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John Cena Reveals His Top 3 Career Rivals

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Xaiver Aguiar | Last updated May 19, 2025 5:20 PM ET

John Cena's farewell tour has opened the door for fans to attempt to microanalyze his career. Just like anything else, there's a newfound appreciation for the 48-year-old in the midst of his last run with the company, with his retirement date rapidly approaching. For years, his constant push and cringey material created a rift with the audience, but with hindsight, it's his consistency that kept the promotion afloat during a dark creative stretch.

Although his "five moves of doom" mantra had some validity at one point, Cena did a masterful job increasing his work rate, which, paired with his iconic promo skills, dramatically improved his programs. But who are the undisputed WWE champions' top rivals? The "man who can't be seen" recently answered that question himself.

While speaking at the Philadelphia Fan Expo, Cena revealed his top three opponents.

"The ones over the years might have been The Rock, CM Punk, and I don't know, the third one," Cena said. I'll leave it up to the fans. Randy Orton. You know what, Randy Orton."

John Cena says The Rock, CM Punk and Randy Orton are his top 3 opponents.

(Philadelphia Fan Expo) pic.twitter.com/I1KomTzUph
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) May 19, 2025

Punk is unquestionably Cena's most engaging feud. The pair had undeniable chemistry, never had a subpar match, and could evoke "real" emotion with each other on the mic.

The Rock was genuinely a stunning response, considering they only had two head-to-head bouts, and the second in particular was a massive dud. The hatred felt personal at first, but it became oversaturated and never really reached that final gear.

The sheer volume of work with Orton makes that a satisfactory answer, but the consistent lack of quality has to be taken into consideration. For every memorable moment, there are about four duds.

For me, AJ Styles is the most notable omission and should slide into The Rock's slot. Their 2016 SummerSlam and 2017 Royal Rumble scraps are iconic, and the angle of having the most prominent wrestling star on the planet against the alternative darling made for captivating television.

If you wanted to take Orton out, Edge or JBL seem to be the most viable alternatives, and both of them helped elevate Cena into another tier of superstardom.

Cena's next showdown will come this week at Saturday Night's Main Event against R-Truth, a show with a decent card so far.

Current Saturday Night Main Event Card

World Heavyweight Championship - Jey Uso (c) vs. Logan Paul

Tag Team Match - Sami Zayn & CM Punk vs. Bron Breakker & Seth Rollins

Singles Match - John Cena vs. R-Truth

Steel Cage Match - Drey McIntyre vs. Damian Priest

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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