10 Greatest WWE Champions Ever
6. John Cena
Reaching Ric Flair's mythical milestone in 2017 was a necessary step for WWE to take in immortalising John Cena as the one bonafide star to emerge from multiple lost generations post-Attitude Era.
Keeping atop the chasing pack as the company moved to promote the brand as the draw rather than the wrestlers on the line-up, 'Big Match John's 16-years-and-counting run with the organisation is as admirable as it is exhausting. He's had all the amazing matches needed to leave behind a glittering repertoire, but has spent so much time as the company's front face that his presence loses more and more appeal by the year.
On evidence, so too does his workrate. Cena was one-out-of-four on the company's biggest shows in 2017, and middling efforts against Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns suggested that he maybe wasn't quite ready to play out-and-out starmaker yet. Few have been as believable with a belt as 'The Champ' over the last decade, but under his stewardship equally few others have been given a fair chance.