The history of John Cena and Brock Lesnar in WWE

Before we look forward to what will happen between Cena and Lesnar, we need to revisit the past 20 years to truly understand the depths of this feud.

Ruthless Aggression Era

Cena and Lesnar had their first singles match on an episode of SmackDown in 2002. The match was relatively short, and Lesnar won, given that it was an early point in their careers. 

Their first real feud occurred the following year in February of 2003. The Doctor of Thuganomics used a rap to call out Lesnar. They were both at good points in their career going into this feud. Brock Lesnar was in the middle of a feud with Kurt Angle at the time, while Cena was fighting for a chance at the WWE Championship.

Lesnar was in control for most of the match, but Cena was able to retaliate once he used his chain against Lesnar. Yet, Lesnar took the victory over Cena and proceeded to challenge Kurt Angle. 

Their feud would continue into April 2003 at the Backlash PLE, where Lesnar would defend the WWE Championship against Cena. Lesnar prevailed in the end as he was also the favorite going into the match. This would be the last time they faced each other for nearly ten years.

Extreme Rules 2012

After suffering a loss at WrestleMania 28 against The Rock, Cena went to the ring to tell The Rock that he is the better man and that this would be the end of their feud. However, someone else answered the call, and Brock Lesnar made his return to the WWE after eight years. His eyes were set on Cena. He delivered an F5 to Cena, sending a message. 

This led to an Extreme Rules match at the Extreme Rules PLE in 2012. It was a bloody match between the two, but this time Cena came out on top. Lesnar would then redeem himself against Triple H in the main event of SummerSlam 2012 in a no-disqualification match, making him tap out to the Kamora lock. 

SummerSlam 2014

After over a year of not having a match, Lesnar made another return to the company and attacked Cena again. This led to one of their most memorable matches with each other. 

Cena would defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2014. The fans knew that Lesnar had an immense amount of strength, but the performance that was put on was almost hard to watch. This event was the birth of “Suplex City”. Cena had taken 16 German suplexes and two F-5s in the match, which was unheard of. It was suplex after suplex. He took a beating like no other, and it will go down in WWE history. 

After that match, Lesnar walked out with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. They have had one more match against each other at Night of Champions 201,4, where Cena won by disqualification because of an interference from Rollins. This led to another game at the Royal Rumble 2015, but it was a triple-threat match with Seth Rollins. That was the last time Lesnar and Cena fought each other in the squared circle. 

SummerSlam 2025

We are currently on John Cena’s retirement tour, so everyone is wondering who will be left for him to face as he only has about nine dates left. We have seen opponents that Cena has had an immense history with come back to get in the ring with him for one final time. Opponents such as Randy Orton, CM Punk, and now Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar made his shocking return at SummerSlam 2025 after Cena lost the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes. Many people never thought he would be seen in the company again. Lesnar made sure everyone knew he was back and ready to go again after giving Cena an F5. 

The next WWE PLE is WWE Clash in Paris on August 31, then WWE Crown Jewel on October 11. Cena has eight dates left with both of these PLEs on his list. Will we see Brock Lesnar vs John Cena one last time? Are we ready to revisit this 20-year feud?