14 Times John Cena Lost Clean
Super Cena never loses clean, right? Wrong...
The match was nowhere near as epic as WWE intended it to be (and probably should have taken place on pay-per-view), but Shinsuke Nakamura's clean win over John Cena on the 1 August 2017 episode of SmackDown still felt huge. This was a true endorsement from Cena, one that flies in the face of claims he 'never loses clean'.
But such criticism simply isn't fair, because Cena has done the honours for more people than just Nakamura over the years. We're not just talking losses suffered during John's early years before he was a major star. No: Cena has been pinned clean a lot since becoming one of WWE's poster boys and premier main eventers. Looking at Cena's win/loss record before he became a firm fixture atop cards is futile. It's much more interesting to look at his clean defeats from 2005/06 onwards.
It's not only fellow top guys who have beaten Cena either. Nobody can claim that 'big match John' is selfish these days - certainly not when analysing his record of putting others who are lower down the WWE food chain over without complaint...
14. MITB Cash Ins & McMahon Vindictiveness (Edge & Batista)
Although they are technically clean wins, Money in the Bank cash ins can't be considered 'proper' matches, so it's wise to take that into consideration when analysing Cena's loss to Edge at New Year's Revolution 2006. Similarly, Batista's clean win over Cena four years later only came about due to Vince McMahon's vindictiveness.
Edge's moment was the most valuable and thrust the Canadian into the main event mix permanently. Just moments after Cena had successfully defended the WWE Title in an Elimination Chamber match, Edge emerged to the rocking sounds of Alter Bridge and crushed his dreams by cashing in. The wicked combo of Edge's smug superiority, fan surprise, and Cena's own despondency was lethal.
WWE recaptured that same feeling at Elimination Chamber 2010 when Cena (again just following a Chamber win) was beaten in 30 seconds by Batista. Making this one even sweeter, Cena had just won the WWE Title himself, only to groan as Vince McMahon introduced a fresh and motivated Batista.