Cena's Greatest Adversary

[Spidey Revivey]

John Cena has been in the WWE for almost a decade now. He has been a part of many rivalries and quite a few memorable moments. He has made an impact that WWE will feel for a long time, and has done it for longer than even The Rock has (not off and on of course). John Cena has been compared to the likes of Hulk Hogan and The Rock himself, so it got me thinking:

Hulk Hogan's greatest nemesis (arguably) was Rowdy Roddy Piper. That's barely a debate. As for The Rock, most would agree that Stone Cold Steve Austin was his match. So...who as of now has been John Cena's, the posterboy of the WWE, greatest adversary?

I believe Edge is. The "Rated R Superstar" to me has been the greatest contrast to Cena's "Hustle. Loyalty. Respect". You're inclined to disagree, but they have shared rumbles the world over that still stick out in my mind. I remember their TLC match the best, and that was phenomenal. And when John Cena interrupted the "Live Sex Show" segment, it was priceless. Where John Cena was the All-Around Good Guy that could do no wrong, Edge was the polar opposite.

Who do you believe in this point in time has been Cena's "perfect nemesis"? Or could it possibly be that we haven't gotten far enough into Cena's career to label anyone his direct opponent? It's all up for discussion.

 

[sinisterscotsman]

Based on matches alone, isn't sheamus undefeated against cena 1 v 1?

But for me it has to be Randy Orton. I really enjoyed their matches together, something which I can't say about many other Cena matches. The Iron man match in particular was awesome in my opinion and both characters came out stronger from this feud.

I still think that we have yet to see the defining moment of Cena's career, the match which will truly escalate him to the heights of the immortals. Chances are that next year at WM vs The Rock could be that moment or possibly a match vs Taker at Mania, especially if it were takers final match, could prove great in doing this

 

[Devlin]

For me, Cena greatest Adversary is Edge. They had some classic matches and Edge really brought out the best in him, and it was their feud that helped elevate Edge to the Main Event and helped keep him there. They were polar opposites, the clean cut "say your prayers, eat your vitamins" style face Vs the bad ass rated r super star. Their feud went off and on for years and was always one of the hottest things going at the time.

 

[#1HEEL]

Has to be Randy Orton.

Edge and Cena only had a relatively small fued initially back and forth.

Orton and Cena have fueding across 4-5 years on and off. Some epics matches, that period where it came down to the iron match, after swapping the title back and forth PPV after PPV was epic.

Definately Orton. Edge is the only other candidate.

One time fueds aka Miz/Sheamus/JBL, even Batista (epic fued) don't count for me.

 

[Azane]

Orton and Cena fought so many times that fans didn't want to see it anymore, not that they were awful matches, just repetitive.

I didn't see his Edge feuds as being all that big in comparison.

The Miz and Rock feuds are works in progress, I could see Miz/Cena being the top feud soon.
The Rock's once a month appearance, and 12 hours of Raw rewind regurgitates aren't going to hold a candle to real feuds by the time its over in Wrestlemiamia.

 

[metalbass]

If Cena/Orton wasn't overplayed so much, I'd go with that.
I'd also go with Wade Barrett if SuperCena basically wasn't born from that feud.
So, I guess by default, it would have to be Edge.

 

[Grimy Grizzly]

I think John Cena's greatest adversary has been the crowd they've been going at it for a very long time now

 

[oldhamandy1]

I love Orton v Cena matches and that for me would go down as his best so far. The Rock feud reminds more comparable to the Hogan/Rock fued a while back, a handing over the torch style fued if you like. The Miz fued is a strange one as I don't think there has really been one after all when they fought at WM it was overshadowed by the return of The Rock.

 

[Sleep Time]

I have to say its Angle, Cena has been feuding with the guy since his debut and has never pulled a clean victory over him.

 

[Freakinflax]

Edge is his greatest with Orton behind, and also Triple H. I know you had an "other" option, but they have fought at 2 Wrestlemania's and many pay per view main events. Edge is #1 though. Edge/Cena was the Rock/Austin and Bret/HBK of the new generation.

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

Edge made Cena a star, and vis versa without their feud their feud that went on for what seemed to be two years, neither of them would be where they are now. Every time Edge would get the upper hand and weasel his way into the title again, Cena would come back bigger and better to take it away from him. Every time you thought Cena had finally done Edge in and taken him out, Edge would find some loophole to get himself back into the title picture and win the title back from Cena. They needed each other, without each other neither of them would be at the level they are to day.

Now Cena is doing the exact same thing for the Miz now. Without Cena the Miz would not be where he is in terms of position in the company, and in the main event. Two summers ago the Miz was fresh off of ECW on Raw trying to take it to the biggest star the company has, and was getting his teeth kicked in week after week, now the Miz has headlined WrestleMania vs Cena and is still involved in a feud with him. If this feud continues as I hope it will, the two will trade the belt of another 3-5 times over the course of this year. This helps the Miz because he needs to stay at the top of the card to remain credible, and it helps Cena because it gets tiresome to see as champion for long periods of time.

Honorable mention goes to the following

Batista would be a distant second to Edge. Cena may be superman, but Batista will always be his kryptonite. I think these two being larger than life due to their physical stature always made their feuds good. You knew things were going to get brutal, you know they were going to go to the ring, bang each other up, beat each other down, and give the crowd a good show. Batista's exit program with Cena was a classic last year.

Triple H vs Cena was always entertaining because although most people hate Cena, they hate Triple H (as a heel) more than anything in the world. Pitting the biggest Baby face in the company against the ultimate heel worked out perfectly. These to were also physical when it came down to it in the ring, and they always put on great performances..

Orton would be out in left field in this ranking because no matter how much they push for Orton vs Cena its never got that over the top energy that you get with Cena and others. Hell Cena vs Triple H is a better showing than Cena vs Orton, , now that I mention it Cena vs Triple H is better than Orton vs Triple H. Theres something about Randy Orton that makes his feuds with anyone flat line quickly.... its a shame

 

[nerd4life]

dont know how anyone can say edge? they had what like 1 or 2 decent feuds?

it cant possibly be edge.

Its clearly orton, epic grudge matches, there this generations rocky and austin (yes nowhere near as good as they were)

Orton is the only possible answer

 

[TheMaskedNewton]

I think it's Cena vs Orton...it was not over booked in my opinion but was continuously booked...there was no need for that...they had gone approx 4 ppvs straight? It could have been saved for afterwards...it would have been nice to see the feud on-and-off like..but it became very stale.

I don't know much about the feud of Cena and Edge but it's obvious it made Edge from a upper mid-carder to a main-eventer...superb! And the TLC match was great!

 

[Thesage1989]

I selected edge, his feud with edge was epic there rivalry had real emotion, however for me the real man is Eddie. His feud with Eddie in 2003 was epic as well and the parking lot brawl has mad sweet

 

[Reddog1146]

I chose Randy Orton because they had a huge feud resulting in big match ups in 2009. They had a hell in a cell match, i quit match, and an irn man match which is a rare match up to have.

 

[MaxSteel]

Randy Orton vs Cena matches were way overbooked, yes. I remember at some point people weren't even able to watch it anymore, from how stale it already was.
But at the same time, they did have some huge matches, and IMO this feud has made both characters much stronger.
Plus, I identify "greatest Adversary" as the one who he has been feuding with the most, and who he had the more furious rivalry with overall ,in which case case it's Orton.


Though I can't help myself but to add -
Cena's greatest adversary is any male above the age of 12 in whichever arena he is.

 

[DethMetal]

"I hate you....I hate you! I hate you!! I hate your shirts, I hate your shoes, I hate the CeNation, I hate everything that you stand for!!"-Edge.

Edge. By far. He was Cena's polar opposite. He was against everything he was about. Cena was for Hustle, Loyalty, Respect. Edge stood for, Sex, Crudeness, Violence.

Orton is a close second. Probably if they hadn't hugged when Cena was "fired"(really, a handshake sure. But hugging the guy who kicked your old man in the skull?) Orton took Cena to Hell and back. Their Hell in a Cell match and Iron man match were great.

Batista is also a candidate. He was one of the only ones who could deal real damage to SuperCena. You knew things would get brutal with them, if anything. Their feud last year was classic.

Also, has John Cena EVER beat Sheamus one-on-one?

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

I voted other. Other meaning us the fans of wrestling as his greatest adversary. Why you ask? Well its simple, 1) most of us are blaming him for the PG -era. 2) most of us say he cannot wrestle to save his life. 3) most of us are tired of his superCena gimmick and want him to turn heel (wich will never happen). So you see, John Cena's greatest adversary is us the fans.

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

He just carried so many people through so many damn good matches and made them look like big stars.. That I had use bias and pick Wade Barrett.

Personally, I think Barrett brought out the best in Cena from character stand point. Even though Cena gets begged as a goody-two shoes by a portion of the crowd, he stick to his guns and let Wade treat him like shit for those two months. That just shows that Cena is a man and when a man says he is going to do something, then bah gawd he will fucking do it because that is what a man does.

There was that Raw where Cena was pretty much telling the crowd to boo him at the start of the show.. And by the end of the night, Wade antagonized Cena to the point that even that mostly Cena boo bird crowd were begging Cena to shut Wade the fuck up. They only had a handful of matches together, but that was very smart because each time they faced each other it didn't have that feeling of "these two again?" like many of Cena's other opponents in the poll.

Another thing I loved about this feud is that it wasn't trying to be edgy or cool or swerve-y. It was just a well execute story of a man trying to do what is right even though his circumstances told him otherwise.

The crowd chanting "Don't give up" for Cena was a magical moment that just tells you how damn good Cena and Barrett were in this feud. Or if that was enough to show this moment was:


[YOUTUBE]SRyOj1GdXmE[/YOUTUBE]

or this one

[YOUTUBE]Pl6RXBxvwB8[/YOUTUBE]



I love PG WWE.

 

[Da Truth]

Actually I think the Rock's biggest adversary has alway been Triple H over the years. They were groomed to be the top guys at the same time. I like the SCSA feuds, but they were mostly about power type scenarios.
Now back on subject, Cena's biggest adversary has to be Edge. It was fresh when it first started cause Edge was new to the main event scene. They ha great match (well about as a Cena match can be). Both guys were great on the mic. The Orton feud was ok at first, then it just seemed like Vince kept trying to stuff the program down our throats which made it get boring real quick. Egde as his adversary was nore legitimate.

 

[Bryan Danielson]

I am going to say Brock Lesnar because they had a good feud and few good matches between 2002–2003 and as to my recollection Lesnar always won which caused Cena to name his finisher the F-U as a reference to Brock Lesnars F-5.

I also 100% agree with AntiChristDeicide about the fans of wrestling as his greatest adversary and about his lack of wrestling ability and superpushes he dont deserve in my opinion WWE should push Daniel Bryan as World Heavyweight Champion now he is on Smackdown since he is the best technical wrestler in WWE in my opinion.

 

[akrassikauda]

Undertaker. Ah a forgotten feud only because it was on Smackdown and the two brands had separate PPV's these two battled for weeks which was good. Taker is his greatest adversary To Me only because this was Cena's only feud with him it was entertaining it was also the last time Cena was heel the rivalry was so good Cena's Basic Thuganomics theme took a shot at Taker. It wasn't dragged on like Edge & Orton and the end result of the rivalry was Cena got over after this really over and became the top draw on Smackdown

 

[LeadSailsPaperAnchor]

If I HAD to pick, It would most likely be Orton. Besides, I think Vince shoved it down our throats just because, technically, their first chapter never came to a close. Let me explain.

It started weeks before Summerslam 2007, and you know, average build-up. blah blah, and had an excellent match at SS. Then Orton punts Cenas dad and things get more personal at Unforgiven, where the match was..mediocre, but Johnathan Coachman announced a Last Man Standing for Orton/Cena at No Mercy i believe that night, But then Cena wrestles Kennedy and gets injured, never putting a proper close on the storyline. Their matches in 2009 were pretty good, like the Summerslam, and of course the Ironman match. So, yeah I pick Orton.

But, honorable mentions to Batista and my personal favorite fued of Cenas, Wade Barrett. I thought that whole Nexus angle was perfect. Oh, and I wish he fueded with HBK a little more, I loved their WM 23 match.

 

[LFC till i die]

Im going with HHH. They both had great mathes with each other, especially their match at mania. And without Trips, Cena wouldn't be the star he is now.

 

[Domamania]

For me I could only put in this way.

Cena in 2002 to 2003= ties Kurt Angle and Brock Lesner
Cena Late 2003 = Bad A** Undertaker
Cena in 2005= JBL
Cena 2006- 2009= ties Randy Orton and Edge
Cena 2010= Tie Dave Batista- Sheamus
Cena Jan 2011 to present= Dwyane Johnson/ the miz.

But I would say that There is some thing greater to go against him thats not a wrestler and thats the Wrestling fans. Althou he gets it with the younger crowd from 10 years old and younger, he has a problem captivating the the entire audience. Like he lacks what guys like Terry Bollea, Steve Williams, Dwyane Johnson, Mark Calloway, Steve Borden and Etc the have a ora of electricty that where ever they go they have no matter waht the age, color or nationality, that they have the audience in the palms of their hands. If Cena can get over that hurdle, i think he would definalty be liked by most in terms of being a entertainer in WWE and in Prowrestling.