Mid-2000s John Cena became the new face of WWE. While audiences initially loved the then-popular Doctor of Thuganomics, Cena received negative reactions from the crowd after becoming WWE Champion. Thus began one of the most important rivalries of his entire career – against the company’s most hated heel, Rated-R Superstar Edge.
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The feud began with Edge making history by cashing in Money in the Bank for the first time and stealing the WWE Title from Cena right after winning an Elimination Chamber Match at New Year’s Revolution 2006. From there, their feud intensified with controversial TV segments, brutal matches and shocking title changes. Let’s take a look back at this historic rivalry and recap all of their big matches.
The Elimination Chamber Match at No Way Out 2009 is not included in this list because Cena and Edge barely interacted in that match. While it was great, it would be unfair to put it above the other matches here.
8 Edge vs. John Cena – WWE Championship (Royal Rumble 2006)
Overall rating by TheSportster: 6.25/10
|
Storytelling |
1.75/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical skills |
1.25/2.5 |
|
Character work/psychology |
1.5/2.5 |
|
Reaction of the crowd |
1.75/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer’s rating: 2 stars
- Cagematch.net rating: 5.46
In January 2006, Edge proved that a great and memorable title run doesn’t have to last long. In fact, just three weeks after successfully cashing in Money in the Bank at New Year’s Revolution, Edge lost the gold to John Cena. During his 21-day reign, Edge had the controversial live sex celebration segment that garnered incredible ratings on Raw, and also defended the gold in a spectacular TLC match against Ric Flair .
Edge was at his best until Cena got his rematch at the Royal Rumble. While it wasn’t a bad match, the fact that it had to take place after the Royal Rumble match of the same year didn’t help. The fans weren’t as loud as they probably would have been under other circumstances, and the match never reached the next level. Cena regained the title by forcing Edge to submit to the STF (then called the STFU) immediately after executing the AA (then called the FU).
7 Edge vs. John Cena vs. Big Show – World Heavyweight Championship (WrestleMania 25)
Overall rating by TheSportster: 6.5/10
|
Storytelling |
1.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical skills |
1.75/2.5 |
|
Character work/psychology |
1.75/2.5 |
|
Reaction of the crowd |
1.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer’s rating: 3.25 stars
- Cagematch.net rating: 6.30
After their incredible feud in 2006, Edge and Cena were separated when the Rated-R Superstar moved to SmackDown to feud with The Undertaker in May 2007. They met again two years later when Edge (now married to SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero) used his wife’s power to steal Raw’s World Heavyweight Championship right after losing the WWE Championship at No Way Out.
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It was a genius move that fit the character of the Ultimate Opportunist. Unfortunately for Edge, things got worse from there. Cena got a title shot at WrestleMania 25, but Big Show was also added into the mix after Cena revealed that Show had an affair with Vickie. The storyline was a bit strange, and they had the difficult task of the legendary match between Undertaker and Shawn Michaels . Nevertheless, they delivered a solid game with a very impressive finish.
6 Rob Van Dam vs. John Cena vs. Edge – WWE Championship (Raw, July 3, 2006)
Overall rating by TheSportster: 6.75/10
|
Storytelling |
1.75/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical skills |
1.75/2.5 |
|
Character work/psychology |
1.5/2.5 |
|
Reaction of the crowd |
1.75/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer’s Rating: N/R
- Cagematch.net rating: 6.55
In June 2006, there was a major twist in the WWE title scene. The winner of the second Money in the Bank Ladder Match, Rob Van Dam, decided to cash in his briefcase at ECW One Night Stand. Van Dam won the WWE Championship by defeating Cena in front of his loyal ECW fans. Unfortunately RVD was caught and his advance had to be stopped . Enter Edge – it turns out The Ultimate Opportunist was more than just a gimmick!
On the next episode of Raw, RVD put the WWE Title on the line in a Triple Threat Match against Cena and Edge. It was a thrilling match that saw all three men come close to winning several times. In the end, Edge hit Cena with the title belt right after Cena defeated Van Dam with an FU. Edge pinned RVD and stole the WWE Title for the second time.
5 Edge vs. John Cena – WWE Championship (SummerSlam 2006)
Overall rating by TheSportster: 7.5/10
|
Storytelling |
2/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical skills |
1.5/2.5 |
|
Character work/psychology |
2/2.5 |
|
Reaction of the crowd |
2/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer’s rating: 3.75 stars
- Cagematch.net rating: 6.99
Since RVD was suspended and definitely out of the title race, John Cena again went after Edge. Their first match took place on Main event on Saturday evening in July – a brief bout that ended with Edge being intentionally disqualified. That led to another meeting in the main event of SummerSlam. But this time, Edge would lose the belt if he lost by disqualification.
This contest in Cena’s home state of Massachusetts was better than their first meeting at the Royal Rumble, but it was still far from their best match. It took them a while to switch gears, but the final moments were exciting. Lita kept throwing weapons at Edge when things got tough, and Edge reminded her that he wasn’t allowed to use them. Despite this, Edge beat Cena down with brass knuckles behind the referee’s back. Edge found a way to escape SummerSlam and was still WWE Champion.
4 John Cena vs. Edge – Last Man Standing Match, World Heavyweight Championship (Backlash 2009)
Overall rating by TheSportster: 8/10
|
Storytelling |
2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical skills |
1.75/2.5 |
|
Character work/psychology |
2/2.5 |
|
Reaction of the crowd |
2/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer’s rating: 4.5 stars
- Cagematch.net rating: 8.47
After a three-year (on and off) feud, it was only fitting that their final PPV meeting was a Last Man Standing Match. Cena and Edge had one of their best matches in the main event of Backlash 2009. The two rivals battled for nearly 30 minutes across the entire arena.
The Last Man Standing Match isn’t necessarily the most exciting type of match, but it was an entertaining match nonetheless. After a fierce battle, Big Show intervened and threw Cena off the stage with a chokeslam through a spotlight. Cena was unable to get up and Edge left Backlash as the new World Heavyweight Champion.
3 John Cena vs. Edge vs. Triple H – WWE Championship (Backlash 2006)
Overall rating by TheSportster: 8.25/10
|
Storytelling |
2/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical skills |
2/2.5 |
|
Character work/psychology |
2/2.5 |
|
Reaction of the crowd |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer’s rating: 4.25 stars
- Cagematch.net rating: 8.29
After John Cena regained the WWE Title from Edge at the Royal Rumble, he moved into a program with Triple H that led him to WrestleMania 22. Cena defeated The Game in the main event of ‘Mania. Meanwhile, Edge defeated Mick Foley in a spectacular hardcore match and proved that he belonged in the title scene.
At Backlash, Cena put his title on the line against Edge and Triple H. The match was nothing short of amazing. Cena retained the title after turning a Pedigree attempt into a Bridge Pin. A bloodied Triple H stood firm despite the loss and destroyed both Cena and Edge with the sledgehammer after the match was over.
2 Edge vs. John Cena – TLC Match, WWE Championship (Unforgiven 2006)
Overall rating by TheSportster: 8.5/10
|
Storytelling |
2/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical skills |
2/2.5 |
|
Character work/psychology |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Reaction of the crowd |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer’s rating: 4.25 stars
- Cagematch.net rating: 8.88
With his win at SummerSlam, Edge thought he had finally knocked John Cena out of the title race. But after everything Edge had done to him, including breaking into Cena’s house and slapping his own father, Cena asked for one final rematch. Edge accepted on three conditions: it had to be a TLC match (his specialty), it had to take place in Edge’s hometown of Toronto at Unforgiven, and Cena would go to SmackDown if Edge won.
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Cena accepted despite the odds being against him. At Unforgiven, they had their best singles match together. Super Cena rose to the occasion in front of a hostile crowd and delivered an insane FU from a ladder through two stacked tables below. A few seconds later, Cena unhooked the belt and became a three-time WWE Champion.
1 John Cena vs. Edge vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton – WWE Championship (Backlash 2007)
Overall rating by TheSportster: 8.75/10
|
Storytelling |
2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical skills |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Character work/psychology |
2/2.5 |
|
Reaction of the crowd |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer’s rating: 4.5 stars
- Cagematch.net rating: 8.89
Although their program effectively ended at Unforgiven, Cena and Edge interacted a few more times until Edge moved to SmackDown. Edge formed Rated-RKO with Randy Orton and won the World Tag Team Championship. The unlikely duo of John Cena and Shawn Michaels ended their reign in January 2007. A few months later, the four men met at Backlash in a Fatal 4 Way Match for Cena’s WWE title.
The crowd loved every second of this chaotic, high energy and intense match. All four men could have gone home with gold that night, but Cena was the one who (thankfully) won. In the final sequence, Edge rammed Orton, but was then knocked out by Cena with the FU. Michaels superkicked Cena, who landed on Orton and went for the One-Two-Three Kick! A unique ending to a great title match.
