker to Cena's Batman, and this match is the best example of that dichotomy.
ADVERTISEMENT
Punk shocked fans when he performed the piledriver on Cena, a long-banned move that was deemed too dangerous to use. The moment showed just how far each of them would go to win the match.
Cena and Punk always brought out the best in each other, with Cena then shocking fans by performing a Frankensteiner, a move the 17-time champion had never done before. Cena then earned the three-count with one last Attitude Adjustment to cap off his best match against his greatest rival.