10 Wrestlers John Cena Would Not Put Over

5. Baron Corbin

John Cena Bray Wyatt Extreme Rules 2014 STFU
WWE.com

John Cena swiped left on Baron Corbin last year, putting paid to his summertime romance with the WWE Championship picture. Corbin was tinder himself at the time, drawing heat by bickering with WWE Medical Director Joseph Maroon over the seriousness of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). This displeased the office, and is cited as the reason behind the Lone Wolf's failed Money In The Bank cash-in. That, and Cena had allegedly written Corbin off to management. The Wrestling Observer debunked this rumour - but Cena revelled in bantering off Big Banter at SummerSlam.

Now, obviously, Cena didn't book the finish himself. But there is a way of putting an opponent over in defeat - customary New Japan Pro Wrestling reference, Kazuchika Okada does it in every f*cking match - and Cena resolutely failed to do that in what was an achingly tedious and phoned-in performance, one so basic that it almost, by itself, tarnished Cena's latter-day reputation as a more selfless performer.

"This kid is shook!" cried Cena, as he pranced about as if on the last night of a draining European tour. And, in just under a month, we will be expected to take Corbin seriously as a potential WWE Champion.

Sensational.

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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!