10 WWE Matches John Cena Absolutely MUST Have In 2025
1. A Perfect Rivalry To Rekindle
WWE lore would have fans believe that the rivalry between John Cena and Randy Orton is a storied one that transcended space and time, a modern-day Hulk Hogan/Andre the Giant or Steve Austin/The Rock that carried the company for years.
In truth, Cena versus Orton was an ungodly boring feud that put audiences to sleep and failed to move the needle significantly. While things have changed in recent years and revisiting this rivalry isn’t the worst idea, there’s one wrestler who has been everything in a Cena opponent that WWE wishes Orton was.
Before he hangs up the jorts, Cena absolutely must face CM Punk once again. No opponent has been a better counterweight to everything Cena purportedly stands for than Punk. Whether heel or face, Punk has always provided a pitch-perfect rival for the “Hustle, Loyalty, Respect” of Cena. The two are pretty evenly matched in their one-on-one meetings – they’ve faced each other 14 times, with each man winning six times, one match going to a double pin and another being a no contest.
Their rivalry during the Summer of Punk in 2011 was enough to beat back the doldrums of that WWE era for a short time, while their last match together in the lead-up to WrestleMania 29 was a legendary television bout that featured a genuinely shocking moment when Punk nailed a piledriver on Cena at a time when the move was absolutely forbidden.
Punk versus Cena in 2025 doesn’t have to be for a title – though a world champion Punk being all that stands between Cena and the history books is one hell of a hook. The match also doesn’t have to fall along heel/face dynamics, as their 2011 rivalry did not have a clear villain.
In this situation, WWE needs to just put the two superstars together and let the magic happen. No doing so would be negligent and rob the fans of one last hurrah between two outstanding rivals.