10 Great Matches Starring Dud Wrestlers

2. John Cena Vs. The Great Khali - WWE One Night Stand 2007

Sid Shawn Michaels Survivor Series 1996
WWE.com

John Cena might have curried some favour over the last couple of years, especially with his enjoyable string of U.S. Title Open Challenge matches - but he's still no Ric Flair in there, let's face it.

His selling remains almost offensively suspect. He applies zero pressure on his STF. Every new addition to his repertoire, be it a clumsy Frankensteiner or horrendously-mistimed springboard Stunner, helps forgive him for perfecting just the Five Moves of Doom. The Great Khali, however, is even worse than that...

Facetiousness aside, this is a string to the bow of the argument that Cena is a more than respectable worker in his own right. Though there are natural counterarguments - Cena made The Miz and R-Truth look like the midcarders they were in his 2011 matches with them - Cena here did the inconceivable and made Khali look Great for the only time in his putrid WWE career.

Theirs was a simple tale of David Vs. Goliath. It's not as if Khali were capable of an athletic back and forth contest. That said, they deepen the resonance of every basic exchange with a stiff variation. Khali clubs Cena with blows to the back instead of the top of his head, and with elbows to the side of his neck, astutely-considered small details which compensate for the lack of dynamism elsewhere.

Khali's cartoonishly powerful offence even excuses Cena's overwrought selling in a match which is impervious in its execution.

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!