Bully Ray Compares John Cena and Ric Flair in WWE GOAT Debate

When talking about the best wrestler of all time, two names usually dominate the conversation: Ric Flair, AKA “The Nature Boy,” and John Cena. The WWE recognizes both men as 16-time world champions — a statistic that has become a part of each’s legacy.

However, during a recent episode of “Busted Open Radio”, WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray made an interesting point when comparing the two. “Ric Flair is the greatest professional wrestler of all time because he’s done it all over the world,” Ray began.

He then went on to explain what makes Cena unique in his eyes. “In my eyes, John Cena is already the greatest WWE Champion of all time. Unless you do it all over the world, you cannot make the claim to being the greatest of anything of all time”.

Flair vs. Cena: Career Paths

While Flair’s official 16-time championship record speaks for itself, those who have followed his career believe that number may be higher if you count his title reigns outside WCW and WWE.

On the other hand, every world title Cena has won came while he was within WWE’s system. As Ray pointed out, this difference showcases how different their professional paths were. This subject hit close to home for many fans as Cena recently announced that 2025 will be his final year as an active professional wrestler with plans to retire at some point during or after that year.

Ray also shared who he’d like to see Cena face in his final match with WWE: “I would love John Cena’s last match to be against whoever is the world heavyweight champion on that night. If John were to lose, he’d go out with his shoulders on the mat fighting for the world heavyweight championship; which I think he should”.

During one particular Money In The Bank press conference appearance (h/t Fightful), Cena spoke extensively about what he hopes to accomplish in these twilight years and reflects on just how much he’s done in wrestling.

These matches that are coming up could be heralded as one…