7 Matches Where John Cena Went FULL WORKRATE

John Cena will wave goodbye to his wrestling career on 13 December 2025 at WWE's Saturday Night's Main Event in Washington, DC. Thousands in attendance will come to their feet for a standing ovation following his last match, and literally millions of tributes will pour in from around the world via various social media apps. Everyone will be keen to give 'Big Match John' a wonderful send off.

Traditionally, Cena has been viewed as a poster child for Vince McMahon's vision of the industry. He blended the charismatic appeal of Hulk Hogan with the ruggedness of Steve Austin and star power of The Rock. There's a reason why many call John one of the best to ever do it - he was the WWE star of his generation, which is really saying something when titans like Batista, Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton rocketed to fame during (roughly) the same era. 

Pore back over Cena's heyday and you might hear sprinkled chants like: "You Can't Wrestle" aimed at him. That was always grossly unfair. Was JC ever Bryan Danielson between the ropes? No, but he's always known how to work and work well. It might not be to every single fan's taste, but claiming that Cena is crap inside the ring is laughable.

It has been for decades.

This collection of matches looks past some of his more iconic WrestleMania moments towards scraps that saw him effectively roll up his sleeves and say: 'Right then. Bring on those star ratings, Dave Meltzer!'. A certain style is favoured throughout, but that's another point worth mentioning about Cena. He could match styles with pretty much anyone.

Every single one of these bouts is worth rewatching. Here's why!

Expecting a different curtain-jerker for the list? Some will roll their eyes upon seeing Logan Paul's name there, but that isn't based on his wrestling skills. Clearly, Logan is very, very good at this in-ring stuff. He wouldn't get to work with WWE's top stars so frequently if he wasn't. No amount of licensing dollars for Prime or casual interest from his vast following could justify a bout during John Cena's retirement tour if Logan sucked.

He doesn't, and Clash In Paris proved it once again. Together, he and 'Super Cena' traded moves and holds aplenty for just over 26 minutes. Cena had turned babyface again (aborting a heel run even he admitted was struggling) shortly beforehand, which was perfect. Opposite a genuinely likeable baby like John, Paul was able to be his dirtbag best and heel it up in front of an impassioned French audience.

These guys weren't here to work some would-be house show main event though. As Kofi Kingston used to say: 'Ooooooooh nooooooo'. Once the bell sounded, Cena and Logan went straight for it. There was pacing, but that's important. Even the most dazzling matches need spaces to breathe, both for the workers and for the crowd. Plus, those gaps give the announcers time to tell a story.

By now, people are well-accustomed to seeing JC hit moves like the Code Red, but it still looks great when he does it. Don't sleep on this match just because Paul is involved. It'll go down as one of the better scraps from Cena's retirement year. Hell, it was better than his WrestleMania 41 match vs. Cody Rhodes and his Backlash battle with old foe Randy Orton.

Sensational.