John Cena had a way of never answering this question. Retirement took it off him.
Cena was asked at the Tampa Bay Comic Convention to name his favorite match of his career. He explained the old system first.
That’s a good question. You know, I used to have a trick to get around this question that I no longer can use. So while I wasn’t retired, if I would hear a question like yours, like ask your question, (What was your favorite match?) I would easily be like, ‘no problem, that’s my next one.’ That was my cheat code. But now I have to actually answer your question, and I’ve been thinking about this, because it’s a serious question, right?
Then he gave a real answer.
I think I’ve had a bunch of fun with a bunch of matches and a bunch of opponents. But I don’t think any of those matches happen if I don’t have the first one. So as much as I’ve had wonderful moments. I think my first match is my favorite match because you can’t have any of the rest of them without the first one, right?
He has reached for that logic before. Asked recently which of his 17 world title wins meant the most, Cena picked the first one on the same grounds, saying there is no story without it.
The first match came on the June 27, 2002 SmackDown. Cena answered Kurt Angle’s open challenge, and when Angle asked what he had that nobody in the locker room had, his answer of ruthless aggression ended up naming the era. He lost the match.
The last one came on December 13, 2025 against Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington, D.C. Gunther had won the Last Time Is Now tournament for the spot. Cena tapped to a sleeper, the first submission loss of his career in roughly twenty years, then left his shoes and wristbands in the middle of the ring.
The convention was a short drive for him. Cena lives in Land O’ Lakes, just north of Tampa.
