John Cena is without question, one of the greatest WWE Champions ever.
Welcome to another "Great Champions" edition of the ESSENTIALS. Last time, we took a look at why CM Punk's legendary 434 day WWE title reign is easily, the best of the 2010s thus far. Today, we breakdown Punk's greatest rival, John Cena's 380 day run to see why it's widely considered the best title reign of the decade prior.
John Cena is the current face of the WWE and has been for nearly a decade now. At WrestleMania 21, he won his first WWE Championship and skyrocketed to the top of RAW and stood tall as the King of the Mountain. Soon after, fans grew tired of Cena and began blasting him with chants of "Cena sucks!" and the less frequent, but much more harsh "fuck you Cena!" at nearly every appearance the champ made. The cause for such disdain was evidently Cena's lack of experience and fleeting championship aura. Not even his peers respected him much and it's safe to say that this could not have been a pleasant time in Cena's now legendary career.
Many would have crumbled under this sort of pressure, but Cena persevered and began a quest to earn the respect of not only his peers, but fans across the world as well. Cena would win the WWE title on a second occasion and had already held the title a combined 413 days before entering his third and most prolific run as champion. But it was in this title reign that he proved himself to be one of WWE's elite and a man worthy of the title. And it all began with one hell of a match at....
WWE Unforgiven 2006: Vs. Edge
In the beginning of 2006, Cena was riding high in his first reign as WWE Champion, having already beaten top challengers the level of Chris Jericho, JBL, Christian and Kurt Angle. At New Year's Revolution however, things would come crashing down. After Cena had already survived five other men in an Elimination Chamber match, Edge would cash in his Money In The Bank contract and end Cena's run at the top. For nearly the rest of the year, Cena and Edge would engage in one of the most strenuous wars the WWE has ever seen, trading the title back and forth in a variety of classic matches. So when both men walked into the Air Canada Centre in Edge's hometown of Toronto to square off in a TLC match (a match Edge had never lost) to settle the score once and for all, you just knew you were going to witness something special. Edge is considered by many critics to be Cena's greatest rival and this is easily, their most famous match together.
Never before had either man been taken to the limits they took each other to here and you could literally feel the desperation in the air as both would use the the various weapons at their disposal to rid themselves of their arch nemesis once and for all. This was the match that proved Cena's isn't only a one-dimensional "White meat" babyface and that he's capable of levels of rage rarely seen in the WWE. After Edge had slapped Cena's father across the face, Cena would go into the match looking to execute Edge and he nearly did just that, climbing to the top of the ladder and tossing the Rated "R" Superstar through two tables to put him down for good. With his greatest foe finally out of his way, Cena could then breathe a sigh of relief. It wouldn't last too long however, because his quest for respect was only just beginning.
Match Ratings
Challenge: *****
Quality: ****3/4
Significance: *****
WWE New Year's Revolution 2007: Vs. Umaga
In the time between his career-defining victory over Edge and his next title defense against the Samoan Bulldozer, Cena would engage in a mini-feud with Britney Spears' infamous sloth ex-husband, Kevin Federline. With the help of Umaga, Federline would earn a pinfall victory over the champ, enraging Cena, who by this time was damn near calling for Umaga's head on a stick. Up until this point, Umaga was an unbeatable monster who had never been pinned, having already earned decisive victories over the likes of Triple H, Kane, Ric Flair and even Cena himself. Cena & Umaga would battle for 17 minutes with Cena trying multiple times to hit the Samoan monster with an Attitude Adjustment to no avail. Eventually, Cena would be able to outsmart Umaga, earning a slick victory by roll-up and ending Umaga's unbeaten streak which had lasted for nine months and 34 televised matches. This would not do Cena any favors in the respect department however, as many fans saw this win as pure luck and nothing more.
Match Ratings
Challenge: *****
Quality: ***
Significance: *
WWE Royal Rumble 2007: Vs. Umaga
After Cena's controversial win over Umaga at New Year's Revolution, Umaga's manager Armando Estrada downplayed Cena's victory, claiming that it was only a fluke. A rematch was then announced for the Royal Rumble. The stakes were made even higher when the stipulation was revealed to be Last Man Standing. On the following RAW, Umaga assaulted Cena, causing an injury to his spleen. The medical staff at WWE demanded Cena go in for observation, but the champ refused as the results could possibly force him to vacate the championship. Cena would then go to war with the Samoan Bulldozer in front of a rabid crowd of 13,000+ fans in San Antonio, TX. Having been bloodied and bruised immediately into the match, it looked as if the champ would again be beaten unfairly just as he was a year ago. Cena was not going to take such a loss without a fight so he battled back and showed the first signs of his now infamous "Superman"-like resiliency to beat down the 350-lb destroyer and choke him out using the ring ropes to earn one of the most brutal victories of his career. An instant classic.
Match Ratings
Challenge: *****
Quality: ****1/2
Significance: *****
WWE WrestleMania XXIII: Vs. Shawn Michaels
After Cena defeated Umaga at the rumble, a Triple Threat match was made to determine Cena's challenger for WrestleMania. The iconic Shawn Michaels would defeat both Randy Orton and Edge to earn the honor and set in motion one of the biggest main events in WWE history. Soon after, Orton and Edge would attempt to attack Cena, leading Michaels to run-in for the save. Cena would then team with Michaels to face the then-WWE Tag Team Champions Rated-RKO (Edge & Randy Orton) in an impromptu match. To the delightful shock of everyone in attendance, the less seasoned team would go on to defeat the champions and Cena would become a double champion in the process.
Michaels and Cena would not engage in a natural alliance however, with Michales' history of turning on his opponents playing a big factor in the trust issues between the two. Michaels would make every attempt to assure Cena he would not turn on him.
"I will have your back until WrestleMania. I’ve turned against all my partners and more importantly, I’ve stabbed all my friends in the back. But with you, John, it’s different."
-Shawn Michaels to John Cena just weeks prior to their epic clash.
The two partners would then face off against The Undertaker and Batista at No Way Out 2006 in a match pitting one WrestleMania main event against the other. After a great back-and-forth battle, the team of Cena & Michaels again emerged victorious with Micheals finally earning Cena's trust in the process. On the final Raw before WrestleMania, Cena and Michaels would team up to face Batista and Undertaker in a rematch from their match at No Way Out. Cena and Michaels looked set to win again after performing a synchronized Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Michaels turned on Cena and Superkicked him, which allowed Batista and Undertaker to pick up the win.
Once the two finally met at WrestleMania, Micheals would use the mental advantage he now had over the enraged Cena to outsmart the champion for most of the match. After several failed attempts at the Attitude Ajdustment, Cena would eventually counter Michaels' Sweet Chin Music into the STF hold, forcing the Heart-Break-Kid to tap out after nearly thirty minutes of action. Having defeated one of the WWE's most revered figures in the main event of the biggest show of the year, Cena now began to turn even the harshest critics into believers and many, including myself, consider this the champion's coming-of-age as a main event performer in the WWE.
Match Ratings
Challenge: *****
Quality: ****1/2
Significance: *****
WWE Backlash 2007: Vs. Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton & Edge
John Cena's WrestleMania match with Shawn Michaels was considered the most important match of his career at the time and it was so good, that many fans were clamoring for a rematch almost instantly. After Michaels cost them the tag belts in the second of two 10 team battle royals, the dream rematch would finally take place on the April 23rd edition of Monday Night Raw from London, England. Micheals would win the second match, but it was Cena who turned in the performance of his career, earning universal acclaim (including a five star rating from me). To this day, the match tops my personal list of the greatest matches in RAW history.
With Micheals earning a clean victory over the champ, and Orton and Edge both muscling their way into contendership, a Fatal-4-Way match was then set for Backlash later that month. Near the end of the match, Orton attempted to RKO Cena. Cena, however, pushed Orton into Edge, which made Edge execute a Spear to Orton. Cena then performed an Attitude Adjustment to Edge. When Cena turned around, Michaels hit Cena with Sweet Chin Music. When Cena fell, he landed on Orton and unconsciously earned the pinfall. It was one of the most exhilarating finishes in WWE history that saw Cena defeat three of his top five greatest rivals all at once.
Match Rating
Challenge: *****
Quality: ****
Significance: ****
WWE Judgment Day 2007: Vs. The Great Khali
After Backlash, a third match between Cena and Michaels was set for the April 30th edition of RAW. The match was cut short however, when the 7'3", 420lb Great Khali interfered and surprisingly attacked both competitors. The very next week, Khali would defeat Michaels in a #1 Contender's match after he put Michaels through the announce table using the Khali Bomb. Khali would also steal Cena's WWE title later that same evening. Up until this point, Khali was yet another seemingly unstoppable foe, having only previously lost one match to The Undertaker. But at Judgment Day, Khali would lose to Cena by tapping out the STF, and suffer humiliation as it was his first ever loss via. submission. What Cena didn't know, was that Khali's foot was actually under the ropes and that the giant would soon be coming for redemption.
Match Ratings
Challenge: *****
Quality: ***
Significance: **1/2
WWE One Night Stand 2007: Vs. The Great Khali
Match Ratings
Challenge: *****
Quality: ****
Significance: ***1/2
WWE Vengeance 2007: Vs. King Booker, Mick Foley, Bobby Lashley & Randy Orton
With Bobby Lashley being transferred over to RAW from ECW and Foley, Orton and King Booker all claiming their rights to the number one contendership, it was only natural that Interim GM Jonathan Coachman made a Five Pack Challenge for Cena's WWE Championship at Vengeance. This Vengeance would see every major championship put on the line and would go down in history as the WWE's first ever Night Of Champions event. Even though Cena would overcome insurmountable odds to win, this was a match hampered by time constraints and now stands as the most forgettable of all his defenses, even with the elite level of competition he faced. A fun match nonetheless.
Match Ratings
Challenge: *****
Quality: ***
Significance: *
WWE The Great American Bash 2007: Vs. Bobby Lashley
On the July 2 edition of RAW, a "Beat The Clock" tournament was held to determine the next challenger for Cena's WWE Championship. With top talents like Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy and King Booker all named as favorites to win, it came to everyone's surprise when Bobby Lashley defeated Shelton Benjamin in under 5 minutes to become the #1 contender. Lashley was considered at the time to be the top prospect in the WWE's impressive lineup of up-and-comers. It was a dream match that saw two of the WWE's top young lions go head-to-head not only for the promotion's top prize, but for potential supremacy in the next era. Legends like Ric Flair, Batista, Mick Foley and Steve Austin all weighed in and cosigned Lashley as perhaps the man hungry enough to finally be able to end Cena's now legendary reign. Once the bell rang, Lashley would do his best to use his powerful offense and impressive athleticism to put Cena down, but the champ fired back and eventually hit an Attitude Adjustment from the second rope to defeat Lashley and again retain the WWE Championship. Lashley would earn Cena's respect after the match, with both men shaking hands, but it was Cena who proved to be the ultimate pro that night, finally earning the respect of his peers. Not many men had been able to pull such a high caliber performance out of Lashley up until this point. And it's safe to say that no one has been able to since.
Match Ratings
Challenge: ****1/2
Quality: ****
Significance: ****
WWE Summerslam 2007: Vs. Randy Orton
In my opinion, Cena's five greatest career rivals are Edge, CM Punk, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels and Batista. Of those five, Orton is perhaps the most storied. The bad blood between these two runs deep and you could trace their rivalry all the way back to their parallel tenures at OVW. Throughout their careers, both men have been on opposite ends, dueling for the #1 spot in the company's future. But come Summerslam 2007, they had never really had a significant one-one-one match together. At that point, Orton had first began showing signs of his now trademark viciousness, attacking Cena at every given opportunity and nearly breaking Cena's neck with a steel chair-assisted RKO. Cena would enter their title match with his confidence shaken and Orton is the last man you want standing across the ring from you in such a situation. A determined and relentless Orton would hit Cena with his most devastating maneuvers to try to gain advantage, but nothing seemed to work and yet again, Cena would battle back until finally putting the Legend Killer down for the count.
Match Ratings
Challenge: *****
Quality: ****1/4
Significance: *****
WWE Unforgiven 2007: Vs. Randy Orton
An embarrassed Randy Orton sought to earn a rematch against the resilient champion after his humbling loss at Summerslam. After being turned down by Genaral Manager William Regal, Orton would attempt to go over Regal's head and try his hand with Vince McMahon. McMahon demanded Orton prove himself worthy, to which Orton responded by assaulting Cena and then hitting his brutal Punt Kick on Cena's father, who was at ringside. Cena became enraged & entered the match with a furious attack. Referee Mike Chioda would try and calm Cena, but was eventually forced to disqualify the champion after just over seven minutes of action.
Match Ratings
Challenge: ***
Quality: **
Significance: *
Cena and Orton were originally set to compete in a Last Man Standing match after their brawl at Unforgiven, but the match was canceled after Cena was attacked by Orton on the October 1st episode of RAW, suffering an injury in the process. Cena would not return until the Royal Rumble in January and after Cena vacated the championship, Orton would trade the title back and forth with Triple H at the No Mercy PPV, before finally walking away the new champion.
Final Thoughts
Cena's 380 days as champion was the longest title reign in over 19 years and saw the Cenation leader defeat every major challenger the RAW brand had to offer having a slew of classic matches in the process. It's hard to argue against his run as one of the best ever, but what made it truly special is the fact that the title always seemed to be in legitimate danger with each passing contender posing an even bigger threat then the man before him. It's a run that cemented Cena as a real force to be reckoned with & as "the man" of the last decade. A reign that saw Cena secure victories over four Hall Of Famers and topple every major challenger of his era. And whether you love him or you hate him, you have to respect what he was able to accomplish in his third & most prolific reign as WWE Champion.
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