In every generation, there are a select few who rise to define an era.
John Cena is one such megastar who will forever live in the hearts and minds of fans around the globe.
Cena achieved this immortality by sitting atop the WWE ladder for the best part of two decades. In that time he has been a part of some of the greatest moments of modern day wrestling. Be it alongside fellow future Hall of Famers such as Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar, or with lower card talents like Carlito and Sami Zayn, he has always delivered something worth talking about.
Whether fans have been solidly behind him or rebelling against him, Big Match John has always given his all to send the fans home happy.
A perfect example of this comes from the very first day of his WWE career. On June 27th, 2002 Cena made his debut on Smackdown and answered the open challenge of Kurt Angle. From the moment he uttered those immortal words, “Ruthless Aggression”, it was clear that this was someone to watch.
He went on to hold his own against the far more experienced Angle. Ultimately, Cena lost the match but cemented his status as a hot prospect in doing so.
In wrestling, insiders often mention intangibles when discussing what makes a star. Cena, perhaps more than any other, embodies that as he was not the most coordinated nor the most naturally gifted technician, but the complete package was enough to hide those shortcomings.
It’s a moment that is still replayed whenever a Cena retrospective is in order. That’s not going to change at any point.
If you want to talk about the best debuts of all time, this has to be up there. It may not have the impact of Kane tearing into the Hell in a Cell, or Jericho sparring with The Rock, but it was perfect in its own way.
So too was the moment that the goodwill dissolved for John Cena and the boos rained down harder than they ever had or ever would have again.
It was at ECW One Night Stand 2006 that the ECW hateful made it clear that they were not interested in seeing Super Cena do his usual schtick and walk over their boy, RVD.
This may well seem like it was more of a moment for Van Dam than for Cena, but it was pivotal for both men. That night marked the first time that Cena had to deal with a crowd that was 100 percent against him.
It was clear from the off that he was shaken by the, at the time, unprecedented reaction. Despite that initial shock he played his part to perfection. It serves to highlight the level of professionalism and skill that Cena has always personified that he was able to so readily switch his performance to match the feelings of the audience.
Lesser stars may have crumbled under the pressure, but the face of the company rose to the challenge and helped to put together a perfect coronation for RVD.
He would build upon this experience to masterfully play to every crowd for the next decade or more, regardless of their feelings towards him. He knew he was polarising, and he made it an asset rather than a hinderance.
If for nothing else, you should take the time to watch this match just to see Cena’s face as his shirt is throw back at him from the capacity crowd.
It wasn’t always a hateful reaction that greeted that iconic entrance music though. At the Royal Rumble in 2008, Cena made a shocking return and for one night he was the beloved hero of old once more.
In October 2007 Cena suffered a torn pectoral muscle that was estimated to require a healing time of up to one year. It came at a time when he was red hot and no doubt was a huge blow to him. Some may have taken that full time to get back into the ring, but Cena is made a little differently to most men.
In the most memorable example of Super Cena bleeding into real life, John came back as the last entrant in the Rumble just a few months into his recovery period. He had defied that odds and delivered a true surprise in an era so devoid of them. The reaction that met him was raucous.
Cena would go on to win that match and return to the main event once more. The love may have been short lived, but this is more a testament to the resolve of the man that the popularity of the character.
There are few pops equal to this one in Rumble history. Edge’s return springs immediately to mind but such a reaction is exceptionally rare. It takes a true star to illicit one.
So too does it take a true star to stretch a moment out over several months and keep is interesting for the entirety of that time. That’s exactly what Cena did with the US Title Open Challenge.
Coming off a controversial victory over Rusev to claim the gold once more, Cena started issuing his open challenge to anyone brave enough to take their shot.
What happened next was a long series of some of the best matches in Raw history. The likes of Cesaro, Sami Zayn, and Neville stepped up and put in star making performances against a Cena who was arguably working at a higher level than ever before.
These matches silenced the critics who has long been adamant that Cena could not work to a high standard. He held his own against some of the top performers of the day, proving his commitment to constantly bettering himself and elevating his opponents in the later portion of his career.
The fact that all of this led to the main roster debut of Kevin Owens is just icing on the cake. It made a star of Owens immediately, allowing him to not only stand face to face with the biggest name in wrestling, but also to beat him cleanly like so few others had managed before.
John Cena may have made some selfish decisions in the past against the likes of the Nexus, but this went a long way to making up for those mistakes.
Years before the open challenge was thing, Cena arguably proved his skills in the ring already when he went 1 hour with Shawn Michaels on Raw.
Most wrestling fans would agree that HBK belong on the Mount Rushmore of the profession, and Cena kept up with him for a full hour to give fans a match that was captivating, hard-hitting, and above all else unbelievably impressive.
You could site his matches with Styles, Punk, and Rollins as being examples of his in-ring chops, but those were more important to his opponents than to him. This was a match that defined Cena as workhorse.
He will never be remembered as being quite as good as HBK in terms of in-ring output, but the fact is that he proved he wasn’t a million miles away either.
The man who can’t be seen has always gone above and beyond to give the fans a show worthy of their money. He did that against Michaels, and he’s done it countless times since. He’s a true legend and one of the greatest to ever compete in a wrestling ring.
In a career full of highlights, these are but a brief few. With the lockdown continuing, you could do a lot worse than going back and taking a look at these moments and many more from his illustrious career.
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