17-time WWE world champion John Cena is one of the greatest WWE wrestlers of all time. Cena’s resume speaks for itself as he’s won a plethora of championships and became a Grand Slam Champion in 2025. Cena has mixed it up with the very best in WWE history.
The likes of CM Punk, Edge, Brock Lesnar, and Randy Orton have been some of Cena’s biggest adversaries. While Cena has featured in many WWE PLE main events and registered many big victories, some main events in which Cena shouldn’t have prevailed.
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Some main events that Cena participated in, he was better off than suffering a defeat. Some main events that he triumphed in were nonsensical. To further progress a storyline, a Cena defeat wouldn’t have gone amiss. Moreover, some wrestlers would’ve benefited from a monumental victory over Cena in a WWE PLE main event.
Not every wrestler gets to win a major match over Cena, but in some of the WWE PLE main events in which he prevailed, the 17-time WWE world champion should have tasted defeat.
5. John Cena Vs. Umaga – New Year’s Revolution 2007
“The Samoan Bulldozer,” Umaga debuted on the Raw after WrestleMania 22, and he attacked 16-time world champion “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Umaga boasted a nine-month unbeaten record, and he had a string of victories over former world champions under his belt. However, Umaga was presented with an opportunity of a lifetime when he challenged John Cena for the WWE Championship at New Year’s Revolution 2007.
Umaga and Cena had a decent match here, and they were clearly reserving some for their epic rematch at the 2007 Royal Rumble weeks later. Cena retained the WWE Championship, ending Umaga’s unbeaten run.
The leader of the Cenation could’ve dropped the WWE Championship to Umaga here, and fans wouldn’t have minded. Cena could’ve regained the WWE Championship in their Last Man Standing match at the Rumble, which still would’ve protected Umaga without being pinned.
