Every Wrestler Who Defeated John Cena For The WWE Title (And How They Did It)

6. Sheamus

Cm Punk John Cena
WWE

The first on this list to dethrone John Cena more than once, Sheamus can't claim a singles pinfall victory over in either of his WWE Title victories, but did cover 'The Champ's shoulders for three at the explosive conclusion to June 2010's 'Fatal Four Way' main event.

After winning his first title at the previous December's 'TLC' Pay-Per-View by blocking a superplex and shoving Cena through a table, he'd gain his second run on top during a four-way match that also included Randy Orton and Edge.

Taking place in the shadow of a series of brutal attacks on wrestlers and officials by the disaffected gang of rookies from the original series of NXT, the contest broke down in the closing stages when leader Wade Barrett lead his gang in an assault on superstars backstage and followed that up by besieging the competitors in the ring.

Sheamus was able to avoid the worst of the Nexus abuse and sneak in as the group were distracted elsewhere, scoring the pin the heading for the hills as the new Champion.

Cena was demolished in the aftermath, until a little too much hotdogging with the belt from 'The Great White' saw him ran off by the group as well.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett