10 Greatest Superstars In WWE SummerSlam History

3. John Cena

Brock Lesnar SummerSlam
WWE.com

There may be no other pay-per-view event that serves as the emphasis for the "Big Match John" nickname more than SummerSlam, where John Cena has cemented his legacy as the greatest (and most selfless) superstar of his generation.

In 2011, Cena lost his second consecutive pay-per-view match to CM Punk. Two years later, he fought through a very real torn triceps muscle and put Daniel Bryan over clean in the center of the ring.

A year later, he endured 16 suplexes and jobbed out to Brock Lesnar in the most one-sided main event in SummerSlam history. He has lost to Edge, Batista, and AJ Styles throughout his 13 years of competition at the summertime spectacular, all with the idea of strengthening their stars and elevating them to his level.

Perhaps even more important than his selflessness is Cena's track record of Match of the Year candidates.

His match with Punk was a suitable follow-up to the classic from a month earlier. He gave Bryan a match befitting the pandemonium that surrounded the bearded wonder's rise to the top of the card.

Then there was the classic with Styles that rightfully earned MOTY honors and saw Cena cleanly lose to The Phenomenal One.

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Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.