10 WWE PPVs John Cena Main-Evented (But Shouldn't Have)

"But wait," I hear you flutter off with your pedantic little fingers. "John Cena didn't main event Survivor Series 2010, he was just the special guest referee! You're a cheater cheater pumpkin eater!"

True, John Cena was not a legal competitor in Randy Orton's WWE title defense against Wade Barrett. However, with how the storyline was written, this match was not about Orton nor Barrett, and all about Big Match John. After a long war with the Nexus, Barrett had managed to force Cena to join the group. At Bragging Rights, Cena was Barrett's cornerman in a title match with Orton, and if Barrett didn't win the match, Cena would be fired. Using a loophole, Cena attacked Barrett so that he won via DQ, but didn't gain the title. To raise the stakes, for Survivor Series, Cena was the special guest referee, and if Barrett did not win the title, Cena would be fired. Thus, John was forced to choose between his job and his conscience. Either he stayed in WWE, or he screwed Orton.

So from that premise, we already assume that Barrett could not win a match on his own. John Cena has to screw someone over in order for him to win a match. This was a man they initially positioned as a top heel, folks.

But yeah, when the referee takes precedence over the challenger and especially the champion in a main event, something is rotten in Denmark.