John Cena is one of the greatest wrestlers in WWE history, hands down, and not just because he is the most reigning World Champion in history (along with Ric Flair) but because his larger-than-life character made an impact that no one has been able to match since. Nobody has carried the company like John Cena did.
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Throughout his illustrious career, John Cena has had over 700 televised matches, some all-time classics, a few rather disappointing ones and some we frankly don't even remember. Without further ado, let's take a look at 10 matches you forgot John Cena competed in.
10 Summer Games Relay
On the August 12, 2004, episode of SmackDown, John Cena teamed up with Charlie Haas and Rob Van Dam to face Booker T, Luther Reigns and Rene Dupree in a Summer Games Relay match.
The rules were pretty weird, as the match was split into five-minute periods and if neither team got the win, then one team had the opportunity to make a relay and so on. The match was pretty weird and too long, and in the end, John Cena rolled up Booker T to get the win.
9 Loser Gets His Mouth Washed With Soap
In the main event of the January 15, 2004, episode of SmackDown, John Cena and Rhyno collided. If Cena won, Paul Heyman got his mouth washed out with soap, and if Rhyno won, then Cena’s mouth got soaped out.
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Rhyno could compete under ECW rules thanks to Paul Heyman, who even gave Cena a low blow during the bout. Overall, it was an entertaining match, but absolutely overbooked, just to make John Cena look very strong, overcoming the odds and being the winner.
8 First Blood
John Cena was involved in two first blood matches in his career, although neither of them were a big deal, so it's no wonder we've forgotten about them. Cena defeated John Bradshaw Layfield at One Night Stand 2008, but the match was pretty boring.
Super Cena also faced off against Kurt Angle in a first blood match that took place on the January 2, 2006, episode of Monday Night Raw, and that matchup was much better, but the commercials took away much of the excitement.
7 New York City Parking Lot Brawl
Another match between John Cena and John Bradshaw Layfield that you probably forgot about was the New York City Parking Lot Brawl at The Great American Bash 2008. This is an absolutely underrated match, as it was amazing, but for some reason very few people talk about it.
Cena and JBL really wanted to annihilate each other, as they delivered a brutal battle, pushing each other to their limits. After 17 minutes of incredible action, JBL managed to defeat John Cena.
6 Russian Chain
John Cena and Rusev had quite an interesting rivalry based on the American good guy and the classic foreign heel, in which they faced each other under different stipulations such as I Quit, Flag and Russian Chain.
At Extreme Rules 2015, John Cena defended the United States Title in a Russian Chain match against Rusev. The match was decent, with back-and-forth action and satisfying performances from both competitors, however, the stipulation felt completely unnecessary. In the end, John Cena got the win and retained the title.
5 Six Pack Challenge
It's not common to see six men battle for the WWE Championship, but in the main event of Fastlane 2018, AJ Styles had to defend his title against Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and John Cena.
Certainly, this match had several flaws, but it was still outstanding, with different storylines unfolding at the same time and a fast pace that kept the fans on the edge of their seats. John Cena had a great performance, but it was AJ Styles who overcame the challenge and retained the gold.
4 Eight Way Elimination
If it's not common to see six men wrestling for a title, let alone eight men, but on the July 29, 2004, episode of SmackDown, John Cena, Booker T, Kenzo Suzuki, Luther Reigns, Rene Dupree, Rob Van Dam, Billy Gunn and Charlie Haas battled for the vacant United States Title.
If you don't remember this match, then you're not missing much, because frankly it was lackluster, with basic spots and routine sequences. Cena eliminated Gunn and Reigns, but then was eliminated by Booker T, who was crowned the new United States Champion.
3 17-On-2 Elimination Handicap
For some reason WWE loves to pair up two wrestlers who are about to square off at a PPV, and in this case, before facing each other at WrestleMania 24, longtime rivals John Cena and Randy Orton teamed up to take on the RAW roster, making it a 17-on-2 Elimination Handicap match.
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Only legendary wrestlers like Cena and Orton could come out of such madness unscathed, and they were doing great until Triple H showed up and attacked them both to end the match in disqualification.
2 Stretcher
On the June 16, 2014, episode of Monday Night Raw, The Champ faced off against Kane in a Money In The Bank qualifying stretcher match.
It was a 16-minute affair, with violence and hard-hitting action, although it was a bit predictable, because it was obvious that John Cena would be at the Money In The Bank PPV. Overall, it was an entertaining bout, but it's understandable if you forgot about it.
1 Three Stages Of Hell
The feud between John Cena and Ryback was not exactly a memorable one, nor was this match. In the main event of Payback 2013, John Cena and Ryback collided in a Three Stages Of Hell for the WWE Championship. The stipulations were Lumberjack, Tables and Ambulance.
Ryback won the Lumberjack match, but the Cenation Leader made an excellent comeback and won the other two rounds to retain the title in amazing fashion.
