Regarded as the greatest of all time by WWE, John Cena has captured the company’s top prize a record 17 times in his pro wrestling career.
At WrestleMania 21, Cena defeated JBL to win his first WWE Championship. Over the next 20 years, the Hollywood star defeated some of the all-time greats to once again establish himself as the top star in the company. Tying Ric Flair’s record in 2017, it seemed unlikely at that point that Cena would ever surpass The Nature Boy. However, after announcing his retirement in 2024, Cena won the title one more time in the main event of WrestleMania 41 by defeating Cody Rhodes in the main event.
Every John Cena WWE Or World Heavyweight Championship Reign
- 2005: Wins WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21 – The one that started it all for Cena. One year on from winning the US Championship on The Grandest Stage, Cena went one better when he pinned JBL to win the top prize in the company. While Cena was unable to win the Royal Rumble that year despite the infamous ending involving himself and Batista, Cena still made it to the featured match at Mania and held onto the title for 280 days.
- 2006: Wins WWE Championship at Royal Rumble – New Year’s Revolution 2006 saw Edge become The Ultimate Opportunist as he cashed in the first ever Money in the Bank contract successfully on Cena to also become World Champion for the first time in his career. Three weeks later, Cena defeated Edge at the Royal Rumble to win back the title, holding onto the gold for 133 days.
- 2006: Wins WWE Championship at Unforgiven – With Edge reigning as champion once more, Cena faced The Rated R Superstar again in 2006, this time in Edge’s speciality of a TLC match. Although the stipulation favoured Edge and it was in his hometown of Toronto, Cena was the one who unhooked the title to become champion for a third time, remaining as champion for 380 days.
- 2008: Wins World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series – The first of Cena’s World Heavyweight Championship wins, Cena defeated Chris Jericho to capture the big gold belt. Unlike the WWE title reigns, Cena only held the World Heavyweight Championship for 83 days.
- 2009: Wins World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 25 – After losing the World Heavyweight Championship inside the Elimination Chamber thanks to an unexpected appearance from Edge, Cena got his rematch at WrestleMania 25 later that year. With The Big Show also in the match, Cena overcame the odds to win the title for a second time. However, Cena’s reign with the gold was his shortest yet as he only held the championship for 20 days.
- 2009: Wins WWE Championship at Breaking Point – One of many battles with Randy Orton over the World Championship, Cena faced his longtime rival in an “I Quit” match at Breaking Point. With Cena undefeated in the stipulation and known for never giving up, Orton was the one who reached his Breaking Point to allow Cena to win his 6th World Title. Much like the previous 2 reigns, Cena only held the championship for 21 days.
- 2009: Wins WWE Championship at Bragging Rights – Once again facing Randy Orton for the WWE title, this time Cena defeated The Viper in a 60-minute, anything-goes Iron Man match. With the added stipulation that Cena would have to leave Raw if he lost, the Hollywood star emerged the victor when the time expired as he defeated Orton 6-5. In another short reign, Cena held the title for 49 days.
- 2010: Wins WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber – The shortest reign in Cena’s career, the 17-time World Champion was the last man standing inside the structure and looked to walk into WrestleMania 26 as the champion. However, as Vince McMahon demanded Cena defend the title against Batista at that moment, The Animal brought Cena’s reign to an end at under 5 minutes.
- 2010: Wins WWE Championship at WrestleMania 26 – In a rematch from Elimination Chamber, Cena was able to best Batista and once again win a top championship at WrestleMania. With no post-match issues following the victory, Cena held onto the title for 84 days.
- 2011: Wins WWE Championship at Extreme Rules – Unable to defeat The Miz in the main event of WrestleMania 27 thanks to interference from The Rock, Cena got another opportunity as he faced Miz and John Morrison inside a steel cage. Standing tall over Miz and Morrison, Cena held onto the title for 77 days before famously losing to CM Punk at Money in the Bank.
- 2011: Wins WWE Championship on Raw – With CM Punk leaving the company in storyline, a tournament was held to crown a new WWE Champion. Won by Rey Mysterio, Cena challenged the luchador later in the night. Defeating Mysterio and becoming WWE Champion once again, Cena was interrupted by Punk shortly afterwards. Cena held the title for 20 days before losing to Punk once again, this time at SummerSlam.
- 2011: Wins WWE Championship at Night of Champions – After Alberto Del Rio cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on CM Punk, John Cena faced Del Rio at Night of Champions. Defeating Del Rio at the show, Cena only held onto the title for 2 weeks before dropping back to Del Rio in a triple threat Hell in a Cell match that saw Del Rio pin Punk.
- 2012: Wins WWE Championship at WrestleMania 29 – One year on from his loss to The Rock at WrestleMania, John Cena faced The Great One on The Grandest Stage for a second time. Unlike the previous year, Cena outsmarted Rock to pin the Hollywood star and walk out of WrestleMania as champion once again.
- 2013: Wins World Heavyweight Championship at Hell in a Cell – Cena’s final reign as World Heavyweight Champion saw him defeat Alberto Del Rio. Holding the gold for 49 days, Cena lost the title to Randy Orton in a match to unify the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships.
- 2014: Wins WWE Championship at Money in the Bank – With Daniel Bryan forced to vacate the WWE Championship due to injury, an 8-man ladder match took place at Money in the Bank to crown the new champion. Won by Cena, the reign lasted 49 days before he was famously squashed by Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.
- 2017: Wins WWE Championship at Royal Rumble – The win that equalled Ric Flair’s record, Cena emerged victorious over AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble in match that brought their rivalry to an end. Cena held the title for 14 days before losing it inside the Elimination Chamber.
- 2025: Wins WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41 – The reign that broke the record, a heel John Cena defeated Cody Rhodes in the main event of night 2 to win the 17th World Championship and be recognised by WWE as the greatest of all time. Following the shock heel turn at Elimination Chamber that year, Cena took advantage of a distraction by Travis Scott to strike Rhodes with the title and walk out of Las Vegas with the top prize once again.
Featured image: WWE
