7 Matches Where John Cena Went FULL WORKRATE

Today, due to his title reign between April-August 2025, Cena is known as the 'Never Seen 17'. That references his unmatched 17th World Title run in the official WWE record books, but what about his 16th? That came at Royal Rumble 2017 against future Crown Jewel 2025 foe AJ Styles. Enough numbers for you yet?

Styles had pocketed the WWE Title in between beating Cena at SummerSlam 2016 and the 2017 Rumble. He'd shown himself to be one of the most reliable stars on the entire roster, but fans just knew John wasn't staying away for too long. The upside was that they had chemistry coming out of their ears, so another stormer of a match was practically guaranteed before WWE's roster touched down in San Antonio for the show.

There was so much to examine once they did and a celebrated Cena vs. AJ rematch hit the ring. For his part, John showed off some subtle heel-ish vibes (nearly a decade in advance!) as he grew frustrated over an inability to put Styles away. Throughout, Cena went into moves mode by airing some spots fans never really saw from him before this era of his career, but now expected when he was in there with dudes like AJ.

The live crowd found itself sucked in by all of the near falls and bigger spots, and there wasn't much hatred for Cena's 16th title win afterwards either. Being honest, it would've taken a brave soul to boo JC following this performance. He was a man on a mission. No, not Mabel or Mo.

Thankfully.