Ranking John Cena’s most cringe-worthy moments as WWE says farewell to star who avenged Santa, stole titles and derailed Nexus

The curtain comes down on John Cena’s storied WWE career with one final match on Saturday night.

A record-breaking 17-time world champion, he will walk away from the company that spring-boarded him to global stardom more than two decades ago.

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During his incredible 24-year pro-wrestling run, Cena went from an unfancied rookie to the undeniable ‘Face of WWE‘ through his immense work ethic, unforgettable feuds, and untouchable mic work.

At Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington DC, he will add one final rival to seemingly never-ending list as he waves farewell to the fans that both adored, and at times, hated him.

But it wasn’t all title wins, WrestleMania main events and record breaking runs that summed up Cena.

For all the highlights he had across two decades of WWE action, ‘The Champ’ also worked though his fair share of cringe-inducing moments.

Ahead of his retirement, talkSPORT looks back at some of Cena’s low-lights.

Stealing WWE title from Rey Mysterio the same night it was won

Cena is one of the most decorated stars in WWE history, but scooped one of his championships in very controversial circumstances.

After CM Punk ‘walked out’ with the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank in 2011, a tournament was held to crown a new champion.

It was won by babyface Rey Mysterio on an episode of Raw, who beat The Miz to get his hands on the belt for the first time.

But his celebrations were short-lived. Cena, who was present for Mysterio’s backstage celebration, went on to challenge, and win, the title later that night.

Having him de-throne ‘The Master of the 619’ so quickly was a head-scratching decision.

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Cena’s win made Mysterio’s WWE title reign the shortest in history, and his babyface character had been handed the belt in circumstances that would usually be fit for a top heel.

Undoubtedly, the Punk vs Cena rivalry that followed was one of WWE’s greatest ever, but it really came to life after this contentious moment.

Avenging Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street Fight

Cena was WWE’s superhero for more than a decade, so it perhaps stands to reason that he saved Christmas back in 2012.

The December 24 edition of Raw featured Mick Foley taking on the role of Santa Claus, who was wronged by Alberto Del Rio.

As ‘Jolly Old Saint Mick’ handed out gifts to the crowd, he was knocked down by Del Rio, who drove his white BMW into the arena.

While it may have been an accident, Cena didn’t see it as such. He was absolutely furious backstage, and unleashed a comical, over-the-top tirade against Del Rio.

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He vowed revenge, and got his wish in a ‘Miracle on 34th Street Fight’.

Just as Cena looked to be fading, ‘Foley Claus’ returned to save the day.

Still dressed as Santa, the WWE icon made his way down the ramp and whacked Del Rio’s personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez with his present sack, before beating the Mexican heel by jamming ‘Santa Socko’ into his mouth.

Del Rio stumbled straight into an Attitude Adjustment, and ate the pin.

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It was no surprise to see Cena save Christmas in an all too predictable match that felt a little too cartoonish, even for WWE.

Squash match vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania 34

Cena had a reputation, at times, for burying talent. But at WrestleMania 34, he was on the wrong end of a squash match.

Given they were two of WWE’s biggest-ever stars, Cena and The Undertaker, surprisingly, didn’t cross paths all too often.

They were often kept on separate brands, and both could draw at WrestleMania, so it made perfect sense to keep them apart.

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Aside from a handful of matches in 2003 and 2004, the pair only shared the ring for tag team action across the next 14 years.

For many fans, seeing Cena and The Undertaker go one-on-one became something of a dream match, and they finally got their wish at WrestleMania 34. But it came in bizarre circumstances.

In the weeks building up to the big show, ‘Big Match John’ was not booked for a bout with anyone. That led to him calling out ‘The Deadman’ in one-sided promos, but WWE didn’t even confirm if he would be present or not in New Orleans.

Cena spent much of WrestleMania sitting in the audience, but jumped into the ring when he heard ‘Taker had finally arrived.

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After a long delay, and a frustrating fake out from Elias, ‘The Phenom’ stepped out from behind the curtain.

His entrance, though, lasted longer than the actual match.

It took Undertaker five minutes to make his way from the ramp to the ring, and just two minutes and 45 seconds to squash Cena on the grandest stage of all.

Just like that, the dream match became a rushed, wasted opportunity and the pair never met in the squared circle again.

Derailing WWE’s next big thing

Plenty has been said publicly about the rise and fall of Nexus.

Emerging from the first season of NXT, the the villainous stable set out to wreck havoc on the WWE establishment.

Led by Wade Barrett, who recently described Cena as the GOAT in an exclusive talkSPORT interview, The Nexus rookies made their presence felt as they hijacked the main event of Raw in June 2010.

They attacked Cena and Punk, as well as other personnel at ringside, before ultimately destroying the set.

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Such was the carnage, that The Nexus forced the main event bout to end in a no contest, and they also sent Cena out on a stretcher.

That invasion alone caused huge buzz, and established the group as the main heel stable on Raw. They attacked plenty of other superstars and legends, before feuding primarily with Cena.

At SummerSlam 2010, he pulled together a team to face The Nexus in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match.

The bout should have been booked as a defining victory for WWE’s next big thing, but instead, saw The Nexus lose all of their momentum amid apparent backstage politicking.

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Edge and Chris Jericho, who went to war with the stable, have since revealed last minute changes were made to the match.

Both claim they wanted The Nexus to win, but that someone else had other ideas.

Instead, Cena single-handedly beat the final two members on his own to win the match, and kill any buzz the rookies had.

The 17-time champ has never out-right revealed if he was the one who decided the finish or not, but later suggested The Nexus should have won.

“I show up to work and do what I’m told,” Cena said in 2017.

“I don’t pick how the story is told, I get told that. But I do pick what goes on in the story.

“In that particular moment, it was too much. I think if presented in another way, it could have been a little more palatable. But I can’t change the television show, I’ve never had that power and that’s something I don’t do.

“If you look at a laundry list of my opponents, you can tell that it’s exactly how I operate. I guessed wrong on the way that the story was told, and I guess that’s why people are so up-in-arms about it.

“But we tell so many stories. I was wrong once.”

Indeed, for a man who has told so many stories in WWE, Cena was bound to have a few low-lights alongside those historic highs.

The championships, WrestleMania main events and iconic feuds will long be remembered — as will the times in which he saved Santa, stole the WWE title and got squashed by The Undertaker.

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