John Cena tied history seven and a half years ago. At WWE Royal Rumble 2017, Big Match John defeated AJ Styles to capture the WWE Championship, tying WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair’s record for the most professional wrestling world championship reigns of all time at 16. All of Cena’s world championships have come under the WWE banner, with 13 of them being WWE Titles and three being WWE World Heavyweight Championships. That WWE Royal Rumble 2017 victory kicked off a reign that lasted just 14 days for Cena, as he lost the WWE Championship to Bray Wyatt two weeks later at WWE Elimination Chamber. Cena has challenged for a WWE world title on three occasions since but has come up short in each opportunity.
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Ric Flair Encourages John Cena to Break His Title Record
The Nature Boy is in favor of Big Match John eclipsing his immortal statistic.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Ric Flair simply said “none” when asked if he has a problem with John Cena winning a 17th world title and breaking his championship record in the process.
“The honest to God truth, I think so much personally of John Cena. He’s just one of those really great guys, in my opinion, and I have known a few,” Flair said. “If they do it with John, I have no problem. I’d be the first one to hit the ring and shake his hand. They’re meant to be broken.”
Flair had dozens of championship reigns to his name, but only 16 total are counted towards his world record total: eight reigns with the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, six reigns with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, and two reigns with the WWF Championship.
As for how Cena himself feels about possibly breaking the decades-old record, he acknowledged that he has to earn the opportunity.
“I would love that opportunity. Those opportunities are earned. Given my past track record, I’ve got some work to do,” Cena, who has not won a televised singles match since 2018, said at the . “So I know from a straight competitive standpoint I have to work my way up from the bottom. I’m a realist. There are some opportunities scattered that, if I do harness a little more luck, who knows, maybe we really make some history. Either way, I’m excited.”
Cena’s retirement tour is expected to kick off on the premiere episode of .
