WWE legend John Cena recently revealed the two matches that mean the most to him.
Over the years, Cena delivered memorable matches against some of WWE’s biggest names. His greatest rivals included Edge, Randy Orton, CM Punk, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Seth Rollins, and AJ Styles. Those rivalries helped establish him as one of WWE’s all-time greats.
However, when asked to name his favorite matches, Cena picked two very specific moments from his career. One was his WWE debut against Kurt Angle. The other came during his retirement tour against AJ Styles at WWE Crown Jewel: Perth.
John Cena explains why his Kurt Angle and AJ Styles matches stand out
Speaking at SpaceCon San Antonio 2026, John Cena was asked to name his favorite match. The WWE legend admitted he could no longer avoid the question now that his in-ring career is over. He said, “So, this used to be a cheat code of mine, right? When I was still a wrestler, I used to be like, ‘Oh, that’s easy. My favorite match is my next one.’ Because it’s true, I would always look forward to performing, but now I can’t cheat. I am retired.”
After that, Cena revealed the two matches he holds closest. “I don’t think you can have the journey without the first step. So, I really have a soft spot for a match in Chicago with an Olympic gold medalist named Kurt Angle.”
Cena said the AJ Styles match stood out because of the crowd’s involvement. “Speaking of matches that give me the emotions, and maybe the feels and a little bit of a tear or two, I was lucky enough on the retirement tour to face AJ Styles in Perth, Australia. And I really enjoyed that match as well. So, I’ll give you those two as a as a concrete answer for that.”
He continued, “The reason I showcase that AJ match is because it wasn’t just me and him; it was all of us. I don’t know if you all saw it, but the crowd was calling out spots. Like, we had 55,000 people telling me to hit AJ with the RKO. Hell, I almost did a 619. It was like a 3-.5-4.5. But I don’t know if it can get better than that as far as interaction, because I’ve always encouraged our audience to interact. But man, they felt like they were all in the ring with us, and I just don’t know if it gets any better. I’ve never had that happen in my career, ever.” [H/T: 411mania]
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