John Cena’s 11 WWE SummerSlam Matches From Worst To Best
1. 2013 Vs. Daniel Bryan
John Cena's best SummerSlam match coincided with the long-awaited ascendance of Daniel Bryan to the top of WWE. Sure, Bryan had carried major titles before this, but this win on this night was the biggest stamp of approval in his career (well, until the following WrestleMania) and John Cena helped make the moment.
John Cena was THE man in WWE and had been for quite a while. But no one could deny how over Bryan was at that point. Cena hand-picked Bryan to be his challenger at SummerSlam 2013 and the two fought a great match.
Bryan really was Cena's equal in this. They went toe-to-toe and brought the best of their arsenals against each other in this nearly thirty-minute bout. A late match slap-off was particularly fun, which saw Bryan come out on the winning side.
A running knee strike and pinfall sealed the deal for Bryan. It was a great moment in which a star was made. Bryan benefited by having Cena putting him over. Bryan suffered from extremely awkward booking following this match, but that doesn't take away how special this one was, or how selfless Cena was on the night.