{"id":146479,"date":"2025-11-19T07:30:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T12:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=146479"},"modified":"2025-11-18T22:09:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T03:09:28","slug":"five-knuckle-garden-john-cenas-top-5-madison-square-garden-matches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/11\/19\/five-knuckle-garden-john-cenas-top-5-madison-square-garden-matches\/","title":{"rendered":"Five-Knuckle Garden: John Cena\u2019s Top 5 Madison Square Garden Matches"},"content":{"rendered":"

During John Cena\u2019s illustrious 23-year career in the WWE, he battled all over the world in some of the most famous venues. Arguably, Madison Square Garden ranks right up there near the top. So it is fitting that Cena\u2019s last appearance on Monday Night Raw would take place where he had wrestled 10 times before. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s examine the top five best matches of the man considered by many fans to be the GOAT of the WWE, inside the arena, athletes from all sports consider it an honor to headline in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

5. John Cena\/Undertaker vs Triple H\/Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho\/Big Show<\/b><\/h2>\n

This triple threat tag match took place during Monday Night Raw on November 16, 2009. It included six dominant wrestlers at the time: the holders of the WWE Championship for Raw (Cena), the World Heavyweight Champion for SmackDown (Undertaker), the Tag Team Champions (Jericho\/Big Show), as well as the fan favourite duo of Triple H and Michaels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Seeing Cena and Undertaker team up against Jeri-Show and D-Generation X had fans divided about who they wanted to see on top, and the rules of the match proved just as exciting as the opponents in the ring. WCW rules were in effect: you could only tag in your partner, and three men were in the ring at once.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The match was fast-paced and entertaining from the onset, giving the audience exactly what they would expect from a match at The Garden. Cena and Undertaker prevailed victorious, with Cena receiving a Tombstone from Undertaker post-match: the venue and the stars combined to make this match electric.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

4. John Cena vs Seth Rollins\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Cena had arguably one of his greatest rivalries of the 2010s with Seth Rollins that materialized throughout 2015. SummerSlam saw Rollins win the United States Championship from Cena, and at Night of Champions a month later, Cena reclaimed the title. Their Steel Cage match at WWE Live from Madison Square Garden on October 3, 2015, saw this showdown come to a head.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a back-and-forth bout between the titans that ended when \u201cDemon\u201d Kane emerged to cost Rollins the victory by preventing him from climbing the steel cage to win. The ending sequence was incredible as Rollins jumped from the top of the cage, attempting to land a Frog Splash on Cena. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rollins missed landing the move after Cena moved out of the way, allowing Cena to deliver an Attitude Adjustment and pin Rollins to retain the championship.\u00a0 MSG came alive during this match and was a fitting location for the hard-fought brawl.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

3. John Cena\/The Rock vs The Miz\/R-Truth\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Survivor Series on November 20, 2011, at The World\u2019s Most Famous Arena, saw Cena and The Rock battle \u201cAwesome Truth\u201d and was an underrated match that further solidified the iconic rivalry between Cena and The Rock. It was The Rock\u2019s first WWE match in seven years after his last appearance at WrestleMania XX, and it was also the first time that Cena and The Rock teamed up. <\/span><\/p>\n

This battle took place five months before the \u201cOnce in a Lifetime\u201d bout, where Cena and The Rock fought at WrestleMania 28, one of the most anticipated matches in WWE history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Survivor Series match itself was thrilling in large part due to The Rock\u2019s in-ring return at the iconic venue and his friction with Cena, hinting at what would take place after the bout ended. The battle saw Cena and The Rock come out on top, after which The Rock addressed the crowd. <\/span><\/p>\n

After inviting Cena to join him, The Rock then delivered a Rock Bottom to Cena. The stage would be set for the lead-up to their WrestleMania match months later, which would become one for the history books.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Photo Credit: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

2. John Cena vs Big Show\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

WrestleMania XX at MSG on March 14, 2004, was electrifying, as John Cena looked to capture the first title belt of his WWE career by taking on Big Show for the United States championship. Cena was in the early stages of his career, portraying his legendary \u201cDoctor of Thuganomics\u201d persona. Big Show had the obvious physical advantage going into this matchup, with Cena ultimately prevailing in the end due to his determination.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After a physical fight, the match ended when Cena distracted the referee and used his brass knuckles to hit Big Show over the head, allowing him to deliver a second Attitude Adjustment and pin Big Show to capture his first title. <\/span><\/p>\n

What made this bout so iconic was the fact that Cena managed to find the strength to pick up Big Show, who weighed approximately 500 pounds, and lift him up on his shoulders. This victory was the birth of a superstar who would go on to make WWE history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. John Cena\u2019s 2008 Royal Rumble Return\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

The appearance of Cena in The Royal Rumble at Madison Square Garden on January 27, 2008, is seen as one of the most shocking returns in WWE history. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cena suffered a torn pectoral muscle on October 26, 2007, during a match on Monday Night Raw against Mr. Kennedy, after which he was expected to miss 7-12 months due to the extent of the injury. Incredibly, Cena managed to come back after only three months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cena entered the Rumble as the 30th and final entrant for the match, where he immediately eliminated Carlito, Mark Henry, and Chavo Guerrero. He battled to stay in the match, with him and Triple H the last men standing. The back-and-forth battle between Cena and Triple H ended in Cena prevailing to win his first Royal Rumble. <\/span><\/p>\n

The specialness of this moment wasn\u2019t merely the fact that Cena had won his first Royal Rumble, but rather how quickly he managed to make his return to the WWE ring following injury.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

John Cena\u2019s match at Madison Square Garden on Monday Night Raw on November 17, 2025, gave fans a nostalgic bout with two of his previous allies (Sheamus and Rey Mysterio). It was these five matches, however, which should be recalled as Cena\u2019s most noteworthy inside The World\u2019s Most Famous Arena.<\/span><\/p>\n

More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

Header photo \u2013\u00a0WikiMedia Creative Commons<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Stay tuned to the\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0for more on John Cena 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.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n

You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Netflix<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>USA Network<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>The CW<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Tubi<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>A&E<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments), and\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Peacock<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/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<\/i><\/em>YouTube<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><\/em>WWE Speed<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During John Cena\u2019s illustrious 23-year career in the WWE, he battled all over the world in some of the most famous venues. Arguably, Madison Square Garden ranks right up there near the top. So it is fitting that Cena\u2019s last appearance on Monday Night Raw would take place where he had wrestled 10 times before. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5699,"featured_media":146531,"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":[2,7205,4,3],"tags":[165],"class_list":["post-146479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-history","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-john-cena"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146479","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\/5699"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146479"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":146533,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146479\/revisions\/146533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}