WWE Wrestlemania XXVII: John Cena's Top 15 PPV Events Ever

The wrestling world has never seen anyone like John Cena. Naturally, many people love him and many people despise him.

A couple of things you cannot deny however, are that he is dedicated to WWE and that he is the face of the company.

I’m doing this countdown a little different. I’m not counting down his greatest matches but instead his overall PPV’s.

So with WrestleMania XXVII just under a week away, let’s look at John Cena’s top 15 PPV events ever.

15. Bragging Rights

Record: 2-0

Cena has only competed at the Bragging Rights PPV twice but he made the most out of it.

Cena and Orton faced off in a 60-minute Iron Man Match at the event that was being promoted as their last one-on-one encounter (so far it has been).

The two men had traded the WWE Championship a couple times and as the time limit expired, Cena was named the victor and was on the receiving end of the hot potato war with Orton.

The following year he would compete in a match alongside David Otunga as the two men captured the tag team titles. Later in the night he was forced to be in newcomer Wade Barret’s corner. 

14. No Mercy

Record: 1-1

John Cena competed twice at the No Mercy event with both appearances happening during his Smackdown run.

His first time at the event, he gained a lot of respect from his loss to Kurt Angle. The match was a break-through for Cena and proved he could hang with the big boys.

His second appearance he defeated Booker T in a forgettable match.

His two No Mercy appearances were examples of how a loss could mean more than a win.

13. Unforgiven

Record: 1-2

Cena has had three WWE Championship matches at the Unforgiven PPV, with two of the losses being byDQ.

Cena let anger get the better of him on two occasions against Kurt Angle and Randy Orton, respectively.

His one victory took place at the 2006 Unforgiven and was one of his best matches overall as well as one of his defining moments.

Cena defeated Edge in a TLC Match to capture his third WWE Championship. It was the beginning of a 13-month title reign and what arguably was his best reign ever.

12. New Year's Revolution

Record: 2-1

John Cena’s only competed at New Year’s Revolution twice, however he has had three matches at the event.

At the 2006 edition Cena successfully defended his WWE Championship in a grueling elimination chamber match.

Immediately after the match, however, Edge cashed in his money in the bank contract (the first man to ever do so) and took advantage of a battered Cena, ending his nine-month reign.

The following year, Cena successfully defended his championship against Umaga and became the first man to defeat the Samoan bulldozer.  

11. the Great American Bash

Record: 3-1

Cena made his Bash debut in a fatal four-way match when he successfully defended his U.S. Title against Rob Van Dam, Booker T and Rene Dupree.

When Cena returned to the Bash, it was no longer a Smackdown only PPV. He also returned as the conquering hero/WWE Champion.

Cena defeated then rising star Bobby Lashley, in what would be Lashley’s last WWE PPV match.

The following year Cena made quick work of The Miz in a non-title match.

His only loss at the event came to J.B.L. and that match was a stiff Parking Lot Brawl.

10. Armageddon

Record: 3-0

Cena has only competed at Armageddon three times, but he did win all three times.

The first time he competed he defeated Carlito crony Jesus (the man responsible for stabbing Cena at a club). 

The second time he teamed up with World Champion Batista as the two World Champions defeated King Booker and Finlay.

At the final Armageddon, Cena granted Chris Jericho his World Title rematch and made a successful title defense. 

9. One Night Stand and Extreme Rules

Record: 4-1

The 2008 and 2009 editions of One Night Stand and Extreme Rules, respectively, were not too memorable for Cena as he defeated J.B.L. and The Big Show in what were essentially throw away matches.

At the 2007 One Night Stand, Cena successfully defeated the then-threatening The Great Khali.

Just last year, Cena successfully defended his title against Batista in a Last Man Standing Match.

Cena’s most memorable One Night Stand appearance however, was a loss. It took place at the 2006 event as Cena defended his title against Rob Van Dam.

Van Dam used his money in the bank title shot and challenged Cena to a match on his home turf. It seemed as if Cena was being fed to the lions.

Cena, however, was prepared and impressed a lot of people by how he handled the situation.

In the end, Cena fell short as he could not overcome a spear through a table from an interfering Edge as well as a 5-star frog splash from RVD.

8. Judgment Day

Record: 5-0

The 2008 and 2009 editions of Judgment Day were also not too memorable for Cena as he once again took on J.B.L. and the Big Show. In fact, at the 2008 edition, Cena and J.B.L. took part in the first match on the card.

Cena’s debut at the event in 2004 was not too memorable either as he retained his U.S. title against Rene Dupree.

The 2007 edition provided yet another weak challenger as Cena retained the WWE Title against The Great Khali.

Cena’s only truly memorable Judgment Day match came at the 2005 event as he took on J.B.L. in an I Quit Match. Cena has just won his first WWE Title from JBL the previous month at WrestleMania 21.

What resulted was one of John Cena’s most memorable and greatest matches ever. It was everything the Mania match should have been. Cena destroyed J.B.L. while making him say the two words. Cena would then move on to Raw.

7. Backlash

Record: 2-3

Cena’s first appearance and loss at Backlash came in a match against then-WWE Champion Brock Lesnar.

It was Cena’s first WWE Title shot. However, the match did not go on last as Cena and Brock had to take a backseat to The Rock and Goldberg in what was Rock’s one-on-one swan song. Brock was still battered from his Wrestlemania 19 match so Cena dominated most of this match, once again looking good in defeat.

Cena returned to the event in 2006 as WWE Champion, defeating Triple H and Edge in a triple threat match.

The following year Cena defended his WWE title in a four way match, this time defeating Edge, Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton. He would then lose in a four way match the following year.

At the last Backlash, Cena lost the World Title to Edge in a last man standing match as The Big Show interfered on Edge’s behalf.

6. Vengeance and Night of Champions

Record: 4-4

The PPV once known as Vengeance slowly transitioned into what is now known as simply Night of Champions, so Cena’s record is from the two events combined.

Last year’s NOC’s PPV was forgettable for Cena as he took place in a six-pack challenge that Orton won.

Cena also lost at the 2008 and 2009 editions as he fell to Triple H and at the 2009 edition, Triple H and Randy Orton.

The 2007 edition saw Cena defeating Booker T, Mick Foley, Randy Orton and Bobby Lashley and successfully defending his WWE Title.

At Vengeance 2006, in the midst of ECW's WWE revival, Cena defeated Sabu.

Cena made his first PPV appearance ever at the 2002 Vengeance as he pulled off a huge upset (at the time) defeating Chris Jericho.

The following year, Cena faced his toughest challenge (perhaps to date) as he fell to The Undertaker. It was a memorable match and once again, Cena looked great in defeat.

5. Summerslam

Record: 4-3

Cena’s first SummerSlam appearance came at the 2004 edition as he quickly defeated Booker T. What was more memorable from that event was his interruption of Randy Orton’s promo which took place right before Cena’s match. It would be the first of their many confrontations.

The following year, Cena was WWE Champion and successfully defended the title against Chris Jericho.

In 2006, he attempted to regain the title from Edge but came up short.

The 2007 edition provided the first Cena-Orton PPV match in what resulted in a memorable match where Cena kept his year-long reign going.

2008 he fell to Batista and 2009 saw a rematch with Orton. The roles were reversed as this time Orton successfully defended his title.

The 2010 SummerSlam saw the climax of the Cena-Nexus feud as a huge elimination match took place. In the end, Cena defeated Barret and claimed the win for team WWE.

4. Royal Rumble

Record: 4-5

Cena’s record at the event is 4-5, but it is a little misleading since I’m counting the actual Rumble match.

Cena lost in the rumble match at the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010 and 2011 events.

His four wins at the Rumble, however, have been impressive.

At the 2006 event, he competed in a singles match and regained his WWE Title from Edge.

The following year he successfully defended his title against Umaga in a last man standing match that ranks as one of his best matches overall.

The 2009 event also saw Cena successfully defend his title, this time against J.B.L.

His ultimate Royal Rumble moment took place at the 2008 edition. Cena made his triumphant return from injury, quicker than anyone expected, to win the Royal Rumble match. It was the first and only time Cena has won the Rumble match.

3. Survivor Series

Record: 6-0

This is of course one of WWE’s big four PPV’s and Cena remains undefeated at the event.

At the 2003 and 2004 editions, Cena took part in elimination matches. In 2003, Cena along with the Canadian crippler who shall not be named were the last two survivors for Team Angle. In 2004, Cena, Big Show and Eddie Guerrero all survived for Team Eddie.

2005 saw Cena successfully defend his title against Kurt Angle.

In 2006, Cena once again took part in a traditional survivor series match as he and Bobby Lashley were the survivors for his team.

The 2008 edition saw Cena make his return from a serious neck injury to capture the World Heavyweight Title from Chris Jericho.

The following year, Cena competed in a triple threat match against Triple H and HBK. Cena successfully defended his title against the D-X soul mates.

2. No Way Out/Elimination Chamber

Record: 5-2

Considering No Way Out/Elimination Chamber is the springboard (along with the Rumble) to WrestleMania, it’s no surprise that Cena has been so successful at the event.

Cena’s first appearance at the event, however, did not go too well as he lost in a triple threat match to Kurt Angle (the match also featured the Big Show).

Cena would get his revenge on Angle the following year as Cena defeated Angle in a number one contender’s match that sent Cena to his first title match at the big show.

The 2007 edition was not too memorable for Cena as he teamed with WrestleMania opponent HBK to face Undertaker and Batista. The only reason Cena and HBK won was because Batista turned on his partner.

The 2008 No Way Out saw Randy Orton get himself disqualified as Cena failed to win the WWE Title.

2009, 2010 and 2011, Cena took part in the elimination chamber match.

At the 2009 chamber, Cena was World Champion but lost the title as he was on the receiving end of a 619, codebreaker and spear.

2010 was bittersweet for Cena. He walked out of the chamber as the WWE Champion but was then quickly forced to defend his title against Batista. Needless, to say Cena’s reign didn’t last too long.

Just this year at the Elimination Chamber PPV, Cena won the Raw Chamber match which then guaranteed him a title shot at the show of shows.

1. WrestleMania

Record: 6-1

John Cena is 6-1 at the biggest wrestling show of the year so it’s not too surprising that it ranks as his top PPV event ever. Cena has carved his niche at the event as has become one of the top performers ever at WrestleMania.

Cena made his debut at the event during the 20th edition as he opened the show, winning the U.S. title from the Big Show.

The following year, the stakes were a little higher and he defeated J.B.L., winning his first WWE Championship.

The 22 and 23 editions of WrestleMania saw John Cena take on Triple H and Shawn Michaels, respectively. In both contests, Cena made Triple H and HBK submit to his STFU. They remain defining moments for Cena as he made statements in both matches.

The following year saw Cena take part in a triple threat match with Randy Orton and Triple H. It remains Cena’s only WrestleMania loss to date.

The 25th WrestleMania saw Cena take part in another triple threat match. This time however, things turned out different as Cena defeated Edge and the Big Show to become World Champion.

Just last year at WrestleMania 26, Cena attempted to regain the WWE Championship from the man he had never defeated: Batista. Cena was successful in his attempt as he made Batista submit to the STFU.

Epilogue:

We are just a few days away from WrestleMania 27 and WrestleMania fever is infecting the majority of wrestling fans. What does the event hold for John Cena? What do you think? Will he go 7-1 or 6-2?