In the final week of John Cena’s in-ring career, with his last match set for Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13, 2025 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., it’s impossible to talk about his legacy without talking about his rivalries. WWE itself has framed the event around “The Greatest of All Time” stepping between the ropes “one last time,” and the tagline on the official poster calls him “The Last Real Champion. One Last Time.” 

Over more than two decades, Cena has gone from “Ruthless Aggression” rookie to 17-time world champion, an official tally WWE now repeats across its own platforms.  That climb didn’t happen in a vacuum – it happened standing across the ring from some of the most important names of the modern era. WWE.com has published its own list of Cena’s greatest rivalries, and outlets like Bleacher Report, TV Insider and others have spent Cena’s retirement tour revisiting his toughest opponents, usually spotlighting names like Edge, Randy Orton, CM Punk, The Rock, Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles at or near the top. 

This list takes that body of work, blends it with fan discussion and big-match history, and ranks the 10 rivalries that most defined John Cena’s legacy – in the ring, on the microphone, and in the eyes of the WWE Universe.

Quick List – Top 10 John Cena Rivalries

1. Randy Orton
2. Edge
3. CM Punk
4. The Rock
5. AJ Styles
6. Brock Lesnar
7. Triple H
8. Batista
9. Shawn Michaels
10. Bray Wyatt

1. Randy Orton – The Long War

If you’re talking volume and longevity, Randy Orton is John Cena’s definitive rival.

They broke out around the same time in the early-mid 2000s – Cena on SmackDown, Orton with Evolution on RAW – and then spent the better part of a decade orbiting the same world title picture. Their rivalry runs through multiple eras: Ruthless Aggression, PG, the Authority era, and beyond. 

Key chapters:

• Early clashes over the WWE Championship on RAW and pay-per-view in the mid-2000s.
• The I Quit Match at Breaking Point 2009 and the Hell in a Cell match later that year, which framed their feud as deeply personal and violent rather than just “brand vs. brand.”  
• The WWE and World Heavyweight Championship unification build in late 2013, where Cena and Orton were positioned as the two defining stars of the post-Attitude Era generation.  

From a storytelling standpoint, Orton is the darker, more sadistic mirror to Cena’s never-give-up superhero. From a company standpoint, they were the two safest bets to put in a main event whenever WWE needed a big match. That combination is why many fans and analysts still frame Orton vs. Cena as the rivalry of his career.

2. Edge – The Rival Who Forced Cena to Grow Up

If Orton is the long war, Edge is the most transformative feud of Cena’s prime.

WWE itself has highlighted Edge as one of Cena’s greatest rivals, and multiple outlets – from Bleacher Report to TV Insider – regularly place him in or near the top spot. 

Why it mattered:

• Edge became the first Money in the Bank cash-in success story, pinning Cena after the Elimination Chamber at New Year’s Revolution 2006 and instantly creating an “anything can happen” energy around the title scene.  
• The rivalry hit its emotional peak with TLC at Unforgiven 2006 in Toronto, where Cena beat Edge in his own specialty match in Edge’s hometown to win back the WWE Championship. That match is still regularly cited on WWE’s own list of Cena’s greatest matches and title defenses.  
• Across RAW and pay-per-views from 2006–2009, their story kept evolving – from opportunistic heel vs. valiant champion to something closer to two fully formed main eventers trying to out-last each other.

Edge turned John Cena from “the guy WWE picked” into a battle-tested main-eventer who had been ambushed, humiliated, and booed – and who fought through all of it.

3. CM Punk – The Culture War

When fans debate Cena’s single greatest opponent, CM Punk is almost always there.

Bleacher Report’s breakdown of Cena’s top rivals places Punk near the very top, and for good reason: their feud wasn’t just about championships; it was about what WWE should be. 

Everything crystallized at Money in the Bank 2011 in Chicago:

• Punk’s “Pipe Bomb” promo on the June 27, 2011 RAW directly called out Cena as the “face of the WWE machine,” a corporate golden boy who stood for everything Punk claimed to despise.  
• At Money in the Bank, Punk challenged Cena for the WWE Championship in his hometown, with his contract (in storyline) set to expire that night. The possibility that Punk might legitimately walk out of WWE with the title turned the match into a modern classic, and it regularly lands at or near #1 on WWE and fan lists of Cena’s best matches.  

Their rivalry extended beyond that one night – with rematches on pay-per-view and RAW – but the symbolism stuck: Punk was the rebellious “Best in the World” trying to take down the face of the system, and Cena had to prove he was more than a T-shirt and marketing tagline.

4. The Rock – Two Eras Collide

On pure mainstream star power, The Rock is Cena’s biggest rival.

When The Rock returned to WWE to host WrestleMania XXVII in 2011, it set off a chain of events that led to back-to-back WrestleMania main events: WrestleMania 28 (“Once in a Lifetime”) and WrestleMania 29 (“Twice in a Lifetime”). 

Why it’s so important:

• Rock vs. Cena was marketed as a dream match between the top guy of the Attitude Era and the top guy of the PG/Ruthless Aggression generation – a passing-of-the-torch on the biggest stage possible.
• At WrestleMania 28 in Miami, Rock defeated Cena in a match that broke pay-per-view records and drew enormous mainstream attention.
• One year later at WrestleMania 29, Cena got his win back and reclaimed the WWE Championship, completing the redemption arc while cementing both matches as cornerstones of WWE’s modern WrestleMania history.  

These bouts weren’t just about workrate – they were tentpole attractions that proved WWE could still build true “mega fights” in an era of weekly content.

5. AJ Styles – Proof Cena Could Still Hang

By 2016, John Cena had already headlined WrestleManias, carried brands, and won more titles than almost anyone. Then AJ Styles walked in and gave him an entirely new trilogy to build his case as an all-time in-ring performer.

WWE’s own “50 Greatest John Cena Matches” feature heavily highlights the Styles series, and modern rankings consistently put matches like Money in the Bank 2016, SummerSlam 2016, and especially Royal Rumble 2017 among his absolute best. 

• At Money in the Bank 2016, Styles beat Cena in their first big PPV singles match, establishing that this wasn’t going to be a one-sided veteran showcase.
• At SummerSlam 2016, the two delivered another critically praised match, with Styles again getting the win.
• At Royal Rumble 2017, Cena finally scored the decisive victory, capturing the WWE Championship and tying Ric Flair’s then-recognized record of 16 world titles, in a bout widely hailed as a modern classic.  

The AJ rivalry is proof that even deep into his career, Cena could elevate and be elevated by a world-class worker from outside the WWE system.

6. Brock Lesnar – The Final Boss

Whenever John Cena needed a true monster to overcome – or be destroyed by – Brock Lesnar filled that role.

Their history stretches back to Backlash 2003, where Lesnar retained the WWE Championship against a young, trash-talking prototype of Cena. After Brock left and later returned to WWE in 2012, the dynamic shifted: Cena was now the face of the company, and Brock the nearly unstoppable part-time destroyer. 

Key moments:

• Extreme Rules 2012, where Cena absorbed one of the most physical beatings of his career but still managed to squeak out a win, leaving many fans stunned.
• SummerSlam 2014, where Lesnar suplexed and dominated Cena en route to a one-sided destruction that WWE itself has described as a rare, shocking beatdown of its top star.  

The Lesnar rivalry showed that even the “Superman” of the PG era could be overwhelmed – and that made every later triumph feel more earned.

7. Triple H – Earning the Throne

Triple H’s rivalry with Cena has always had one central question: is the new guy really ready to be “the guy”?

WWE.com’s own “greatest rivalries” piece includes Triple H prominently, framing their story as a business-driven clash over the WWE Championship. 

• The defining chapter is WrestleMania 22 in 2006, where Cena forced Triple H to tap out to the STF in the main event, in front of a Chicago crowd that was loudly pro-Hunter and anti-Cena. That finish symbolized the company’s commitment to Cena as the new franchise player.  
• The two would meet again in a Triple Threat at Backlash 2008 with Randy Orton, reinforcing the idea that Triple H, Cena and Orton were the central triangle of the era.  

Triple H may not be Cena’s most emotional rival, but he is one of the most important – the gatekeeper whose submission loss helped validate Cena’s spot at the top.

8. Batista – Two Franchise Players, One Era

For years, John Cena and Batista were like parallel franchise quarterbacks: one leading RAW, the other SmackDown. Fans constantly debated who the real “top guy” of their generation was.

Their rivalry boiled over in the late 2000s:

• They had a high-profile match at SummerSlam 2008, where Batista pinned Cena clean in what was presented as a true dream match.
• The feud peaked with the WWE Championship program in 2010, including WrestleMania 26, where Cena defeated Batista to retain the title, and the brutal “I Quit” Match at Over the Limit 2010, a bout WWE often highlights in its Cena retrospectives.  

The Batista rivalry matters because it answered a long-running question: when both faces of the era finally collided, WWE canon made it clear – Cena came out on top.

9. Shawn Michaels – The Measuring Stick

Shawn Michaels didn’t feud with Cena as constantly as Orton or Edge, but every time they shared the ring, it felt like a test.

• Their first major collision came at WrestleMania 23, where Cena successfully defended the WWE Championship in a main event that helped solidify his big-match credibility.  
• Just weeks later, they wrestled a nearly one-hour classic on RAW (April 23, 2007). That non-title match remains one of the longest and most acclaimed bouts in RAW history and is a staple in lists of Cena’s best matches.  

In many ways, Michaels represented the old guard of technical excellence and storytelling. Cena proving he could hang with HBK – and sometimes outlast him – went a long way toward silencing criticisms of his in-ring ability.

10. Bray Wyatt – The Battle for Cena’s Soul

While Bray Wyatt doesn’t have the sheer number of matches against Cena that others do, the themes of their rivalry are crucial to understanding Cena’s character.

• At WrestleMania 30, Bray tried to make Cena “embrace the monster” inside him, begging him to give in to hatred and violence in order to win. Cena’s refusal and ultimate victory framed him as a hero who would not cross certain lines, even under pressure.  
• Their story continued through matches like the Last Man Standing bout at Payback 2014, reinforcing the “light vs. darkness” dynamic.
• Years later, during WrestleMania 36’s Firefly Fun House match, Wyatt’s character deconstructed Cena’s career, criticizing his failures, his golden-boy status, and the times he held others down. That match retroactively turned their earlier feud into the foundation of a much deeper psychological saga.  

As WWE and the wider wrestling world mourned Bray Wyatt’s real-life passing in 2023, many retrospectives pointed back to his relationship with Cena as one of his most layered and important rivalries. For Cena, it’s the feud that forced him to confront – in storyline – the criticisms fans had been levelling at him for years.

Why These Rivalries Matter Even More This Week

As Cena heads into that final walk at Saturday Night’s Main Event: John Cena’s Final Match against GUNTHER, WWE’s own promotion and mainstream outlets like Sports Illustrated, Deadline, and talkSPORT have leaned hard into the idea that he is the GOAT and a 17-time world champion closing the book on a once-in-a-generation career. 

But numbers only tell part of the story. The real evidence is in the rogues’ gallery:

• The company men (Triple H, Batista, Orton) he had to surpass.
• The disruptors (Punk, Wyatt) who challenged what he represented.
• The megastars (Rock, Lesnar) who forced him to prove he belonged in their tier.
• The craftsmen (Styles, Michaels, Edge) who proved that, for all the jokes about “Five Moves of Doom,” Cena could absolutely go bell-to-bell with the best in the world.

When the bell rings in Washington, D.C., the opponent in front of him will be GUNTHER. But standing just behind Cena – in the minds of the fans watching around the world – will be this entire list of rivals, the living proof that “The Last Real Champion” didn’t just survive an era.

He defined it.

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