25 Best John Cena Matches

Love him or hate him, John Cena has been the cornerstone of WWE for over a decade, with more main events and high-profile feuds than almost any superstar in history. Throughout these hundreds and hundreds of matches, the 15-time world champion has honed his skills, mastering the art of controlling the crowd and infusing drama into each and every aspect of his performance. The result has been an oeuvre that stands up to any other grappler's - all-time, worldwide - and contains no shortage of superbly memorable moments.

Cena's very first match on WWE TV - where the debuting former Ohio Valley Wrestling Champion answered an open challenge from Kurt Angle and took the Olympic Gold Medalist to the limit - showed just how much potential the young man had. After the great performance, he was earmarked as a future superstar, and in feuds with Angle, Edge, CM Punk, Kevin Owens, and more, he has lived up to and then transcended that label. Several of his classic bouts with those men made the list, as did some encounters that, unfortunately, may not be as well remembered.

The research has been done and the compilation has been completed. It's time to relive the champ's greatest hits!

Heading into 2005, John Cena looked destined to become WWE Champion. Though he narrowly missed victory in the Royal Rumble, he reached the finals of a Smackdown! tournament to determine a WrestleMania challenger for JBL's WWE Title. Unfortunately, to claim the shot, he would have to defeat his longtime nemesis Kurt Angle. Just the previous year at No Way Out, Angle had submitted Cena to claim a WWE Title shot of his own.

This time, Cena would not be denied. The three-time United States Champion took a German suplex into the corner in the early goings, but he weathered Angle's storm, escaped an Ankle Lock, and hit an FU. It wasn't enough to put the former WWE Champion away, though, and before long, Angle had the Ankle Lock in again - only this time, he grapevined his legs around Cena's. No one had ever managed to escape from that variation of the hold, but Cena clawed at canvas, finally pulling both himself and Angle to the ropes. From there, another FU followed, and John Cena was going to WrestleMania.