John Cena will go down as one of the most accomplished and decorated WWE Superstars of all time. But there was one chant that haunted him throughout his career, one that his harshest critics hurled his way for years - especially during the early years of his run as the WWE's top star. It's a chant that still gets under Cena's skin to this day, as it was what finally drove the 16-time world champion to take a swing at Cody Rhodes when "The American Nightmare" brought it up in a recent promo battle. It's only three words, yet it's devastating nonetheless - "You can't wrestle!"

In reality, the opposite has been true for quite some time. While Cena was never the in-ring technician on the levels of Ric Flair or Bryan Danielson, he was masterful at storytelling, responding to crowd reactions, and building to a climactic finish of a match. There are dozens of matches from WWE TV and pay-per-views that prove this fact. But if you're in the mood for a deep dive into Cena's career as we head toward WrestleMania 41, here are five great matches to get you started.

5 John Cena vs. Umaga

Royal Rumble 2007

Let's get this out of the way - yes, Cena was very limited as an in-ring competitor in his early years as a WWE main eventer. That is why, unless he was in the ring with someone like Triple H or Shawn Michaels, most of his matches from that era are a rough watch. But Cena's Last Man Standing Match with Umaga was a rare diamond in the rough.

The bout allowed Cena to get bloody, mean, and almost unhinged as he threw everything he could possibly think of against a nearly-unstoppable monster. The story of Cena overcoming the odds was an angle WWE drove into the ground time and again, but this match did it to perfection, and it never gets old.

4 John Cena vs. CM Punk

WWE Raw: Feb. 25, 2013

Everyone re Cena vs. Punk from Money in the Bank 2011. If I asked you to name the five most important matches of Cena's career, that one would probably get brought up. But while this match from 2013 doesn't have the same spectacle, bell-to-bell, it blows that pay-per-view bout out of the water.

At the time, Punk was trying to force his way into the WrestleMania 29 main event with The Rock and Cena and needed to beat the latter in order to punch his ticket. What followed was a 25-minute classic where Punk threw everything he could at Cena, only for Cena to match him blow for blow.

3 John Cena vs. Kevin Owens

Elimination Chamber 2015

After his back-to-back WrestleMania main events with The Rock, Cena's presentation gradually changed from WWE's top babyface to the standard-bearer all future WWE stars would need to contend with. This led to a pair of United States Championship reigns in 2015 where Cena would offer a weekly open challenge to anyone in the locker room, resulting in some of the best in-ring matches of his career.

There are plenty of great options to pick from - Cesaro, Sami Zayn, and Rusev all come to mind - but none stand out quite like his first match with Kevin Owens at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Unlike all of those other matches where wrestlers would look strong in defeat, Owens was actually able to carry the momentum of a clean win over "The Face The Runs The Place."

2 John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins

Royal Rumble 2015

It's funny how a show with one of the most hated Royal Rumble matches of all time can also have one of the best triple threats in WWE history. By early 2015, Brock Lesnar had been firmly re-established as one of the company's top box office draws, and Cena made for one of his best opponents, given he was one of the few people who could match Lesnar in of raw strength. Add in Rollins as an opportunistic wild card, and you get an outstanding match.

Many people consider 2013-2015 to be Cena's peak years in the ring, and this match proves that. Lesnar is always at his best when he's paired with opponents he can sell for, and a fast-paced triple threat offers plenty of chances for that. Add the athleticism and daredevil approach of Seth Rollins, and you have a perfect mix for a banger that will go down in history.

1 John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Royal Rumble 2017

If you ever come across someone who still believes to this day that Cena never truly improved as an in-ring worker, just show them his trilogy with AJ Styles from 2016-17. By this point, Cena was already juggling his wrestling career with a budding Hollywood career, but he stuck around to give SmackDown Live some established star power following the company's reintroduction of the brand split.

This led to a lengthy feud where Cena couldn't find a way to overcome "The Phenomenal One," because Styles wasn't afraid to cheat, and he was simply too crafty bell-to-bell after spending years in TNA, Ring of Honor, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The story culminated in a match at the 2017 Royal Rumble where Cena delivered a jaw-dropping flurry of offense to finally keep Styles down and win his 16th world championship.

There was so much riding on this match that it's hard to do it justice in a few words. First, this was the symbol of WWE against the symbol of everything that was not WWE, two different ideas and conceptions of pro wrestling clashing in the ring. Second, this was Cena's chance to win a historic 16th championship and tie with Ric Flair's record. Finally, this match proved once and for all that John Cena could hang with the best in-ring wrestlers of all time, making everyone who ever shouted "You can't wrestle!" eat their words.