Ranking 6 Best John Cena Matches At WWE Extreme Rules
1. Extreme Rules Match vs. Brock Lesnar (2012)
Welcome back, Brock Lesnar. This was the former UFC Heavyweight Champion's first match in WWE since 2004 and boy did he make an impact. The build was that he was brought into the company to legitimize the WWE and he very much succeeded at that.
Give John Cena his credit as well because he sold for Lesnar in a memorable way. He would be busted open in the opening moments of the match and it seemed to only get more brutal from there. The match was almost stopped on a couple of occasions as the medical staff would tend to Cena's wounds and it was completely believable in every way.
The officials should also be credited for their work in this match. Charles Robinson took a couple of bumps, including being whacked by John Cena as he was being F-5'd by Lesnar. A replacement ref would then get clubbed by Brock for only getting to a 2-count during a pinfall.
Surprisingly, John Cena defeated Lesnar by delivering the AA to Lesnar on a set of steel steps that were in the middle of the ring. Lesnar's career definitely wasn't hurt by the loss and the match has high replay value so the booking is a minor gripe at this point.
This was also the event where Cena confusingly sort of retired after the match...but not really.