In the last five years, the man the WWE has proclaimed to be the GOAT really hasn’t been himself. While John Cena is undoubtedly one of the best to ever do it, this article will be looking at one of the worst eras of his career. It’s an interesting run to cover. These past five years have hosted some great (and not so great) matches from him. The question is now: which one was the best? So without further ado, here is my ranking of every match from Big Match John since 2019.
9. WrestleMania 39: Saturday: John Cena vs. Austin Theory
For me, this was the obvious choice for last place. Besides Cena’s entrance, nothing positive came out of this match. It didn’t do any jobs in putting Theory over, as he won in an unconvincing way after being buried verbally by Cena weeks prior. Along with helping neither man in the long run, it was also just a complete snooze fest. A basic, boring match, which unfortunately started an otherwise great WrestleMania.
8. Crown Jewel 2023: John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa
This match was the definition of okay. While Cena did look much better here than he did at Mania, it still wasn’t a great display by any means. I could appreciate the in-ring storytelling here (with Cena trying to neutralise Solo’s finisher), which at least makes it more interesting than Theory vs. Cena, which is the most bland wrestling match known to man. Nonetheless, it was a dominant Solo performance with some occasional Cena hope spots. Not bad, again, just okay.
It was definitely unfortunate that the last match of the 2023 Cena run was a match against Solo, which didn’t really elevate him (as he is currently in the exact spot where he was then), but the match wasn’t bad, so it’s really not the end of the world.
7. RAW 8/4/24: John Cena and Awesome Truth vs. The Judgement Day
Originally built as “Awesome Truth teaming with the man they can’t see”, this match is the most recent on the list. While Cena contributed little to this match (only coming in at the final moments), it was still an enjoyable match, and one that makes sense for a raw after WrestleMania. Cena’s hot tag was easily the high point of the match, and it still ended up being very fun, even if it was only for a short amount of time. Plus, it’s always wholesome to see R-Truth team up with his childhood hero.
