10 Best WWE Arm Wrestling Matches

8. John Cena Vs. Mark Henry

Braun Strowman Raw Bobby Lashley
WWE.com

One of the few occasions on which John Cena was an actual underdog and not, for example, pretending to sell for The Miz like a father halfheartedly letting his child win something in abject fear of an imminent meltdown, this was all right.

Not 64 million bastard viewers all right, but effective.

So Cena entered this match with a recently-repaired shoulder. Mark Henry was great here, proper intimidating in his body language. "Don't mean mug me, boy!" he bellowed.

Cena followed his advice. He didn't mean mug Henry but instead performed an unintentionally hilarious impression of the Ultimate Warrior as he sought to pin down Henry's arm. Looking very much like his doppelgänger Jim 'Ernest' Varney - i.e., a gurning prat - Cena at various points looked like he was giving birth, or channeling the fear of his missus giving birth. He also started to head-bang as he made his comeback, and it was quintessentially John, all of this. He oversold so wildly that it rendered the whole thing a farce, and then didn't sell A F*cking Thing after Randy Orton's interference brought the match to a halt.

Seconds after challenging an expert in his field in a physically draining contest, Cena chased Orton off, struck Mark Henry with the AA, and then beat his chest wildly.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!