Last Updated on April 16, 2024 by Avik Das
John Cena is the epitome of World Wrestling Entertainment, especially in the 21st century. The Leader of Cenation single-handedly carried the company on his shoulders for a decade, becoming a sixteen-time world champion, most by any wrestler under the WWE banner. His meteoric rise to the top began in the Ruthless Aggression Era when he won his first WWE Championship. In the PG Era, he was the face of the company and the perfect hero for millions of kids around the world.
John Cena was a smooth talker whether as the Doctor of Thuganomics or as the Leader of Cenation. His cheeky insults, confidence while delivering each sentence, witty lines, and funny rap lines placed him among the greatest on the mic. Likewise, he was a decent wrestler, who was known to be a safe worker among his peers. He was over 250 pounds in his prime with pure muscle, so he was a strength-based wrestler, not a high-flyer. A majority of John Cena wrestling moves showcased his superhuman power, with people even calling him ‘Super Cena’. From the John Cena finishing moves to normal John Cena moves, whatever he did in the ring, became iconic, to say the least.
#7 Shoulder Tackles
Shoulder tackles are easy to execute yet an effective maneuver of John Cena. Considering the size and muscle mass of Cena’s broad shoulders, Cena uses it almost in all his matches. It helps him take down the opponents no matter what size. When Cena gets the upper hand during a match, he runs at full speed from one end of the rope to another. After the run, Cena tackles his opponents with his shoulders, pushing them down on the mat and building momentum. This is one of the most used moves of him WWE.
#6 Diving Leg Drop
Considering John Cena isn’t a high-flyer, a leg drop, that too from the top, is an awe-inspiring move, showing his incredible athleticism. Diving Leg Drop is arguably one of the aesthetic-looking moves delivered by him. The impact of this move is great, but he only uses it for special occasions, as the move also has the potential risk of getting injured, especially for a man of his size. John Cena would climb up the top rope, and he would target his opponent’s neck while executing it. He would dive from the top rope to connect a leg drop. It’s probably one of the few moves of him that comes with high-risk, so he uses it sporadically.
#5 Fisherman Suplex
Suplex is a big weapon for any wrestler, and it is widely used by various wrestlers with different styles. Moreover, different versions of Suplexs make it a popular move to have in the arsenal. To perform any type of Suplex, a wrestler requires significant strength since the opponent’s whole body needs to be lifted to complete a Suplex. Likewise, John Cena’s power and strength have allowed him to add a Suplex among the most used John Cena moves. As a matter of fact, Cena has been using Fisherman Suplex regularly right from the start of his wrestling career. Putting the opponent’s left hand on his neck, Cena would lift them and throw them on the other side. Just like a majority of Suplexes, Fisherman Suplex isn’t among John Cena finishing moves.
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#4 Running Bulldog
Running Bulldog is a tricky move. Even though the name of this move is kept after a dog, it is an incredibly useful maneuver and John Cena executes this all the time. Again, just like the Shoulder Tackle, Running Bulldog is a move to slow down his opponents, halting their momentum. Cena drags his opponent from one corner turnbuckle to another turnbuckle. After bouncing from a turnbuckle when the opponent moves toward the center of the ring, Cena runs and slams the opponent’s face to the mat, calling it a Running Bulldog.
#3 STF Submission
STF submission is one of the John Cena finishing moves. As it’s an essential move, the sixteen-time world champion would lock his opponents often, forcing them to tap out. With the continuous use of the submission move, it has ended up being one of the most popular submissions in WWE. John Cena first targets the leg of his opponent in order to lock the submission. Then he moves up, locking the receiving wrestler’s face with his arms. When he puts more pressure, the receiving wrestler is coerced to surrender to one of the iconic John Cena moves of all time.
#2 Five Knuckle Shuffle
John Cena’s recognition in the mainstream world grew more with the ‘you can’t see me’ line, which has not become a meme line but also a joke referring to his invisibility. Cena’s Five Knuckle Shuffle is one such John Cena wrestling move that shows a direct connection to Cena’s popular catchphrase. When John Cena’s opponent lies on the mat, Cena mocks them showing the hand gesture ‘you can’t see me’. Following it, he bounces from one rope to another and drops his forearm on the receiving wrestler’s face. Before connecting the finishing move of John Cena , he hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle.
#1 Attitude Adjustment
Possibly one of the greatest finishing moves in wrestling history, Attitude Adjustment or AA is simply the best among all his moves. The legendary Superstar has finished many blockbuster main-event matches with Attitude Adjustment. It, however, is a hard move to execute with perfection, notably against bigger opponents. But Cena’s power and experience always have made maneuver flawless. John Cena lifts his opponent on his shoulders and throws them on the mat horizontally. He exhibited his superhuman strength at WrestleMania 25, where he lifted both Big Show and Edge, placing it among the best Attitude Adjustments to be executed. Given how protected AA is, a majority of his opponents have been pinned with this move.
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Avik Das is the founder of Sportsheed. He is a sports lover with broad knowledge of Professional Wrestling, MMA, Football, and Cricket. He has an English major and has previously written articles for various sports and entertainment websites
