Why Bully Ray Doesn't Think WWE's John Cena Is On Verge Of Breaking Ric Flair Record

With John Cena set to officially retire from in-ring action in 2025, many people have wondered if WWE will pull the trigger on Cena surpassing Ric Flair's record of 16 World Championships. Cena won his 16th title at the 2017 Royal Rumble, and he has one last year to reach the elusive number 17. However, on "Busted Open Radio," WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray asserted that Cena isn't on the verge of breaking Flair's record, regardless of whether or not he wins the Undisputed or WWE World Heavyweight Championships in 2025, due to the fact that some of Flair's reigns aren't recognized by WWE.

"To me, John Cena is a WWE Champion, full stop, that's it," Bully said. "You can't beat Ric Flair's record. Ric Flair was a WWF Champion, he was an NWA Champion, a WCW Champion ... Ric Flair has held different championships around the world which to me, holds more water than John Cena's only WWE Championships ... To me, John Cena is already the most decorated World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history, and John Cena has the record within the WWE. I don't look at it that way, Flair is in a spot all his own."

To put his point into perspective, Bully turned to the tag team division and compared The New Day and The Dudley Boyz, where one team was more successful in WWE, while the other was successful in other promotions. "You can say The New Day are the most decorated tag team in the history of the WWE, but The New Day can't even be mentioned in the same breath as The Dudleys, because The Dudleys did it all over the planet."

Please credit "Busted Open Radio" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.