John Cena had several feuds during his long WWE career, but some stand out more than others.
Most of John Cena’s best rivalries came during his meteoric rise and when he became the face of wrestling.
Notable rivals include AJ Styles, Kurt Angle and CM Punk.
More than 23 years is enough time to develop heated rivals in wrestling, and John Cena had plenty of them in WWE.
As the face of WWE for decades, Cena got to the top of the wrestling world thanks to the epic showdowns he had with other big-time stars. Whether it was the promos, matches or the stakes, some feuds stood out above the rest. They often helped raise the legacy of both Cena and his rival as they each brought the best out of each other, and those heated rivalries helped produce some of wrestling’s top moments in recent memory.
Of course, not all of them were top-tier quality, but there were rivalries that transcended the sport and helped shape what wrestling is today. Now, as Cena is set to end his WWE career, it’s time to look back on the best feuds that helped define his illustrious career.
10. Shawn Michaels
After some brief encounters early in his career, Cena entered a fantastic duel with Michaels in 2007. As they headed toward the WrestleMania 23 main event, they surprisingly won the World Tag Team Championship, but generated great heat while holding the titles. It culminated in an epic clash at WrestleMania, with prime Cena taking on Michaels, who had plenty of talent still left in his legendary career. The match delivered and Cena successfully defended his title in a thriller.
It wouldn’t be their most memorable bout. Less than a month later, they fought at a Monday Night Raw in London in a match that lasted nearly an hour. Regarded as one of the best bouts in Monday night history, Michaels won to even the score and cap off what was a sensational start of 2007 between the two.
9. Big Show
There are some Cena rivalries that reignited again and again, including his battles with the Big Show.
Cena’s rise in WWE is thanks to the Big Show, as the two feuded up to WrestleMania 20 in 2003, which included a hilarious rap battle between the two. At WrestleMania 20, the two started the event in a match for the United States Championship. It started with a bang and was capped off with the shot of Cena picking up the 500-pound Big Show for the Attitude Adjustment to win his first title in WWE and put him on the trajectory to stardom.
The two tangled several times afterward and even were tag team partners on occasion. Notable matches include the triple threat World Heavyweight title match at WrestleMania 25 and the monthslong battle that took place in 2009 after Big Show sent Cena through a light fixture with a chokeslam at Backlash. In 2012, the two met again with The Authority storyline.
Cena got in the ring with the Big Show for more than a decade, with their last match in 2015, a testament to their longevity.
8. JBL
In order for Cena to be WWE’s top guy, he needed to be the top champion. That happened with a fantastic battle with John Bradshaw Layfield in 2005. It was a sign of the times; JBL was the veteran, heel champion while Cena was the up-and-coming beloved star. The passion they displayed as Cena sought JBL’s title and the champion tried to silence the newbie was captivating and was main event worthy. They faced off at WrestleMania 21 for the title and Cena ended JBL’s nine-month reign to win the WWE Championship, his first world title.
It continued when they met again at Judgment Day in an ‘I Quit’ match, which produced the famous image of a bloodied-Cena. It showed Cena’s toughness as he retained the gold. The two would meet again in 2008 when they had another string of vicious battles.
JBL was the perfect person to turn Cena into a main event name. Cena likely would have become a superstar anyways, but the feud and match cemented Cena’s status and worthiness. JBL also gave Cena the great nickname of ‘Big Match John.’
7. Brock Lesnar
Cena and Lesnar came into WWE together, and their paths crossed several times as the two each rose to become major forces in the company. They first met on SmackDown in 2002 as rookies and battled throughout the next 23 years. With each meeting, the stage got bigger as their stardom grew. After last meeting in 2004, they faced off again in 2012 when Lesnar returned to WWE. At Extreme Rules, ‘Super Cena’ overcame the domination from Lesnar and defeated him in a bloody battle for his first win in the rivalry. They met again in 2014 when Lesnar’s domination continued, and it was capped off in their final meeting at WrestlePalooza 2025.
On paper, it wasn’t much of a rivalry because of Lesnar’s dominance. But it was an important one for both of their careers given they got to the top at similar times and met when they were big names. Cena was one of the few opponents to feel like they had a chance against Lesnar.
6. Kurt Angle
Why not go back to the very beginning? Cena introduced himself in a big way in his WWE debut against Angle, when he famously uttered ‘ruthless aggression’ before attacking the Olympic gold medalist. While Angle won, Cena let the wrestling world know this was no ordinary wrestler.
As Cena climbed his way to the top of WWE, it felt like Angle was always there. Angle challenged for the United States Championship; Cena beat him to get the WWE title match at WrestleMania 21; and after Cena won the championship, Angle eventually fought him for it. Then there was the first blood match in January 2006, when a bloodied Cena put Angle in the STF. The established star tested Cena at several key moments on his way to the top.
5. AJ Styles
It’s a shame we had to wait until 2016 to see these two icons lock up. But when they did, boy did they make up for it.
After Styles made a thunderous entrance to WWE, it wasn’t long before these two got tangled up in a rivalry. Styles attacked Cena and they had their dream match at Money in the Bank, which Styles won. It started a trilogy of incredible matches, as the two brought out the best of each other every time they squared off. Styles won again at SummerSlam and Royal Rumble 2017 is where they capped it off in tremendous fashion. It was a thriller where Cena beat Styles, and it came with the prize of being a record-tying 16-time WWE champion.
Just for good measure, we got to see the veterans wrestle again at Crown Jewel in October, and they stole the show and turned back the clock to deliver one of the best matches of the year.
Two of wrestling’s greatest didn’t have the most heat in a rivalry, but their mutual respect and stellar matches makes this one of the best in Cena’s time.
4. The Rock
Two faces of a generation. Two wrestling stars that made it to Hollywood and dominated the box office. It was must-see TV seeing these two collide.
When The Rock came back to WWE in 2011, the megastars instantly became intertwined as the two greats generated great distaste for each other. They delivered epic promos against one another for a year to build up the ‘Once in a Lifetime’ match at WrestleMania 28, which became the most anticipated bout in WWE history. The Rock emerged victorious, but it didn’t end there. Cena was fixated on getting a rematch for an entire year, and it happened in 2012 at WrestleMania 29. The heat didn’t waver and they had another big-time showdown, with Cena winning and The Rock officially passing the torch to his foe.
Even though they only wrestled each other twice, it didn’t end there. In the wild main event of WrestleMania 40, Cena surprised and helped Cody Rhodes against The Bloodline, which brought out The Rock for another epic face-off.
The two then joined forces for a shocking heel turn, but that storyline never developed and left a stain on their history. But given they’re the two biggest household wrestling names in the 21st century, it never got as star-studded as this.
3. CM Punk
Cena and Punk couldn’t be any more different; Cena was the prototypical superhero and Punk was the obscure, rebellious star. That’s what made it perfect.
The two drew very emotional reactions anytime they squared off, starting with the rivalry of the year in 2011. It catapulted itself into WWE lore in June 2011 when Punk interfered with Cena’s match and delivered the infamous pipe bomb promo detailing his frustrations with Cena’s stardom while blurring the lines of reality and fantasy. Then they had their title match at Money in the Bank in Punk’s hometown of Chicago, which had one of the best environments for a WWE show ever, with cheering for Punk and hostility for Cena. Punk won the WWE title in what was, at the time, his final night in the company, leaving with the top prize. A week later, Punk returned with ‘Cult of Personality’ and reignited the heat.
There were more battles over the next two years, and they were able to bring it back in June, when both stars showed they hadn’t skipped a beat with Cena delivering his own pipe bomb and each continuing the disses. When you call your opponent your ‘wrestling soulmate,’ it’s a sign of one of the best rivalries a wrestler can have.
2. Randy Orton
Perhaps no one has more ring history with Cena than Orton, as the two entered WWE together and embarked on a career-long rivalry that contained several big moments on the grandest of stages.
Cena and Orton first met in 2005 to kick-start a 20-year feud as they rose to the top of the business. Orton brought such a fiery passion to every rivalry matchup, but it was the greatest when Cena was opposite him. The rivalry took off in 2007 as they chased the WWE title, highlighted by arguably their best match at SummerSlam. A few months later, Orton defeated Cena and Triple H for the championship at WrestleMania 24. They put on several great stipulation matches afterward and culminated the feud at Backlash, where the one-time prodigies got to meet as WWE legends and reignite the heat one more time.
What helped was their constant battles to be at the top of the company. In total, Cena and Orton were in the ring together 23 times for a WWE title. At non-Royal Rumble premium live events, they were in the same match 23 times, with 11 of them being one-on-one battles. All together, no one has faced Cena more than Orton, and it created one of the best rivalries in the sport.
1. Edge
Was it not obvious? It’s clear there was no greater Cena rival than the ‘Rated R Superstar.’ You could argue Edge helped make Cena who he is, and the same could go with Cena for Edge. Both are correct, as the two stars had several epic clashes to forge one of the greatest rivalries in wrestling history.
It all started with one of the most shocking moments of the 2000s, when Edge cashed in the first Money in the Bank contract on a bloodied Cena at New Year’s Revolution in 2006. It was a stunning moment that started a heated clash between the two that lasted for years to come. That year alone, they faced off 11 times for the title; they battled 20 times in their career for gold. It felt like there was genuine hate for each other every time they faced off or traded words, and the stakes felt like there was more than just a title on the line. They truly defined the role of baby face and heel perfectly.
What’s remarkable is how great this duel was in short time; it lasted less than five years, with their last match against each other coming in September 2010. It’s a shame we never got to see them face off once more to bring back the fiery passion that made so many people fans. Regardless, they set the bar for what a true rivalry should look like.
Cena vs. Edge was one epic rivalry.