{"id":132915,"date":"2025-03-31T07:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T11:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=132915"},"modified":"2025-03-31T06:05:42","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T10:05:42","slug":"john-cena-and-ric-flair-comparing-their-16-world-title-reigns-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/03\/31\/john-cena-and-ric-flair-comparing-their-16-world-title-reigns-part-i\/","title":{"rendered":"John Cena and Ric Flair: Comparing their 16 World Title Reigns, Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It has been seven years since John Cena won his historic 16th world title. But since 2018, Cena&#8217;s appearances have been sporadic. His last world championship match was at SummerSlam 2021, where he lost to Roman Reigns.<\/p>\n<p>Even so, the 17th title continues to be a case of when and not if. Having now earned a main event spot at WrestleMania 41 for the WWE Championship, all signs point toward that record-breaking 17th title.<\/p>\n<p>However, it pays to remember the man that John Cena will be leapfrogging should he win at WrestleMania. Ric Flair accumulated his sixteen titles over nineteen years, winning championships at NWA (8), WCW (6), and WWE (2). With WrestleMania 41 just around the corner, here&#8217;s part one of the tale of the tape, comparing Ric Flair and John Cena&#8217;s respective championship reigns.<\/p>\n<h2>Ric Flair #1 &#8211; Dusty Rhodes, NWA house show<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>17th September 1981<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Flair&#8217;s journey begins where Cena&#8217;s might end &#8211; with the Rhodes family. Flair exacerbated Dusty Rhodes&#8217; injured knee with the famous figure-four leg lock &#8211; a hold that Rhodes was able to escape on this occasion.<\/p>\n<p>However, the submission move would pay off as Dusty&#8217;s knee buckled while attempting a superplex, allowing Flair to get the pin. Flair&#8217;s first reign was a long one, lasting a recognized 631 days.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WGHP-TV 8 High Point, NC Ric Flair Vs. Dusty Rhodes 1981\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WS7ZuQHnx1Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>John Cena #1 &#8211; JBL, WrestleMania 21<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>3rd April 2005<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/03\/27\/the-legacy-of-john-cena-top-wrestlemania-moments\/\" target=\"_self\">Is there a sweeter way to win your first world title?<\/a> Cena&#8217;s first reign is similar to his current storyline with Cody Rhodes. It was the year of the infamous Royal Rumble finish where Cena and Batista hit the floor at the same time, leading to a restart that Batista won.<\/p>\n<p>Forcing Cena to find another route to WrestleMania, he earned his title shot by beating Kurt Angle at No Way Out. JBL controlled the resulting title match, looking to capitalize on his dominance with the Clothesline from Hell. Cena dodged the attack, countering into an FU to pick up his first title.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FULL MATCH - John Cena vs. John \u201cBradshaw\u201d Layfield \u2013 WWE Championship Match: WrestleMania 21\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-Oh5Z3mGyAU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Flair #2 &#8211; Harley Race, Starrcade<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>24th November 1983<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>A special guest referee steel cage set the scene for Flair&#8217;s second title win. Overseen by former champion Gene Kiniski, Flair was looking to regain the title from Harley Race, who had won it the previous June. A battered and bloodied Flair overcame Race with a top-rope body press to reclaim the title.<\/p>\n<h2>Cena #2 &#8211; Edge, Royal Rumble<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>26th January 2006<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The end of Cena&#8217;s first title reign was another historic moment in WWE. Having defended his title in an Elimination Chamber at New Year&#8217;s Resolution, Cena barely had time to catch his breath as Edge cashed in the first-ever Money in the Bank contract.<\/p>\n<p>With Cena depleted, the task was very simple for the opportunistic Edge. However, his reign lasted just three weeks, as Cena reclaimed the title at the Royal Rumble via submission.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Edge Spears John Cena - New Year&#039;s Revolution 2006\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MBoT5QUGqQQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Flair #3 &#8211; Kerry Von Erich, JCP house show<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>24th May 1984<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Kerry Von Erich won the title from Flair &#8211; a match originally intended for his late brother, David &#8211; at the 1st Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions. Similarly to Cena&#8217;s second reign, Flair didn&#8217;t have to wait long to regain the title, reclaiming it at a house show in Japan just 18 days later.<\/p>\n<h2>Cena #3 &#8211; Edge, Unforgiven<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>17th September 2006<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Cena and Edge&#8217;s feud continued deep into 2006, with Edge memorably costing Cena the title at ECW One Night Stand. The beneficiary, Rob Van Dam, then dropped the title to Edge a month later in a triple threat featuring Cena.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Cena would have the last laugh, defeating Edge at Unforgiven in his specialist match &#8211; the TLC &#8211; and in his hometown of Toronto. The following reign would be Cena&#8217;s longest, lasting 380 days.<\/p>\n<h2>Flair #4 &#8211; Dusty Rhodes, JCP house show<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>9th August 1986<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Flair, this time, sought to regain the title that Dusty had taken from him at the 1986 Great American Bash. This time around, the figure-four leglock was enough for Flair, beginning a reign that lasted 412 days.<\/p>\n<h2>Cena #4 &#8211; Chris Jericho, Survivor Series<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>23rd November 2008<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Cena&#8217;s fourth was his first as World Heavyweight Champion. A tough match against Chris Jericho went Cena&#8217;s way, reversing an inside cradle into an FU to secure the title. Cena would go on to defeat Jericho in a rematch at Armageddon the following month.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"John Cena vs. Chris Jericho: Survivor Series 2008 - World Heavyweight Championship Match\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TeVUJZ4Yi64?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Flair #5 &#8211; Ronnie Garvin, Starrcade<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>26th November 1987<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Nature Boy won his fifth world title at NWA&#8217;s first-ever PPV event. Using the cage to his advantage, Flair was able to wear down the reigning champion Garvin and get the pin. During Flair&#8217;s reign, NWA&#8217;s flagship promotion, Jim Crockett Promotions, was purchased by Ted Turner and renamed World Championship Wrestling (WCW).<\/p>\n<h2>Cena #5 &#8211; Big Show and Edge, WrestleMania 25<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>5th April 2009<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>John Cena&#8217;s fifth would be the first time that he won a world title in a triple threat. Pitted against his familiar rivals Edge and Big Show, the triple threat was WrestleMania 25&#8217;s penultimate match. Cena showed his incredible strength, hitting two Attitude Adjustments just seconds apart before pinning Big Show.<\/p>\n<h2>Flair #6 &#8211; Ricky &#8216;The Dragon&#8217; Steamboat, WrestleWar<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>7th May 1989<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The story of Flair&#8217;s sixth was one of perseverance. Flair had a point to prove against the Dragon, having lost his three previous championship matches against Steamboat. The Dragon first took the title from Flair the previous February before defending the title against him twice at a house show and at Clash of the Champions.<\/p>\n<p>In a near 60-minute best-of-three falls match, Flair finally prevailed. The contest was named Match of the Year by PWI in 1989.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat: Nature Boy&#039;s LEGENDARY Matchups with The Dragon | WWE Rivals | A&amp;E\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7TBz9FE9D8E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Cena #6 &#8211; Randy Orton, Breaking Point<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>3rd September 2009<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Similarly to Flair&#8217;s sixth reign, John Cena had a fierce rival that he badly wanted to silence. Randy Orton had beaten Cena twice in title matches before an &#8220;I Quit&#8221; match at Breaking Point.<\/p>\n<p>Cena survived an RKO and a relentless battering before forcing the champion to surrender via a handcuff-assisted STF. However, this wouldn&#8217;t be the end of their heated rivalry&#8230;<\/p>\n<h2>Flair #7 &#8211; Sting, WCW house show<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>11th January 1991<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This would be Flair&#8217;s first reign as the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, defeating the man who had taken it from him &#8211; Sting. Their revived feud began when Sting challenged Flair for his NWA title, leading Flair to eject him from the Four Horsemen.<\/p>\n<p>Sting then won the title from Flair at the 1990 Great American Bash. After feuding with Sting under the guise of the Black Scorpion, Flair reclaimed his title at a house show at the beginning of 1991.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WCW  Ric Flair vs Sting 1991\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yZ2kjOG50d8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Cena #7 &#8211; Randy Orton, Bragging Rights<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>25th October 2009<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Having traded the title throughout 2009, Cena and Orton concluded their feud with a mighty curtain closer. The Anything Goes 60-minute Iron Man match once again draws parallels to Flair&#8217;s feud with Ricky Steamboat. Attempting to claim as many pinfalls as they could in the allotted time, Cena narrowly emerged the winner with a 6-5 victory.<\/p>\n<h2>Flair #8 &#8211; Royal Rumble winner, Royal Rumble<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>19th January 1992<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Following a dramatic departure from WCW in 1991, Flair made history when he won his first WWE world title. Hulk Hogan had his championship stripped following a pair of controversial title changes involving The Undertaker. Following this, it was announced that the Royal Rumble match winner would crown the new WWE Champion.<\/p>\n<p>Flair showed impressive grit, entering at no. 3 and lasting over an hour to win his first WWE world title. Flair eliminated five superstars en route to glory, dumping out Big Boss Man, Sid Justice (Sid Vicious), Randy Savage, The British Bulldog, and old NWA title rival The Texas Tornado (Kerry Von Erich).<\/p>\n<p>This was the first time a world title was won via Royal Rumble &#8211; a feat matched only by Triple H in 2016.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FULL MATCH - 1992 Royal Rumble Match: Royal Rumble 1992\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-XPi2RKYPX0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Cena #8 &#8211; Elimination Chamber<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>21st February 2010<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>John Cena&#8217;s third Elimination Chamber victory secured his seventh world championship. He outlasted current champion Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton, and Ted DiBiase Jr., before forcing Triple H to tap out to claim victory.<\/p>\n<p>Just moments after his hard-fought win, Vince McMahon forced him to defend his title against a fresh Batista. Cena&#8217;s seventh reign would last just three minutes and 33 seconds.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FULL MATCH - WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match: Elimination Chamber 2010\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rrIYP94bEjQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<em>Stay tuned to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a> for more on John Cena, Ric Flair, WWE, and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"FreeStarVideoAdContainer\">\n<div id=\"freestar-video-parent\">\n<div id=\"freestar-video-child\"><em>You can check out WWE programming on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81788927\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Netflix<\/a>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usanetwork.com\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">USA Network<\/a>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cwtv.com\/shows\/wwe-nxt\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The CW<\/a>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tubitv.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tubi<\/a>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aetv.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A&amp;E<\/a>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments) and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Peacock<\/a>\u00a0(WWE Main Event as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">YouTube<\/a>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/events\/1773457579022155776?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WWE Speed<\/a>).<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It has been seven years since John Cena won his historic 16th world title. But since 2018, Cena&#8217;s appearances have been sporadic. His last world championship match was at SummerSlam 2021, where he lost to Roman Reigns. Even so, the 17th title continues to be a case of when and not if. Having now earned [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5450,"featured_media":133081,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2192,4,3],"tags":[165,469,396,47,9016],"class_list":["post-132915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-john-cena","tag-ric-flair","tag-wrestlemania","tag-wwe","tag-wwe-wrestlemania-41"],"modified_by":"Chinyere Okafor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5450"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132915"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133080,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132915\/revisions\/133080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}