Ranking John Cena's 10 Best Promos of WWE Career

John Cena's recent heel turn and subsequent promos have reminded fans that the 16-time world champion is one of the greatest talkers of all time, with a knack for blending story and reality, all while emotionally connecting with the audience.

The 47-year-old can also also unleash a sick burn or two, hitting even the biggest names with a dose of uncomfortable reality when the time calls for it.

In celebration of Cena's excellence on the mic, enjoy these 10 greatest promos of his career, in which you may even find his two most recent offerings.

10. Cena vs. Wrestling

In his second promo appearance as a heel, Cena took aim at the fans and wrestling as a whole on the March 24 edition of Raw in Glasgow, Scotland.

He called fans "rats in cages" and claimed he had been manipulating them for years, getting them to react how he wanted, sometimes simply with the fluctuation of his voice.

Still spitting insults, which he felt were justified based on his treatment over the years, he vowed to win the Undisputed WWE Championship, retire with it and take it home, leaving the company to come up with a "toy belt" for everyone to fight over.

Cena put an exclamation point on his promo by threatening everyone from the fans to the wrestlers in the back: "I will ruin wrestling for every fan, for every wrestler, for everyone."

The ultimate revenge from an egotistical megastar who is not willing to let fans have something he cannot have himself.

9. 'I'm Here to Help You'

Cena returned to WWE in 2021 for a feud with Roman Reigns at SummerSlam.

Like he had years earlier, Cena put the pressure on The Tribal Chief. After all, he was a returning part-timer squaring off against the top star in the company; someone he was on the record as saying could not be the best in the business.

There was no pressure on the leader of the Ruthless Aggression era who told Reigns: "You're going to kick my ass at SummerSlam." He then casually reminded the titleholder that he only needed a three-count to beat The Tribal Chief, ruin his run as champion and make his own history.

"All I need is one, two, three and you're the answer to a trivia question: Who did John Cena beat to become 17-time world champion?"

Suddenly, Cena planted doubt in the minds of those fans who believed he was simply back for a cameo appearance, rolling into SummerSlam to put Reigns over before heading back to Hollywood.

He created just enough doubt and heightened the stakes through one promo in a way that enhanced the importance of the main event while also playing on the same insecurities Reigns faced four years earlier when he found himself in Cena's shadow.

This was an underrated gem from Cena that evolved beyond the harsh one-line insults and added even more substance to a feud that could have gotten by just by featuring two of the biggest names in WWE history.

8. Ending the Austin Theory Experiment

"We don't care about you because we don't believe you. We don't believe you because you don't believe you."

That was the line Cena started his confrontation with Austin Theory with in their March 6, 2023 promo.

It was spot-on and reflected the growing frustration fans felt with Theory, who felt unnatural and inauthentic as he continued a push that had seen him battle some of the stop names in the industry and even share the ring with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin a year earlier at WrestleMania.

"You're a generic kid out here wearing fancy sneakers and sunglasses indoors. And you've got nothing in here," Cena told the then-United States champion, again questioning the substance of the character.

That the crowd so eagerly accepted Cena's criticisms of Theory should have been enough of a message to management that incarnation of his character was not connecting and would not succeed at the levels they had hoped for him.

Instead, Theory rolled into WrestleMania 39 and beat Cena in the opening contest of the show, again proving that the top star in the industry may well have been the most selfless era-defining performer ever.

7. Addressing The Rock Ahead of WrestleMania 28

On the road to WrestleMania 28 and a "Once in a Lifetime" showdown with The Rock, Cena was clear about his issues with The Great One leaving pro wrestling for a career in Hollywood and disingenuously telling fans he "never left" and WWE would always be "home."

One last time before their iconic showdown in Miami, a deadly serious Cena went face-to-face with Rock and told him, "I'll be goddamned if you come in a visitor and take my life from me."

His life? WWE.

Amid other hard-selling lines to hype up the biggest WrestleMania 28 main event, it was the one that added gravity to the situation, something Cena has repeatedly proved adept at handling.

6. Calling Out AJ Styles

AJ Styles was a shiny new thing in WWE in the summer of 2016, having moved from TNA Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling to the industry's top promotion.

As such, it was only a matter of time before he went face-to-face with Cena, the top star in the industry. It was a showdown that left The Phenomenal One verbally scarred.

Taking exception to Styles complaining about a lack of respect, Cena told him: "You've been hot for about six months. I've held this place down for well over a decade."

A fired-up Cena told Styles that the former TNA and IWGP champion was built for the indie scene while he was built for WWE in what felt like a dare to rise to his level.

Some thought it was an unfair shot at a guy who had succeeded at every level during his acclaimed career. In hindsight, it was a promo that set the tone for an epic rivalry that served as the affirmation of Styles as a successful WWE Superstar.

5. 'Who The Hell Are You?'

Cena respects The Miz.

They have worked together countless times and everyone has seen the video of him giving The A-Lister his props for finishing the main event of WrestleMania 27 despite suffering a concussion late in the match.

That did not necessarily protect Miz from a Cena-sized ass-kicking on the mic on the February 28, 2017 episode of SmackDown as the two hyped an upcoming mixed tag team match for WrestleMania 33.

Cena took aim at his rival, criticizing him for not having a grip on who he really was at that point in his career:

""You're a dude named Mike who shortened his name on The Real World, tried to bootleg The Rock's electricity to get put on the WWE. When you got here, you straight up stole Chris Jericho's personality, you stole Ric Flair's figure four leg lock, you stole Daniel Bryan's offense and his personality and...you been stealing what AJ Styles' been saying for the last six months." "

Every word hit hard but was birthed in truth. Miz had earned criticism for taking his act from other, more successful Superstars. The difference was, this was the biggest star in pro wrestling calling him out for it.

It added an all-important gravity to a feud that, otherwise, did not have a ton of it. And it heated up a match that, considering the star power involved, was not nearly as high-profile as one would expect for The Showcase of the Immortals.

4. Destroying Roman Reigns' Aura

Cena can be downright savage on the microphone when the Superstar standing across from him needs a dose of reality.

Take his August 28, 2017 promo with Roman Reigns, for example.

The Big Dog was amid a massive push by WWE officials but had struggled to connect with fans, the result of one-dimensional booking and an on-screen persona that he had yet to grow into.

Ahead of a WrestleMania-level main event at that year's No Mercy pay-per-view, Cena did not hold back on The Big Dog, cutting him down with a verbal assault that would have buried a less-determined performer.

Giving him the floor to talk, Cena said: "It's called a promo, kid, and if you want to be the Big Dog, then you're gonna have to learn how to do it, so go ahead."

He denounced Reigns for blaming him for hogging a spot at the top when Cena was waiting for someone to come and take that spot from him, only to be disappointed when no one could.

"You should be ashamed I'm a part-timer because I can do this better than you could ever do it full-time," he said in a scathing promo from the 16-time champ.

3. Highlighting Daniel Bryan Amid 'Work' Promo

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In December 2013, Cena found himself again preparing for a showdown with Randy Orton, with both the WWE and world heavyweight titles at stake in a TLC match.

During the December 9 episode of Raw, Cena took the opportunity to not only put over the theme of the latest chapter of his feud with The Viper, but also to highlight the fans' choice for the next top star of WWE.

Amid the passionate chants for Daniel Bryan, Cena highlighted him, telling his TLC opponent, "The reason they cheer for him is because he works and he earns it," while running Orton down for taking the easy way out and aligning himself with The Authority.

It was an opportunity to tell the fans that while they had seen this match before, this time was about those who grind for a living and those who take the easy way out, but it was also about spotlighting Bryan.

In the spur of the moment and off-script, Cena gave the spotlight to a guy who had more than earned it through his hard work and dedication between the ropes in the years leading up to it, proving once again that while he could hammer home some painful truths when needed, he also acknowledged those who had earned success.

2. Cooking The Rock on Road to WrestleMania 28

The rivalry between Cena and The Rock may have escalated into an immensely personal one by the time they finally clashed at WrestleMania 28, but it was a blow-for-blow exchange of insults before then that captivated the audience.

On the February 27, 2012 episode of Raw, Cena went off-script and exposed one of The Great One's secrets.

Knocking Rock for his over use of trending catchphrases, Cena unloaded on him and called him out for not necessarily talking off the top of his head.

"I don't need words like 'respect' and 'loyalty' to trend worldwide, just like I don't need my notes for my promo on my wrist. Nice tattoo," he said as his rival perked up, seemingly not expecting Cena to call him out for jotting down a few things before hitting the ring.

It escalated the feud and only further added to suspicions that Cena and Rock genuinely didn't like each other, exactly what the program needed to maximize interest ahead of the biggest show of the year.

1. The First Heel Promo

Cena's heel turn at Elimination Chamber on March 1 was an industry-altering one on the same level as Hulk Hogan at Bash at the Beach in 1996.

It was the first time in nearly three decades that a babyface of that magnitude took the risk of turning villain. And it worked, captivating fans and becoming a social media phenomenon.

Fans waited with lofty expectations for Cena to address them for the first time and it was worth every second.

"No matter what I do, it is never enough and you should all be ashamed of yourselves," Cena told the crowd in Brussels, Belgium.

He continued: "I am not a babyface. I am not a heel. I'm a human being. And each and every one of you has been awful to me. You've been awful. And it's been the same damn noise for 25 years."

Responding to those who expected a new look, presentation and maybe even some new theme music, he said:

"I put my values on the line to make a very important choice in my life. And all you could think was, 'What do we get?' My story changed, and all you asked was, 'What do we get?' John Cena is coming to my town—'What do we get?' This is trending—'What do we get?' Not one of you sons of b---hes asked me how I feel. It’s just, 'What do we get? What do we get? What do we get? What do we get?' You get nothing. You get what you have earned. And what you have earned is nothing. You don’t get a new look because you dress like me? I don’t dress like you idiots. You don't get new music. That is my voice on that song. And your time is finally up. And my time is finally now."

It was a statement of defiance from a man who had been a hero to so many young fans over two decades at the top of professional wrestling. It was also a bitter breakup speech with an audience he claimed he was in an abusive relationship with.

No longer willing to sit back and be a punching bag as he saw the sunset of his career rapidly approaching, Cena lashed out...and it was glorious.

Arguably, the best promo of a career defined by some spectacular ones.