Every WWE Gimmick Match And The Wrestlers That Defined Them

4. Last Man Standing Match - John Cena

The Undertaker HIAC
WWE.com

The Last Man Standing Match produced the very best version of John Cena and his cartoonish Never Give Up character.

The obstacles placed before him on television were often unimaginative and half-arsed, not that he sold them, rendering too many of his programmes a bore - but the physical, combustible obstacles placed before him in his signature match made for awesome, destructive spectacles that made super-enjoyable and coherent his rote comeback formula.

Oddly, since that formula worked so well, many of Cena's best Last Man Standing wars were distinguishable in their creativity. He battled Alberto Del Rio in the different and pretty cool context of a broken ring at Vengeance 2011, but didn't rely on cute continuity elsewhere; his matches with Bray Wyatt and Umaga in particular were so thudding and well-performed that they made admirers of even his staunchest detractors.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!