When Wrestlemania 29 ended an hour ago, the universal consensus from the people with whom I watched and most of the people I follow on Twitter seems to be: "At least the C.M. Punk/Undertaker match was good." While I certainly was in that camp, the more I thought about the evening, the more frustrated I became by all the squandered potential.
Traditionally, Wrestlemania is the end of the WWE's season (for lack of a better term). Feuds culminate in face-to-face match ups with a clear, indisputable winner and the next night on Raw, things start anew. Granted, not all matches are classics. While WWE would like you to think only the finest talent and the greatest rivalries make it to the granddaddy of all pay per views, never forget that Wrestlemania has brought us the Bodydonnas vs. the Godwins, Big Show in a sumo diaper, Undertaker vs. a giant in a airbrushed bodysuit designed to make him look naked and hairy, and Golddust's slutty ex-wife vs. Jerry Lawler's slutty half-his-age girlfriend.
Tonight's show had some good wrestling performances, but overall nearly every match fell short of what it could have done.
The opening match of Big Show, Randy Orton, and Sheamus versus The Shield deserve a lot of credit for allowing the three upstarts of the Shield to showcase their skills against three former World Heavyweight Champions. Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns shined, but Seth Rollins went to a new level. At one point he leaped off the top turnbuckle with such power I wouldn't have been surprised to see him land on the opposite turnbuckle.
This match could have easily had Big Show punch Orton and taint the Shield's victory, but WWE resisted and allowed Orton to be the victim of his own hubris rather than outright betrayal. The win also strengthened the Shield's reputation where Big Show interference would have weakened it. Unfortunately, WWE wasn't as sensible the rest of the night.
Jericho and Fandango's match started at a disadvantage because after five months of buildup, Fandango could have been Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, and Stone Cold all rolled into one and still not lived up to the hype. Furthermore, after wrestling in WWE's developmental territories for six years as Johnny Curtis, he's saddled with the silly character of a competitive ballroom dancer who gets upset when people mispronounce his name.
But strangest was the ending, where Jericho overshot a Lionsault while Fandango raised his knees in a move that would normally lead to Jericho miming a rib injury. Instead, Jericho jumped up, grabbed Fandango's legs, and attempted his Walls of Jericho finisher. Announcer JBL suggested Jericho might have injured his knee, though there was no reason to suspect that as neither wrestler had done anything to sell the idea of a knee injury. Jericho wiggled his knee a bit while trying and failing to get Fandango into the Walls, then was rolled up for an anticlimactic Fandango victory that prompted me to tweet:
I wonder how that Fandango match was supposed to end. #wrestlemania29
— Angry Jake (@Angry_Jake) April 7, 2013
Furthermore, it didn't make sense for Ziggler to win one half of the tag team titles considering he is holding the Money in the Bank contract that all-but guarantees he'll be the World Heavyweight Champion soon. Ziggler had implied he'd use the contract at Wrestlemania, which--given an almost certain pending suspension for Jack Swagger after his DUI and drug possession arrest--had many expecting Del Rio to win but to be so hurt and exhausted after battling Swagger that he'd be easy pickings for Ziggler. Instead, the match just ended. Ricardo Rodriguez got no revenge for his broken ankle. Del Rio bounced up after the victory as though he'd been napping rather than being beaten half to death by a psychotic Tea Party racist. And we wound up with our first truly squandered opportunity of the night.
As it stands now, Swagger and Del Rio are either finished or they have to repeat the exact same program but with some special stipulation at Extreme Rules like a submission match. How much better would it be if Swagger and Del Rio beat each other senseless with Del Rio pulling off a victory by breaking Swagger's arm in the Cross Arm Breaker? Then as medics rush to the ring, Ziggler runs in behind them. The huffing and puffing Del Rio, barely able to stand on his severely twisted ankle (thanks to the Patriot Lock), is an easy target for Ziggler who becomes the new champ.
C.M. Punk and Undertaker had a much better match than you'd expect a 48-year-old who hasn't wrestled in a year to be capable of having. Within the first five minutes, Undertaker had already been involved in more action than the Rock had in both his C.M. Punk matches put together.
As the announcers explained that Triple H's career was on the line in his match against Brock Lesnar, a friend who doesn't watch WWE asked, "What happens if Triple H wins?" We could offer only that Vince McMahon's broken pelvis would be avenged. This match would have no real consequences since both wrestlers get in the ring about twice a year as it is. Triple H's retirement would only mean we won't see him at Summerslam.
But by far the biggest lost opportunity was found in Cena's victory over the Rock. It was obvious Cena, who hasn't held the WWE Championship for over a year, was going to win the belt if only because the WWE needs a champ who will actually appear on Monday Night Raw and go to house shows. But audiences have grown increasingly hostile toward Cena in recent months. Where once it seemed a fair 50-50 split between "Let's go, Cena" and "Cena sucks" chants in arenas, the scales have been steadily tipping toward the latter with every show. I would guess the Royal Rumble crowd was about 60% anti-Cena, but the Cena haters in the audience at last Monday's Raw in Washington, DC outnumbered his fans about ten to one and lambasted him with a chant of "BORING! BORING!" during his show-opening promo. Even when Cena promotes the Make-a-Wish Foundation:
This crowd just booed the Make A Wish foundation. #CenaSucks
— Chris Sims(@theisb) April 7, 2013
Cena's promos for the last two weeks steadily built up his obsession with defeating the Rock. He blamed every problem in his life from injuries to losing matches to his wife divorcing him on his loss to the Rock at last year's Wrestlemania. He began to show defiance to the fans rather than pleading for their love. Early in his match with Rock, he responded to a "Cena sucks" chant with "Oh, that's how it's gonna be, huh?" and Rock made a point of asking, "Do you hear that?" All the pieces were in place for Cena to turn heel. Throughout the match, he showed shock at Rock kicking out of a variety of finishing moves and breaking free of Cena's STF.
At this point, Cena should have taken the match outside the ring and brutalized Rock. Put him through the announce table, hit him with chairs, toss him into the steel steps, slam his arm into the ring posts, all while screaming about how the Rock ruined his life. Finally, a bloody, barely conscious Rock gets an Attitude Adjustment in the middle of the ring, but kicks out of the pin defiantly. Cena locks on the STF and screams like a madman into the camera as the Rock is forced to finally give up and tap. Fans boo, but Cena doesn't care anymore. His new attitude is "I hear you saying I suck. Well who's got your belt? You don't like me, but you'll respect me!"
When Cena finally won, he walked over to speak to the Rock for about a minute, expressing his gratitude. This lead to a handshake and a hug and a deafening chorus of boos.
It's hard not to feel that while WWE may have more talent than ever on its roster, its shows keep clocking in as mediocre outings. Unfortunately, there are usually enough highlights to keep fans' hope alive that something good is about to happen and we wind up in a perpetual cycle of disappointment and faith.
But at least the C.M. Punk/Undertaker match was good.
As I was cataloging the last four nigh-flawless years of John Cena's career, I was tweeting various observations and debating the definition of a "clean" loss with some of my followers. Adam Popovich, who writes about WWE over at Grizzly Bomb, raised the question of what one could do to fix Cena's character. All he could suggest was adding werewolves. Whether Cena would fight the werewolves or reveal himself to be a werewolf or fall in love with a werewolf who is feuding with a vampire Cena has already professed love for, I don't know. The point is that I have been debating this question since writing that last post.
On a side note, I am also the father of a ten-year-old girl who professes to love WWE. (I know you're not supposed to pick favorites between your children but when your son asks me to buy him a John Cena shirt to wear to the Royal Rumble and your daughter asks you for a Cactus Jack one, they make it hard not to.) This is a matter for an entire different column, but sufficed to say the more she watches the more disappointed I get in the lack of a legitimate Divas Division. A.J. Lee, the biggest female star in the company, doesn't even bother to wrestle. Instead, she's spent a year playing doe-eyed admirer to a series of boyfriends who disrespect and don't appreciate her.
I only mention my problem with the Divas because as I was trying to fix Cena, I stumbled upon a solution that also fixes the Divas' lack of relevance. The only problem is I'm about a month late. This plan should have gone into effect in December--and I can't believe I'm saying this--when Cena should have beaten Dolph Ziggler at the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs pay per view.
As it was, Cena, who had blown his own opportunities to win the WWE Championship from CM Punk (by no fault of his own, of course) took on Ziggler, who has a Money in the Bank contract that grants him a Heavyweight Championship title bout anytime or anywhere he wants. Much like Cena winning the Royal Rumble to secure himself a spot in the main event of Wrestlemania--where everyone knew he would be regardless of the Rumble result--this seemed like a case of Cena stealing an opportunity from another deserving worker. Cena's reputation has him already hogging the spotlight while simultaneously pushing others into the darkness. 
Cena was poised to win and steal Ziggler's title shot when A.J. turned on him with a sneak attack and cost him the match.
Instead, I would have had A.J.'s sneak attack fail. Despite being pushed off a ladder and then taking a superkick or a Zig Zag or anything else Ziggler and A.J. wanted to throw at him, Cena gets up, shoulder blocks Ziggler's ladder and sends Ziggler out of the ring. He bounds up the ladder without any hint of struggle that is the signature of all ladder matches and becomes the new Mr. Money in the Bank. Afterward, A.J. says she did it because Cena didn't care about anything but titles and being the best and that his obsession scared her. She was hurt by his rejection, but she was also worried by what would happen to the WWE if Cena was given yet another title match. Her words are dismissed since she's a "crazy chick," but they prove prophetic.
A month later, Cena wins the Royal Rumble and Rock beats CM Punk for the WWE title, just as happened. Cena announces he'll be taking on the Rock at Wrestlemania and hints that maybe he'll use his Money in the Bank contract to go after the Heavyweight belt at Elimination Chamber. Instead, 
United State Champion Antonio Cesaro comes out and mocks John Cena as a typical, lazy American who can't accept that his best days are behind him. He notes how Cena lost to Rock and lost his Money in the Bank match last year and then went out of his way to get another Money in the Bank contract and another shot at the Rock. Cena responds with some jingoistic nonsense about Swiss cheese and skiing in the Alps and goads Cesaro into putting the U.S. Title on the line at Elimination Chamber. Cesaro carries Cena to a great match, but Cena pulls out the win as he always does. (Just for the hell of it, let's also have Ziggler beat Alberto Del Rio in the Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber match, ironically giving him the belt after he lost his shot at it. And why not have A.J. win the Divas Championship and get her wrestling again?)
Wrestlemania opens with a rematch between Del Rio and Ziggler. Twitter is on fire as these two each have a career match. Ziggler pulls out a win that leaves both men jelly-legged and glassy-eyed as the crowd catches its collective breath.
Cue Cena's music. He comes running down the ramp with the US belt around his waist, the Money in the Bank briefcase in his hand, and a referee in tow. He hits the ring and the ref signals for the bell. Cena pulls Ziggler to his feet, hits the Attitude Adjustment, and 1-2-3, he's the Heavyweight Champion having stolen the title from Ziggler with very own contract. Later in the show, Shield members Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns defeat Team Hell No for the Tag Team Titles, but why am I bothering to mention that when the rematch of Cena and Rock now has the potential to be a title unification match? Where are my priorities?
Cena and Rock rest hold their way through some tackles and clotheslines and an STF and a Sharpshooter and both kick out of the Rock Bottom and the Attitude Adjustment, 
respectively. This time, Rock tries the U-Can't-C-Me and Cena catches him. An Attitude Adjustment later, Cena is walking out with three belts.
The next night on Raw, Ryback is still feuding with the Shield. He challenges them to a match at the Extreme Rules pay per view for their tag team titles. He offers to find a partner and have a three-on-two handicap match. Cena offers to be Ryback's partner, showing off his three championship belts as reference. They win and now Ryback and Cena are tag team champs in addition to his other titles.
Building up to the next yet-to-be-named pay per view, Cena sets his sights on the Intercontinental belt, which at this point is held by another internet smark darling like Daniel Bryan. Bryan is supposed to defend the belt against El Generico or Tyson Kidd or Seth Rollins, but Cena puts the WWE belt on the line in a title for title match. Bryan takes the bait and makes Cena tap to the No Lock. 
But Cena loses it and clobbers Bryan with the Heavyweight belt in mid-celebration. He points out some technicality about Bryan's gear or something and the referee agrees to restart the match. Cena gets Bryan to tap to the STF and adds the Intercontinental belt to his growing collection.
By now, only the hardest of hardcore Cena fans are still rooting for him and think this isn't ridiculous. Just to make it clear heading into Money in the Bank, Cena goes to Stone Cold Steve Austin's ranch and attacks him to steal the Smoking Skull belt. During Mick Foley's Hall of Fame induction, a point is made of presenting him with the old Hardcore Championship belt, which Cena then attacks Mick backstage around this time to claim under the old 24/7 rules. He challenges William Regal to a fight for the defunct European title. If only Tazz weren't at TNA and could lose the FTW belt.
Meanwhile, on a July episode of Raw, Ryback and Cena defend the Tag Team championship against... pick somebody. Prime Time Players? The Usos? Cena let's Ryback do most of the work, then tags in after Ryback hits the Shell Shock, does an Attitude Adjustment, gets the pin, and celebrates, cutting a promo about how great he is and how lucky Ryback is to be his partner. Ryback gets upset and their fight turns into a match at Money in the Bank. 
Winner gets both tag belts and the right to choose his partner to be the other half of the tag team champions. Cena wins after kicking out of Ryback's Meathooks and Shell Shock, maybe using some brass knucks on his Five-Knuckle Shuffle to get some extra heel heat. The next night on Raw, Cena announces his new tag team partner is... nobody. He doesn't need anybody and why should he have to share the spotlight? To prove his point, he defeats Primo and Epico in a handicap match.
Cena is now in full-on heel mode, cheating when necessary, but usually winning the exact same way he does now. No matter what anyone does to him, he kicks out and keeps going.
Uneasy about the surprise nature of the Money in the Bank competitors, Cena talks both of them into a Triple Threat match at Summerslam. Both the Heavyweight and WWE Championships will be on the line with the winner of the first pinfall getting one and the second the other. They hesitate at first, but after Cena calls them cowards and other bullying, they eventually agree. The winners--take your pick from Randy Orton, Sheamus, CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, or another of your favorites--tear it up, but Cena cannot be pinned. Even on the verge of unconsciousness, Cena manages to get a shoulder up every time. They go at each other as as soon as one gets his finisher, Cena jumps in, knocks him out of the ring, and get the pin. The ref restarts the match for the second belt, Cena hits the Attitude Adjustment, and both Money in the Bank competitors have been dismissed.
The following night on Raw, we see how low morale is in the locker room. Everyone is giving up on the hope of ever winning a belt again. A.J. makes the observation she did before the Royal Rumble that John Cena's obsession would be bad for the WWE. Cena overhears her and makes an angry face. Later in the show, A.J. is defending her title in a Lumberjill Fatal-Four-Way match. Cena comes down and gets in the ring. The lumberjills try to stop him, but what chance do they have against a guy who can pick up Big Show on his shoulders and flip him? 
The four women in the ring stand up to him, but he hits them all with the Attitude Adjustment. He gets in A.J.'s face and accuses her of jealousy and mocks her and her silly butterfly belt. If she wants to talk trash about him, why doesn't she do it to his face? Why doesn't she put her belt on the line? She says no, because it's a Divas belt, but Cena argues that if she's not willing to compete against the best competition, what value does it actually have. For the next few weeks, Cena haunts A.J. and demands a title shot. Since she refuses, Cena instead threatens the rest of the Divas. When the number one contender is named, she declines the chance to fight for the belt at Night of Champions. The number two contender is likewise reluctant to take the title shot. A battle royal is held to determine A.J.'s opponent at the pay per view, but Cena storms the ring and cleans house. He declares himself the winner and demands his title shot. A.J. finally relents.
Night of Champions opens with Cena vs. A.J. for the Diva's title. Cena tosses her around like a rag doll and toys with her. Finally, A.J. gets in a surprise shot of offense--an elbow to Cena's nose or a kick in the crotch, something to slow him down. This enrages him, but makes him lose focus. 
A.J. uses her superior quickness and agility to hit and run, kind of like some of those old Rey Mysterio matches against Kevin Nash or Big Show or Undertaker. Cena is embarrassed and wants her to pay. He tackles her and gives her the Five-Knuckle-Shuffle, then sets her up for the STF... but she reverses it into a schoolboy for the 1-2-3! A.J. is the first person to defeat Cena in ten months!
As Cena struggles to come to grips with losing, it sinks in that at Night of Champions, every title is on the line. Kofi Kingston follows A.J. for the U.S. Title match. Cena throws some devastating moves but is clearly distracted by the loss, leaving him open for a Trouble in Paradise. Cena instinctively kicks out, but then the other contenders start to gather on the entrance ramp. He turns his attention to them and gets another kick to the back of his head. 1-2-3 and Kofi is the new United State Champ. While Cena argues with the ref, Cody Rhodes slides into the ring and hits Cross Rhodes to win the Intercontinental belt. Cena is reeling and struggles to his feet, only to be double teamed by... some tag team. Alberto Del Rio and Sin Cara? Big Show and Kane? Colt Cabana and Brad Maddox? After some double finisher, Cena gets pinned again and his tag team belts are gone. Cena is in panic mode and tries to get himself counted out, but Santino drives him back into the ring with the Cobra. Santino is your new Heavyweight Champion. That leaves the WWE title and the people's hero... Lord Tensai? Great Khali? Zach Ryder? Eh, it's probably Sheamus or Orton. Cena clings to his last belt like a mother to her baby in a hurricane. He musters some offense, digging deep as he realizes this is all he has left. Alas, it is too much and he falls, left a shattered wreck in the middle of the ring. Backstage, he gets 
stunnered, then Stone Cold pours beer on him and Mick Foley smashes a trash can over his head.
In the months to come, titles will shift freely and be defended often. Afterall, it's been two years since anyone but Punk, Rock, or Cena has held the WWE title. Cena finds an old WCW TV Title belt in a closet at Titan Tower, but that's not enough. He goes through all of his rematches, but a Diva always shows up to cost him the match. Cena goes on to be a monster heel, a man hellbent on controlling everyone and everything in his universe and making everything about reflecting his own glory, and seemingly impossible to pin, kind of a non-mystical Undertaker.
Or maybe he's a werewolf.
I took my kids to the Royal Rumble with a group of friends last night and while I was considering writing a recap from the perspective inside the arena (the crowd reaction when Chris Jericho came out as #2 in the Rumble was one of the five loudest things I've ever heard and sustained longer than any cheers I've heard at any sporting event) or giving my opinions on why Rock winning the championship undermines the WWE's future (Rock's win sends the message that the best wrestlers of today are not as good as wrestlers from ten years ago even if those wrestlers are a decade past their primes and have only wrestled twice since the Johnny Carson died).
I might still do either of those things, but today I wound up thinking about John Cena's feel good, underdog-makes-good story of winning the Rumble and earning his spot in the main event at Wrestlemania--a place he certainly wouldn't have been without snatching that opportunity. I was watching the C.M. Punk: Best in the World DVD and his match with Cena at Money in the Bank in Chicago where he'd vowed to win the championship. The crowd reminded me of the ECW: One Night Stand show where Cena lost the title to Rob Van Dam before a violently hostile crowd.
So I spent almost two hours reading through pay-per-view recaps to learn when Cena became too good for losing, wondering just how many times he's lost clean (being pinned or tapping out without being cheated by outside interference or having some other excuse that he didn't "really" lose).
The answer was Wrestlemania 25.
A month before that show, Cena was pinned cleanly by Edge in an Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out (2009). He has somewhere between five and one clean wins since then. I've bolded the losses that could be considered clean depending on how generous you're feeling with the definition of "clean."
(Turn down your speakers before you click any of the links. Most are fan highlight edits with music over the top.)
At Wrestlemania 25, he beat Edge and Big Show in a Triple Threat match to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
At Backlash, he lost the belt back to Edge in a Last Man Standing match due to interference by the Big Show.
At Judgment Day, he beat Big Show.
At Extreme Rules, he beat Big Show again in a submission match.
At WWE The Bash, he beat the Miz.
At Night of Champions, he lost to Randy Orton in a Triple Threat match after making Orton tap out (along with Triple H) due to interference by Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase.
At SummerSlam, he lost to Randy Orton due to "fan" interference after Orton tried multiple times to get disqualified only to have match restarted.
At Breaking Point, he beat Randy Orton in an I Quit match for the WWE Championship.
At Hell in a Cell, he lost the WWE Championship to Randy Orton. Orton was only able to beat him by tangling him in the ropes, choking him into unconsciousness, then kicking him in the head. Since all this is legal in a Hell in a Cell match, this would be considered a clean win, but only because of stipulations.
At Bragging Rights, he beat Randy Orton in an Iron Man match for the WWE title.
At Survivor Series, he beat Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a Triple Threat match.
At Tables, Ladders, and Chairs, he lost to Sheamus in a tables match when he slipped off the top turnbuckle while setting up to suplex Sheamus through a table.
At the Royal Rumble, he was the last man eliminated by surprise entrant Edge. While this is not a clean pin and while he did get to dominate all the way up to being one of the final two, it's downright job squad by Cena standards.
At Elimination Chamber, he won his Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship, but then lost to Batista in a surprise title defense immediately afterward.
1st Year Record: 8-4 (1 clean), 2nd place finish in Royal Rumble
At Wrestlemania 26, he beat Batista for the WWE Championship.
At Extreme Rules, he beat Batista in a Last Man Standing match.
At Over the Limit, he beat Batista in an I Quit match.
At Fatal 4-Way, he lost the WWE Championship to Sheamus due to interference by Nexus.
At Money in the Bank, he lost to Sheamus in a cage match due to interference by Nexus despite making Sheamus tap out.
At SummerSlam, he won 7-Man tag team elimination matc--note that he won, not his team, as he was the last of the 14 competitors to remain at the end of the match--by making Wade Barrett tap out.
At Night of Champions, he was eliminated from Six-Pack Challenge by Wade Barrett after Nexus interference.
At Hell in a Cell, he lost to Wade Barrett due to "fan" interference.
At Bragging Rights, he and David Otunga won the WWE Tag Team Championship from Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre when Rhodes tapped out to Cena's STF. (The next night, they surrendered the belts to Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel. Since that's not a PPV and Cena didn't get pinned, it won't count in the total, but it seemed like it should be mentioned why Cena is no longer Tag Team Champ.)
At Tables, Ladders, and Chairs, he beat Wade Barrett in a chairs match.
At the Royal Rumble, he came out and cleared the ring of C.M. Punk and the Nexus, who'd been dominating and in full control for half an hour. He made it to the final four but was eliminated when Miz, who was not in the match, snuck in while referees weren't watching and dumped him over the top rope.
At Elimination Chamber, he won the Elimination Chamber match for a shot at the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania.
Second Year Record: 7-4 (0 clean), 5th place finish in Royal Rumble
Two Year Total: 15-8 (1 clean)
At Wrestlemania 27, he lost to Miz on interference from the Rock.
At Extreme Rules, he won the WWE Championship over Miz and John Morrison in a Triple Threat steel cage match.
At Over the Limit, he beat Miz in an I Quit match.
At Capitol Punishment, he beat R-Truth.
At Money in the Bank, he lost cleanly to C.M. Punk for the WWE Championship. Some will argue that Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis caused a distraction when they came to ringside to help Cena, but considering no one speared Cena or hit him with a chair, Colt Cabana didn't jump out of the crowd and whack Cena with a bag full of doorknobs. That's a clean win.
At SummerSlam, he lost to C.M. Punk because special referee Triple H didn't see that Cena's foot was on the ropes during the pin.
At Night of Champions, he beat Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Championship.
At Hell in a Cell, he lost Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship when Alberto Del Rio pinned C.M. Punk.
At Vengeance, he lost to Alberto Del Rio in a Last Man Standing match due to interference from Miz and R-Truth.
At Survivor Series, he and Rock beat Miz and R-Truth in a tag team match.
At the Royal Rumble, his match with Kane ended with a double count-out draw.
At Elimination Chamber, he beat Kane in an ambulance match.
Third Year Record: 6-5-1 (1 clean)
Three Year Total: 21-13-1 (2 clean)
At Wrestlemania 28, he lost clean to the Rock.
At Extreme Rules, he beat Brock Lesnar.
At Over the Limit, he lost to John Laurinaitis on Big Show interference.
At No Way Out, he beat Big Show in a steel cage match.
At Money in the Bank, he won Money in the Bank for a shot at the WWE Championship.
On Raw's 1000th Episode--not a PPV, but still a huge show, he won against C.M. Punk but didn't win the WWE Championship due to Big Show interference.
At SummerSlam, he lost a Triple Threat match when Punk pinned Big Show (who'd been knocked out by Cena.
At Night of Champions, he pinned C.M. Punk but it was ruled a draw because both men's shoulders were on the mat.
At Survivor Series, he lost a Triple Threat match to Punk on Shield interference. While there was interference in this match, it was against Ryback. Ryback hit Cena with Shell Shock then was swarmed and dragged from the ring while Cena laid there until Punk pinned him, making Shell Shock the only finisher Cena sold in four years.
At Tables, Ladders, and Chairs, he lost a ladder match to Dolph Ziggler on A.J. Lee interference.
At the Royal Rumble, he won the Royal Rumble.
Fourth Year Record to Date: 5-5-1 (two clean)
Four Year Total: 26-18-2 (four clean [five if you count the Royal Rumble he finished second in])