17 WWE Moments That Made John Cena the Face of an Era and Global Star

Only a few men have truly defined an era of WWE, taking the role of the face of the company, and even fewer have taken to that role quite like John Cena.

Affectionately labeled The GOAT by Michael Cole, Cena defined multiple eras in WWE and became a household name along the way.

In a time when professional wrestling was not such a mainstream success, The GOAT was the one known constant.

His time is winding down as he approaches the final match of his WWE career at Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13 in the Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C.

This is the perfect time to reflect back on his career and consider the biggest moments of his career, the ones that helped define his greatness.

The following are the 17 defining moments, one for each world championship he has won, that truly defined Cena's career and made him a global star and the true face of a wrestling era.

Ruthless Aggression

The beginning of Cena's run to the top began with his much discussed debut, appearing as a surprise opponent for Kurt Angle.

A young Cena with an undefined style interrupted The Olympic Gold Medalist and declared his greatest trait to be "Ruthless Aggression," a name that would become synonymous with this era.

It was not a perfect debut. He had a solid match in a losing effort against Angle and then received respect from The Undertaker backstage.

However, this was more of a rough draft of who Cena would become. He may have uttered the phrase, but this was not his era.

Instead, it will be looked back on as the beginning of something great to come, the foundation upon which he would build his legacy.

The Doctor of Thuganomics

Cena's career almost ended before it could truly begin as he was on the chopping block in late 2002 after struggling to get over.

As discussed on Stephanie's Places on ESPN, that all changed when Stephanie McMahon overheard Cena rapping during a WWE European tour and encouraged him to incorporate that into his in-ring gimmick.

He first unveiled his hidden talent on October 31, 2002 when he dressed up as Vanilla Ice for the SmackDown Halloween party.

This was a unique character in professional wrestling and quickly allowed Cena to form a niche role in WWE, pushing him into feuds with Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker.

While he was losing in big spots, he was working with names that fans cared about and delivering with those opportunities with lines few could forget.

Cena Grants His 1st Wish

In 2004, before Cena had even become the full household name in WWE, he granted his first wish with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

It was not a showy moment for the cameras. He was simply focusing on making the day for a seriously ill child.

Of everything Cena has done in his career, his work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation stands as the greatest testament to his legacy.

He has always put his focus first and foremost on the fans, especially the children who look up to him in the WWE Universe.

As reported by ESPN on April 21, 2015, he granted his 500th wish with the Foundation, a record no celebrity had ever matched.

That record is increasing constantly as he has well over 650 wishes granted to the modern day.

Cena Lifts Big Show at WrestleMania and Wins 1st Championship

It has become a running joke over the years, but fans were truly amazed the first time Cena did the unthinkable and lifted Big Show for an Attitude Adjustment.

The goofy rapper showed off an inhuman strength at WrestleMania XX in front of 20,000 people in Madison Square Garden and won his first championship.

It may have taken some brass knuckles and two FUs to pull off the win, but this was clearly a testing ground opportunity to see how far Cena could reach as a WWE Superstar.

He passed with flying colors. Just one year later and after three United States title reigns, he would take the next step and win the WWE Championship.

WrestleMania 21's Changing of the Guard

It would be easy to call WrestleMania 21 the most important night of Cena's career.

After barely losing in the Royal Rumble, he won a No. 1 Contender's tournament, last defeating Kurt Angle at No Way Out to earn a shot at the WWE Championship held by JBL.

He and Batista were walking into the biggest opportunities of their careers, ending heel reigns of terror to become the faces of their respective brands.

They did just that, even if WWE clearly favored Batista in the moment over Cena. The GOAT made the most of just 11 minutes for the world title.

He overwhelmed JBL with a crowd-pleasing comeback, sealing it with a signature FU to win the WWE Championship for the first time.

Fans took to Cena right away in this new role, embracing a charismatic man of the people who was ready to fight anyone to stay on top.

Cena's 1st 'I Quit' Match

While Cena vs. JBL at WrestleMania 21 was a passing-of-the-torch moment for The GOAT, it was not a slam dunk for all involved.

They were overshadowed by the other passing-of-the-torch match that followed in which Batista defeated Triple H.

JBL knew Cena was special, though, and was going to do everything in his power to make the world see it.

This necessitated a bigger, more brutal rematch between the growing rivals, leading to Cena entering his most iconic match type: the "I Quit" match.

By its end, The GOAT was covered in his own blood but still standing tall, never giving up no matter what The Wrestling God threw at him.

This was a definitive moment where fans began to truly embrace Cena not just as one of the top guys but also the face of the era.

The 1st Money in the Bank Cash-In

Heroes are not as often defined by their victories as much as their defeats, and the end of Cena's first reign as WWE champion was a legendary loss.

After successfully defending his WWE Championship inside an Elimination Chamber at New Year's Revolution 2006, Cena found himself in a second match courtesy of the very first Money in the Bank cash-in.

Edge revealed what it meant for MITB to be a championship match at any time, taking advantage of a bloodied Cena to easily win his first world title.

The man who had refused to give up time and again did not have the will to get back up after a pair of Spears, ending his career-defining first title run.

WWE did not wait long for Cena to reclaim the gold, though, and showed he could defeat The Rated-R Superstar in a fair fight at Royal Rumble in 2006 and moving forward into an uncertain future.

ECW One Night Stand 2006

Cena served as a polarizing figure in professional wrestling. While everyone admired his hard work, his style grew stale quickly with longtime fans.

This led to multiple moments when he was booed by the crowd despite working as the straight-laced babyface.

WrestleMania 22 was the first big moment for Cena as he struggled to get the crowd behind him in Chicago in a battle with Triple H.

However, it paled in comparison to The GOAT's reception in the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York for ECW One Night Stand 2006.

Everything ECW stood for was opposed to the sanitized image of WWE at this time, headed by Cena at the top.

The GOAT walked into an arena where everyone in the building hated him, defending the top prize in the sport against ECW's Rob Van Dam.

However, Cena kept his head throughout this match, no matter the reaction. He let RVD have his moment in the match and defeat him in one of ECW's treasured homes.

While it wasn't a long reign for RVD, the moment will live forever, especially the image of Cena walking through the hostile crowd on his way to the ring.

John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels Go for an Hour in London

Cena's reign atop WWE was defined by how many legends of the business stepped up to him, hoping to knock him down.

He went through many of the all-time greats including Triple H, Chris Jericho, Edge, Randy Orton and more.

However, no one gave The GOAT a career highlight match quite like Shawn Michaels.

The two delivered a strong contest at WrestleMania 23, but their greatest highlight came just weeks later when they collided in London on the April 23 episode of Raw.

This still stands as one of the greatest matches of Cena's career and a strong showcase of just how good he could be in the ring, especially working with the best.

He never looked lost or overwhelmed through the lengthy contest, keeping the audience glued to the action throughout.

The ending was electric, delivering a rare clean loss for Cena without his WWE Championship on the line, showing vulnerability for the champion just days before putting his gold on the line at Backlash.

Everything about this match lives on, standing among the greatest work of his career and a precursor of what he would do in the future.

The Royal Rumble Return No One Saw Coming

While Cena has held a world championship in WWE a record 17 times, he has never held one longer than his third reign, which lasted 380 days.

That reign was cut short when The GOAT tore his pectoral muscle on the October 1 edition of SmackDown, forcing him to vacate the WWE Championship.

No one could have imagined he would return just over three months after surgery for the 2008 Royal Rumble, winning from the No. 30 spot.

It was the ultimate assertion that Cena was not just superhuman in character. The man himself was superhuman.

Looking back, he was heavily protected, winning in the shortest amount of time of any Rumble winner, but it was not long before he was back to wrestling at full speed again.

The Rise of The Best in the World

While many qualities define great wrestling, nothing is more important than chemistry. It is important that those in the ring are in sync and can trust one another.

No one had more chemistry with Cena than CM Punk. In and out of the ring, these two men were polar opposites, meshing because of their differences.

Cena was the company man, standing for WWE's corporate standard that was growing stale to many longtime fans.

Punk was the outcast, the rising loner who wanted to be taken seriously by a business that rarely saw a star in someone who looked like him.

A match between them in front of a rogue Chicago crowd that was rooting for the hometown Punk was always going to be an awkward situation for Cena.

However, he thrived in the environment and came out looking better than he ever had before by playing to The Best in the World's strengths in one of his greatest matches.

Their collision was the first true indication that Cena's run at the top of the business was coming to an end, but that time would truly come a few years later.

Twice in a Lifetime: John Cena vs. The Rock

On the night after WrestleMania XXVII, Cena and The Rock set the main event of WrestleMania XXVIII, promising to collide in a year's time.

It was just about the biggest match WWE could possibly promise. The Great One was returning to the ring for the first time since 2004, and he was facing WWE's top man.

It was a collision of eras at the level of Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock at WrestleMania X8, promising a similar passing-of-the-torch between faces of the business.

Cena did not need Rock's approval to stand atop the division, but this was a showcase for The Great One to define the man who replaced him at the head of WWE.

Their match at WrestleMania XXVIII was a spectacular spectacle, even though Rock tore his hamstring during it.

The most shocking moment though was the ending where The Great One defeated The GOAT clean due to Cena's own arrogance.

This set the stage for an eventual rematch at WrestleMania 29 that was worked in a similar fashion and also included an unfortunate injury for The Rock.

This time though, Cena found his focus and captured the clean victory, ending the show with The Rock holding his arm high.

Neither match was quite what either man wanted to deliver, but the spectacle of it all is still special and solidified Cena's status at the top of the business.

United States Championship Open Challenge

Cena was often labeled as the star of the company for his character work, mic work and charitable efforts, but his in-ring style was criticized by some fans.

Rowdy crowds would openly chant "you can't wrestle" throughout his career. One run quieted those chants, though, and it was an unlikely one with what is considered to be a midcard title.

It all began at WrestleMania 31 where The GOAT successfully dethroned Rusev as United States champion.

In the aftermath, Cena promised to defend the title regularly in open challenges, beginning a run that included some of his best in-ring work against the likes of Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and Neville.

Each contest challenged Cena to wrestle in a different style and prove without a doubt that he could do far more than just the "Five Moves of Doom."

It was a special run not just for The GOAT but also the U.S. title itself as he redefined the midcard championship as one worth fighting to hold.

At the end of his run, Cena set the new standard for U.S. Championships reigns, holding the title five times, more than anyone in WWE history (one behind Ric Flair in WCW's history with the title).

Cena Ties Ric Flair's Iconic 16-Time World Title Record

While Cena did not always have iconic reigns as world champion, his number of reigns speak to his legacy as WWE's top guy.

That was solidified even more when he matched Ric Flair's iconic 16-time world championship record.

It was even more iconic as the ending of one of his last great WWE rivalries, defeating AJ Styles at Royal Rumble 2017.

The Phenomenal One was never supposed to be a WWE Superstar. He carried TNA through many tough years trying to compete with WWE then redefined himself in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Through that time, Styles became one of the undeniable greats, and he solidified his claim all the more when he made his shock arrival in WWE at the 2016 Royal Rumble.

Over one year, he worked with Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns before turning his attention to Cena. Over their three one-on-one matches together, they continued to overachieve.

Styles defeated Cena twice before giving him the win when it mattered most, allowing The GOAT to become the only man to match Ric Flair's record as world champion.

This feud defined The Phenomenal One's WWE career and has allowed him to become a true household name on the biggest stage.

The Firefly Fun House Match

WrestleMania 36 stands as the strangest in WWE history. Due to the global pandemic in 2020, there was no audience for The Show of Shows that year.

Moreover, WWE only had weeks to completely reshape the plan for 'Mania, including what was meant to be a wild rematch between John Cena and Bray Wyatt from WrestleMania 30.

This was likely supposed to be a chance for Wyatt to avenge his loss to Cena six years back, but it became something much more audacious.

The Firefly Fun House match was a dive into the bizarre in which Cena was pushed to reflect upon his own past and his effect on Wyatt.

It was less a physical clash of styles and more a mental battle that Wyatt overwhelmingly won.

In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Cena described the creative process as the only time he ever got to write out a match, and it stands as a fun reflection upon his career.

Cena Declares 2025 Will Be His Last Year in WWE

For more than five years, the writing was on the wall for Cena. The face of the company was appearing less frequently by the year.

He had taken on the dreaded title of part-timer as his life transitioned to a successful movie career.

His infrequent appearances were a constant reminder of how much had changed in WWE since his debut in 2002.

Cena made a surprise appearance at Money in the Bank in 2024 where he announced the end was on the horizon.

In order to give back properly to the business, he would compete for one last year in 2025 and give his all in a retirement tour to remember.

This announcement was signature Cena. He was poised and focused in declaring what wrestling meant to him and what he wanted to give back to it in 2025, setting up a rare year-long retirement tour.

Cena Completes the Grand Slam in His Final Match in Boston

While the most memorable moment of Cena's retirement tour will always be his shocking heel turn at Elimination Chamber 2025, the aftermath shows that moment should not define his legacy.

The heel run even distracted from Cena passing Ric Flair's world title record, particularly let down by a lackluster performance at WrestleMania 41.

The GOAT would redeem that match with Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam, but even that did not feel like the true signature moment of this tour.

That came in Cena's hometown of Boston on the November 10 edition of Raw on Netflix.

He embraced the hometown energy and competed one last lifetime goal: capturing his first intercontinental title to become WWE's 25th Grand Slam champion.

In a fun sprint against one of WWE's best rising stars, Cena fed off the crowd energy to overcome Dominik Mysterio and compete a final career highlight.

The way that everyone embraced The GOAT in this moment was everything that this retirement tour should have been about: a celebration of an unmatched legacy.

This set the stage for his retirement match on December 13 at Saturday Night's Main Event, likely delivering one last incredible career highlight moment for Cena.