5 Best Years Of John Cena's Career (& 5 Worst)

For a time, John Cena's famous catchphrase, "You can't see me," was a way for Cena to taunt his opponents by suggesting they weren't up to his level. But as Cena spends more time in Hollywood and less time in the wrestling ring, WWE fans really can't see Cena. At least not as much as they used to.

Perhaps that will change when Cena returns to WWE on the February 28 edition of Smackdown. There's plenty of rumors that suggest the 16-time world champion will return to the squared circle for at least one more match at this year's WrestleMania. As the world waits to see what Cena's WWE future holds, it's time to revisit some of the best and worst years of Cena's wrestling career.

10 Bad Year: 2002

John Cena got a lot of attention when he showed up to challenge Kurt Angle in June of 2002. So it's hard to believe that Cena almost got fired by WWE not long after making his television debut on Smackdown.

But according to Cena, that's what was about to happen. Failing to connect with the WWE audience, Cena was set to be released in December. But after displaying a different side to his personality during a European tour, Cena was given another opportunity. And thus, the Doctor of Thuganomics was born.

9 Great Year: 2003

Cena went from almost going to the unemployment line to the front of the line to challenge for the WWE Title. As Cena's new rap persona began to get over, he soon found himself challenging Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship.

Though he came up short in their encounter at Backlash, Cena came out of the contest a much bigger star. As he continued to catch on with fans, Cena found himself in more high profile encounters with the likes of Kurt Angle and The Undertaker.

8 Great Year: 2004

As boos turned to cheers, WWE leaned into Cena's growing popularity by turning him into an edgy good guy and by booking him strong at the RoyalRumble, where Cena made it to the final six in the Rumble match.

At WrestleMania, Cena scored his first WWE championship by beating the Big Show for the U.S. Title. In doing so, Cena also created his first WrestleMania Moment when he hoisted the giant up on his shoulders and dumped him over with an F-U for the win.

7 Great Year: 2005

After winning the WWE Title from JBL at WrestleMania21, WWE strapped the rocket to Cena and cashed in big on his popularity. In May, Cena released his first, and only, rap album, appropriately titled You Can't See Me.

In June, he was moved to WWE's flagship show Raw, thus confirming his status as the face of the company. And as he had done with the U.S. Title, Cena introduced a new version of the WWE Championship, one that featured a spinning plate of the company's logo. It was here that fans slowly began to turn on Cena.

6 Bad Year: 2006

It was quite clear from WWE's first pay-per-view event of the year, New Year's Revolution, that a large portion of the WWE fan base had turned on John Cena. On WWE's Ruthless Aggression series, Cena recalled getting booed out of the building at the Hall of Fame Ceremony. He described the moment by saying, "The wave of hatred was...there was a pulse to it."

Despite the majority of fans calling for WWE to end the Cena experiment, the company doubled down on their man. Cena shocked the world by defeating Triple H via tap out at WrestleMania22. After winning the WWE Championship for a third time in September, Cena began what would become the seventh longest WWE Title reign in WWE history.

5 Bad Year: 2012

Over the next six years, Cena weathered the storm of hatred to remain the face of WWE. His superhero booking led fans to calling him Super Cena. However, 2012 was the year in which Cena finally got hit with some kryptonite.

At WrestleManiaXXVIII, fans rejoiced as The Rock returned to put Cena in his place. The following month at ExtremeRules, Brock Lesnar left Cena a bloody mess. Later that summer, Cena would make history by becoming the first person to unsuccessfully cash in the Money in the Bank Contract.

4 Great Year: 2015

After winning the U.S. Championship at WrestleMania31, Cena issued an open challenge for his title. Week after week on Raw, Cena would have entertaining matches with the likes of Dean Ambrose, Cody Rhodes, and Cesaro. He also introduced new moves to his arsenal such as the Yoshi Tonic and a Springboard Stunner.

Cena also gained the respect of WWE fans after putting then NXT Champion Kevin Owens over cleanly at the EliminationChamber event. After trading the U.S. crown with Seth Rollins over the summer, Cena continued to help make stars through his open challenge before finally losing the gold to Albert Del Rio.

3 Bad Year: 2017

After winning his 16th and final world title, Cena lost it two weeks later in the Elimination Chamber. At WrestleMania, he competed in a mixed tag team match with Nikki Bella. After the couple was victorious, Cena proposed to Bella. Though she said yes at the time, she ultimately said no.

Around this time, Cena began spending more time in Hollywood. With a new career opening up, Cena passed the torch to Roman Reigns at NoMercy in a dream match between the two most polarizing stars in wrestling history.

2 Bad Year: 2018

The song "Loser" by Beck should serve as the soundtrack for John Cena's 2018. From January to March, Cena lost every opportunity to either win a world title or compete for one at WrestleMania. Having exhausted all options, Cena called out the Undertaker.

Cena spent several weeks dragging 'Taker's name, doing everything but holding up a sign stating "Will Work For Undertaker Match." At WrestleMania34, 'Taker finally answered Cena's challenge. From there, Cena got beat like a Saturday morning jobber from the 1980's.

1 Great Year: 2019

Cena only competed twice in 2019. He teamed with Becky Lynch in a winning effort that helped further cement Lynch as The Man. His final match saw him put over Finn Bálor in a Fatal-4-Way on Raw. But it was his appearance at WrestleMania that made for headline news.

Cena returned at the Showcase of the Immortals to put Elias in his place. But the WWE Universe didn't get Super Cena. Instead, they were treated to the Doctor of Thuganomics as Cena slipped back into this iconic role to create a crowd-pleasing WrestleMania Moment.

NEXT: John Cena: 10 Most Emotional Moments In His WWE Career, Ranked