{"id":147735,"date":"2025-12-04T12:00:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T17:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=147735"},"modified":"2025-12-04T02:56:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T07:56:26","slug":"5-times-john-cena-shouldnt-have-won-a-wwe-ple-main-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/04\/5-times-john-cena-shouldnt-have-won-a-wwe-ple-main-event\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Times John Cena Shouldn&#8217;t Have Won A WWE PLE Main Event"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>17-time WWE world champion John Cena is one of the greatest WWE wrestlers of all time. Cena&#8217;s resume speaks for itself as he&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p>The likes of CM Punk, Edge, Brock Lesnar, and Randy Orton have been some of Cena&#8217;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&#8217;t have prevailed.<\/p>\n<p>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/03\/john-cenas-top-5-matches-that-cemented-his-wwe-legacy\/3\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">John Cena&#8217;s Top 5 Matches That Cemented His WWE Legacy<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;t have gone amiss. Moreover, some wrestlers would&#8217;ve benefited from a monumental victory over Cena in a WWE PLE main event.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<h2>5.\u00a0 John Cena Vs. Umaga &#8211; New Year&#8217;s Revolution 2007<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FULL MATCH - John Cena vs. Umaga \u2013 WWE Title Match: WWE New Year\u2019s Revolution 2007\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/49ko1YXXEbE?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>&#8220;The Samoan Bulldozer,&#8221; Umaga debuted on the Raw after WrestleMania 22, and he attacked 16-time world champion &#8220;The Nature Boy&#8221; 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&#8217;s Revolution 2007.<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s unbeaten run.<\/p>\n<p>The leader of the Cenation could&#8217;ve dropped the WWE Championship to Umaga here, and fans wouldn&#8217;t have minded. Cena could&#8217;ve regained the WWE Championship in their Last Man Standing match at the Rumble, which still would&#8217;ve protected Umaga without being pinned.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>4. John Cena Vs. Chris Jericho &#8211; Survivor Series 2008<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FULL MATCH: Chris Jericho vs. John Cena | World Heavyweight Title Match: Survivor Series 2008\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rVqrBRAVBqA?start=83&#038;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>John Cena returned to in-ring competition at Survivor Series 2008 inside TD Garden in front of his hometown fans in Boston. He <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/11\/14\/every-wwe-survivor-series-main-event-from-the-2000s-ranked\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">challenged Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event<\/span><\/a>. Cena was on the sidelines for three months after he herniated a disc in his neck in his blockbuster showdown with Batista at SummerSlam 2008. Nevertheless, Cena aimed to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>2008 already saw Cena return from injury. He returned months ahead of schedule to win the 2008 Royal Rumble match, and he was hoping that lightning would strike twice. Inevitably, Cena ended Jericho&#8217;s second World Heavyweight Championship reign to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.<\/p>\n<p>A Jericho victory would&#8217;ve been ideal, as Jericho was coming off the back of an intense rivalry with Shawn Michaels. He regained the title from Batista in a steel cage match and was building momentum. Jericho&#8217;s heel run was superb, and beating Cena would&#8217;ve garnered more heat for the Canadian. Furthermore, the story could&#8217;ve been built up longer with Cena unseating Jericho for the gold at Armageddon.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>3. John Cena Vs. Wade Barrett &#8211; TLC 2010<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"DVD Preview: WWE TLC 2010 - John Cena vs. Wade Barrett -\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ctp0u85dPVU?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>Wade Barrett defeated John Cena at Hell in a Cell 2010, with Cena reluctantly joining the Nexus. Nevertheless, Cena was freed from the Nexus&#8217; shackles as Barrett failed to beat Randy Orton for the WWE Championship in the main event of Survivor Series 2010 in a Free or Fired match.<\/p>\n<p>The rivalry between Cena and Barrett culminated in a chairs match as the main event at TLC 2010. Barrett had to face Cena on his own as Cena removed the Nexus from the equation one by one.<\/p>\n<p>It felt like the death knell for the Nexus as Cena defeated Barrett. Barrett sustained back-to-back PPV losses against two of the all-time greats, which isn&#8217;t a disgrace. However, Barrett could&#8217;ve bounced back by getting a monumental win over Cena. Cena&#8217;s win was academic as it was clear that Barrett&#8217;s run in the main event scene was no longer for this world.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>2. John Cena Vs. Brock Lesnar &#8211; Extreme Rules 2012<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FULL MATCH: John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar | Extreme Rules Match: Extreme Rules 2012\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Z2dse5Ckbo0?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>On the Raw after WrestleMania 28, Brock Lesnar shocked the world by returning to WWE for the first time in eight years. The Beast Incarnate attacked Cena and laid him out with an F-5.<\/p>\n<p>Cena&#8217;s 24 hours would&#8217;ve felt like hell considering he lost to The Rock in the main event of WrestleMania 28, and a beatdown from Lesnar was the last thing that he needed. Nevertheless, the two former WWE Champions were booked for a collision course in the main event of Extreme Rules 2012.<\/p>\n<p>Cena and Lesnar&#8217;s contest was a brutal affair, and Lesnar overpowered Cena for the majority of the match. Considering Lesnar rejoining WWE, a victory over Cena would&#8217;ve put Lesnar in the right direction. However, Lesnar marked his return to WWE with a defeat as Cena surprisingly prevailed. For sure, Cena didn&#8217;t need the win, but Lesnar winning in his return match to WWE was the only logical result.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_147786\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-147786\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-147786 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/11-7-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"A graphic featuring WWE Legend John Cena in WWE PLE main events he shouldn't have won.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/11-7-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/11-7-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/11-7-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/11-7.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-147786\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>1. Team WWE Vs. The Nexus &#8211; SummerSlam 2010<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FULL MATCH: Team WWE vs. The Nexus \u2014 7-on-7 Elimination Match: SummerSlam 2010\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6yGrgZVphvc?start=2019&#038;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>The Nexus made a huge impact when they debuted on the June 7, 2010 edition of Raw, running roughshod. The group featured stars from Season One of NXT. The Nexus became a thorn in John Cena&#8217;s side as they caused him to lose the WWE Championship back to Sheamus at Fatal-4-Way 2010. Nevertheless, a couple of months later, Survivor Series came early in the shape of a seven-on-seven elimination match.<\/p>\n<p>Wade Barrett led the likes of Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, and David Otunga by his side. For sure, Cena&#8217;s side had the firepower to come through unscathed, but it was The Nexus&#8217;s time to shine.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Team WWE prevailed, which was the wrong move. The Nexus never recovered from this defeat, as winning at SummerSlam would&#8217;ve given The Nexus a boost. Instead, Team WWE was victorious. Even fellow former world champions Chris Jericho and Edge informed Cena that it wasn&#8217;t a wise idea for them to go over.<\/p>\n<p><strong>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><i>Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\"><em><u><i>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\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<p><em><i>You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81788927\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Netflix<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usanetwork.com\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>USA Network<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cwtv.com\/shows\/wwe-nxt\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>The CW<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/tubitv.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Tubi<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aetv.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>A&amp;E<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments), and\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Peacock<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\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><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>YouTube<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/events\/1773457579022155776?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>WWE Speed<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>17-time WWE world champion John Cena is one of the greatest WWE wrestlers of all time. Cena&#8217;s resume speaks for itself as he&#8217;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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5695,"featured_media":147784,"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-147735","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\/147735","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\/5695"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147735"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147787,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147735\/revisions\/147787"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}