Let's Dance (vol. 5- John Cena)

The "Let's Dance" Series continues to roll in a strong way. Dance Partners are made to bring the very best out of each other.

Now, I would like to examine the many dance partners of the Franchise Star of the Modern WWE Generation, John Cena.

There have been very few stars that have had the same abundance of dance partners that Cena has had over the course of his impressive career. The only other names that come to mind with an array of rivals were Undertaker, HH and Ric Flair. Just like them, Cena has been able to spark amazing rivalries over the history of wrestling.

Just like Superman or Goku, Cena has enjoyed a variety of villains to dance with. Since Cena is the Superman of WWE, these villains are his Lex Luthors, Brainiacs, General Zods, Doomsday, etc. Time to examine his "Who's Who?" of Dance Partners.

Edge:

Length of Feud: 2006-2009

Featured Matches:

Royal Rumble 2006
Backlash 2006
Summerslam 2006
Unforgiven 2006 (TLC Match)
Backlash 2007
No Way Out 2009
WrestleMania XXV
Backlash 2009

Match Quality: 4/5
Storyline Quality: 9/10
Rivalry Rating 9.5/10

Edge and John Cena were very much counter culture. Cena was Rap, Edge was Rock/Heavy Metal. John Cena was the clean cut standard hero while Edge was the villain that served to be the ultimate thorn in his side. Edge made his first Main Event Impact by cashing in his MITB Briefcase on a wounded John Cena after he survived a Brutal Elimination Chamber Match. Edge conquered Cena with two Spears to win his first WWE Championship. As a result, RAW's Ratings spiked (with the addition of Edge's live sex celebration with Lita). Cena would gain his revenge when he defeated Edge to win back the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble. They feuded over the title throughout 2006 as their feud was named "Feud of the Year" by PWI. This was Cena's biggest challenge as Champion at that point in his career. The highlight of their feud took place at Unforgiven 2006 when Cena defeated Edge at his own game of a TLC Match. To add fuel to the fire, the match was in Edge's hometown of Toronto, Canada. Cena and Edge would meet again in a Fatal Four Way Match at Backlash involving Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton. Cena remained Champion as Edge would move to Smackdown concluding their feud for the time being. However, their paths would cross once again during 2009 as Edge won the World Heavyweight Championship at No Way Out. Cena would defeat Edge and Big Show at WrestleMania XXV to win the title. Edge would have the last laugh at Backlash to win back the WHC with help from Big Show.

Randy Orton:

Length of Feud: 2007-2013

Featured Matches: 

Backlash 2007
Summerslam 2007

WrestleMania XXIV
Backlash 2008
Night Of Champions
Summerslam 2009
Breaking Point
Hell In A Cell
Bragging Rights
TLC 2013

Match Quality: 4/5
Storyline Quality: 8.5/10
Rivalry Rating: 9/10

The unique thing about the John Cena vs. Randy Orton feud is how their career paths have followed each other from their time at OVW. Both Cena and Orton made their debut on the main roster in 2002 as part of Smackdown. Cena would become the Dr. of Thuganomics while Orton joined Evolution. They won championship gold around the same time. Orton and Cena had unique paths to the top. Randy won the IC Title at Armageddon 2003, while John won the US Title at WrestleMania XX. Orton became the youngest World Champion at Summerslam 2004 at just 24 years old. Meanwhile, Cena became WWE Champion at WrestleMania 21. This shows how their careers have been parallel. Even though Randy won his titles first, Cena won his on bigger stages. However, Orton hit a roadblock in 2004 when he lost the WHC. When John Cena won the WWE Championship from JBL at WM, he maintained his spot at the top on a consistent basis and gained stronger momentum. By 2007, Randy Orton had become a more polished performer just in time to be inserted into the WWE Title picture. Orton was involved in the Fatal Four Way match at Backlash for the WWE Championship. The match also included Edge and Shawn Michaels with Cena winning. However, Cena suffered a pectoral injury during the Summer. On an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, Orton added further damage by giving him the RKO on an open steel chair. As a result of John Cena's injury, Randy Orton was crowned the new WWE Champion. This is what helped to escalate their rivalry to another level. Cena would return at the Royal Rumble for a shot at the title. Orton retained at WM XXIV. The feud between Cena and Orton would consistently go through 2008-2009. The high points of their feud would be from Breaking Point to Bragging Rights. These two are considered the legends of their generation with nearly 30 world championships combined between them.


CM Punk:

Length of Feud: 2011-2013

Featured Matches:

Money In the Bank 2011

Summerslam 2011

Summerslam 2012

Survivor Series 2012

RAW 2013

Match Quality: 4.5/5
Storyline Quality: 9/10
Rivalry Rating: 9/10

As John Cena was in the midst of his feud with The Rock building up for WrestleMania XXVIII, he was met with another intense feud in between that time. Enter CM Punk. In the Summer of 2011, CM Punk had grown frustrated of being pushed to the background while the likes of The Rock ("Dwayne") and John Cena took over a lion's share of the spotlight as they were in the marquee headline of WrestleMania while he was not. In his famous "Pipe Bomb" Promo, Punk shot straight from the hip about his anger of being disrespected and unappreciated by WWE. His main target for the frustration at that moment was John Cena. Punk threatened to take the WWE Title with him back to Ring Of Honor and NJPW. Once they had the contract signing along with Vince McMahon's involvement, the stage was set for Money In the Bank 2011 in Punk's backyard of Chicago. CM Punk would emerge victorious as he defeated Cena for the WWE Title. Cena's feud with Punk would continue into Summerslam 2011. It would be on again, off again as they would have Triple Threat Matches featuring Big Show and Ryback (Summerslam 2012, Survivor Series 2012), along with their final match at RAW 2013 to determine the number one contender for WrestleMania XXIX. Cena and Punk danced tremendously together. Contrary to the popular opinion of the Internet, dancing with John Cena put CM Punk on a higher platform. 

Brock Lesnar:

Length of Feud: 2003, 2012-2015

Featured Matches:

Backlash 2003

Extreme Rules 2012

Summerslam 2014
Night of Champions 2014
Royal Rumble 2015

Match Quality: 3.5/5
Storyline Quality: 8/10
Rivalry Rating: 8.5/10

Much like with Randy Orton, and Batista, John Cena's history with Brock Lesnar dates back to their time in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). You can say that their rivalry started casually in 2003 when Cena was the Dr. of Thuganomics. During that time, Cena challenged Lesnar for the WWE Championship. One of the most memorable things about that time was when Cena cut a freestyle about Brock's tattoos. Lesnar would win, but it was a sign of things to come for Cena in the future. The timing is interesting from when Brock left to when Cena became the face of the company. In Brock's absence, Cena established a Hall of Fame Caliber Career and became one of the biggest box office draws in WWE History. The night after WrestleMania XXVIII, Brock made his long awaited return as he gave John the F5. Cena looked like he was on his way to a downward spiral going into Extreme Rules. Their match was brutal with Brock throwing Cena from left to right and nearly beating him half to death. Suddenly, Cena surprises everyone as he hits Lesnar with the chain before nailing him with the Attitude Adjustment for the win. It seemed as though Cena got rid of the monster once and for all. However, business was not finished. After Lesnar broke the Streak, he was Cena's automatic challenger at Summerslam. Lesnar destroyed Cena in a one-sided match to become the new WWE Champion. The rivalry continued as Brock retained at Night of Champions and ended with him remaining Champion at the Royal Rumble. 

The Rock:

Length of Feud: 2011-2013

Featured Matches:
WrestleMania XXVIII
WrestleMania XXIX

What makes this stand out as one of John Cena's top rivalries is not only the star value of his dance partner but the buildup surrounding the feud. This was the quintessential example of a "Dream Match" on paper. Rock and Cena are the premiere stars from different generations. This was more tangible than a dream feud between Rock-Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart-Kurt Angle, Hulk-Bruno, etc. FINALLY, after seven years away from WWE, the Rock HAS COME BACK to the WWE. Rocky wasted no time in taking care of business. Rock's main target the night of his return was John Cena. He shot straight from the hip about the jabs that Cena took in various interviews. This led to a war of the words. The Rock even became the host of WrestleMania XXVII. It was obvious that The Rock was going to get involved in Cena's match. Rocky cost Cena the WWE Title match against The Miz. The next night, The Rock and John Cena booked their "Once In A Lifetime" Match for WrestleMania XXVIII. From that time, they kept their distance with jabs at each other in the mainstream media and in Social Media including Rock's classic promo via YouTube. This feud ran simultaneously with the feud that John Cena started with CM Punk during the Summer. Their paths would finally collide at WrestleMania XXVIII in The Rock's BattleGround of Miami, FL. Rock was the hometown favorite and the favorite of Attitude Era fans, while Cena was the favorite among the current demographic. Both were faces going into the match, even though Cena was booed out of Miami heading into the ring. For what it was worth, this was a great match with The Rock standing tall as the winner in the end. The buildup and storyline for this match (along with Taker vs. HHH) made this the highest grossing live event in WWE history. Naturally, Rock and Cena would have a sequel at WrestleMania XXIX for the WWE Championship. Cena won the Rumble the same night that Rock defeated CM Punk to become WWE Champion. Their paths would collide again, but this time Cena won to redeem himself in a passing of the torch moment similar to what The Rock experienced at WrestleMania X8. The buildup and the drawing power that this feud created is enough to rank among John Cena's greatest rivalries.


Match Quality: 3.5/5
Storyline Quality: 9.5/10
Rivalry Rating: 8.5/10

Batista: 

Length of Feud: 2008-2010

Featured Matches:

Summerslam 2008

WrestleMania XXVI

Extreme Rules 2010

Over the Limit

The John Cena-Batista feud was well built by how wisely they were kept apart from each other. Their origins began at OVW. They were the last two men in the 2005 Royal Rumble with Batista winning. At WrestleMania 21, they were positioned as the top franchise players for the WWE. Both of their victories were torch-passing moments. Their paths ran parallel with each other. Cena defeated JBL for the WWE Title, while Batista defeated Triple H for the World Heavyweight Title in a more intense match. That summer, they were the most valuable stars in the WWE Draft during the Brand Extension Era. Cena was the 1st overall pick for RAW, Batista was the 2nd overall pick for Smackdown. It was clear that John Cena was 1A as he became not only the Captain of RAW, but star of WWE itself. Meanwhile, DC Dave was Captain of the B-Show as he became 1B. Batista had the initial firepower coming out of WM 21, but Cena would slowly pull ahead. While they could have very well collided at Survivor Series (possibly WrestleMania), they stayed out of each other's way for three years. Batista carried Smackdown as he feuded with JBL. Meanwhile, Cena defended the title against Kurt Angle before kicking off his feud with Edge. Their paths would finally cross when Batista returned to RAW for a superstar showdown at Summerslam 2008. This was one of the rare cases of WWE using the brand split to build dream matches (ex: Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle). However, Cena and Batista were both faces in this match. In rare fashion, John Cena ended the match looking up at the lights as Batista broke his neck with a Batista Bomb. This would be a sign of things to come as this was the fuel for their fire going into WrestleMania XXVI. Going into their WM Match, their was actual doubt that Cena would walk away as champion because of how dominant Batista was as a monster heel champion. Not only that, but Batista already had the victory over Cena before. Cena would overcome the DC Monster Batista at WrestleMania and sweep the series with wins at Extreme Rules and Over the Limit. Even though Cena won the overall series, he found an opponent that matched him when it came to physical and star power credentials to a degree. It was a battle of "I should be number 1". It proved to be one of the most significant feuds not only for John Cena, but for Batista as well. 

Match Quality: 3.5/5

Storyline Quality: 8/10

Rivalry Rating: 8.5/10

Chris Jericho:

Length of Feud: 2002-2008

Featured Matches:
Vengeance 2002
Summerslam 2005
Surivor Series 2008

This feud was a launching pad for Cena becoming a star in WWE. They had a match early in Cena's career before he became the Dr. of Thuganomics with John getting the win over the veteran Jericho. However, things were kicked up another notch as we fast forward to 2005. John Cena was just drafted to RAW as the first overall pick as he was the guest on Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel. It wasn't long before Jericho stepped up to become the challenger for the WWE Championship. Naturally, Jericho becomes the heel and goes into arrogant rockstar mode. It was truly "Rap vs. Rock". They even had a "Battle of the Bands" on RAW. Cena with his rap group vs. Fozzy. However, Jericho came to the stage by himself and refused to perform. Cena's band won by default. Jericho vowed to take the title away from Cena at Summerslam. John Cena defeated Y2J at Summerslam 2005 with the Attitude Adjustment (At that time it was the F-U). Cena defeated Jericho the next night on RAW in a "Loser Leaves Town" match. After Y2J lost, he was "fired" and taken out by security screaming and crying. In the midst of Jericho's return (aka: "Second Coming") he turned heel and started wearing a suit. During his time as a heel, Y2J became World Heavyweight Champion and finished a great feud with Shawn Michaels. Jericho would then rekindle his feud with John Cena. Cena would defeat him at Survivor Series for the WHC. What makes this feud so unique is that Chris Jericho was instrumental in helping to legitimize John Cena as a star that can dance in the main event. Y2J helped to pull things out of Cena that he probably thought that he never had before. In Cena's early run as Champion, Jericho proved to be a very good foil for him to defeat. Both legends certainly did great music together in the ring. This was certainly one of the high spots for Cena's first title run along with his feud with Kurt Angle. 

Match Quality: 4/5

Storyline Quality: 7.5/10

Rivalry Rating: 7.5/10

Conclusion:

Edge:

As I have come to my conclusion, there is no other dance partner that was better for John Cena than Edge in my view. John Cena is the marquee star of his generation, but there was a critical point in Cena's rise where many people were not sure if he was really going to work out. People may not want to admit this now, but fans were happy to see him relieve JBL of the WWE Title at WrestleMania 21. They were also more or less on his side in his early feuds with Chris Jericho and Christian. Then, he ran into Kurt Angle a wrestling machine that fans knew John Cena was no match for hold for hold. Kurt was the premiere ring general of his time, but he was playing heel to John Cena's silliness. However, smart fans were not willing to shun Angle in favor of Cena. After Jericho left, Bischoff turned up the heat with Angle. After Cena conquered the Olympic Gold Medalist, he faced the likes of Carlito and Chris Masters who were the next heels in line for the title. Promising at the time, but a downgrade from the likes of future Hall of Famers like Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle. Masters and Carlito were certainly not world title material. Cena's first run lasted 9 months but it had its hit and misses.

This is where Edge enters. In true heel fashion, Edge makes WWE history by cashing in his the first MITB Briefcase on a bloodied and wounded John Cena that just overcame five other wrestlers to retain the WWE Championship. Edge cashed in on a grand opportunity by defeating Cena after the match was over to win his first WWE Championship. This was a turning point for both stars. Cena finally had a red hot feud with someone that was a lethal thorn in his side. Edge was not a match for Cena physically like Brock or Batista, but he was a master manipulator who could use his heel psychology to push Cena to his limits. This would become the premiere standard bearer feud of John Cena's career. This was the most defining feud of Cena's legacy. Edge was elevated by successfully cashing in his MITB Briefcase on the Captain of RAW and WWE overall. Edge was launched from being an upper mid-card glorified tag team star that everybody loved to becoming the perennial main event villain of his era. They danced in a series of matches, from singles matches, triple threat matches and even a classic but sometimes overlooked TLC Match. Edge and Cena danced in many different ways to their own instruments, but they left fans with some great performances that they would never forget. With that said, Edge is John Cena's quintessential dance partner. You could say that he was Lex to Cena's Superman.


Greatest Matches:

1. vs. CM Punk (Money In the Bank 2011)
2. vs. Edge (TLC Match- Unforgiven 2006)
3. vs.  Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins (Royal Rumble 2015)
4. vs. CM Punk (RAW 2013)
5. vs. Randy Orton (Breaking Point 2009)
6. vs. The Rock (WrestleMania XXVIII)
7. vs. Edge vs. Triple H (Backlash 2006)
8,  vs. Brock Lesnar (Extreme Rules 2012)
9. vs. CM Punk (Night of Champions 2012)
10. vs. Edge (Backlash 2009)

This Top 10 is based off of Cena's Dance Partners