The Legacy of a GOAT: John Cena’s Prime Years

In last week’s column, we covered Cena’s start and rise in the WWE. We ended with a torn pec that ended his third reign at 380 days.

This week, we will cover his return at the 2008 Royal Rumble through 2012. We will relive Once and Twice in a Lifetime, Lesnar’s return, The Nexus, and the Pipe Bomb! So, strap in and join me on a ride through the prime years of John Cena.

The Return

Most people would need six months to recover from a torn pec surgery. So, no one was expecting Cena to show up in the 2008 Royal Rumble. But Cena, in the first display of his superhuman recovery ability, would not only be in the Rumble but win it.

I remember being shocked when his music hit. We had all figured he’d be out until at least WrestleMania, if not longer. And just listen to that pop when his music hits! No matter how we felt about Cena at the time, his early return was huge.

Cena would make an odd decision to face Orton at No Way Out instead of WrestleMania. While he would win, it would be by disqualification. He would then get added to a triple threat against Triple H and Randy Orton, a match Orton would also win.

From there, he would start another feud with JBL, the two would have a First Blood Match at One Night Stand, and a New York City Parking Lot Brawl at The Great American Bash. He would face Batista at SummerSlam, and in the match, he would sustain a neck injury that required surgery.

It seemed like 2008 was a cursed year for Cena; he failed to win the WWE Championship, which he had never lost. Then he is out with another injury, less than a year after his torn pec. Neck injuries usually put guys out for at least a year or more. So, we once again prepared for a long absence from Cena.

But in the lead-up to Survivor Series, Shane McMahon announced that John Cena would return to challenge Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship. The curse was over, and Super Cena once again overcame a serious injury. Cena would beat Jericho to start his first World Heavyweight Championship reign, and his fourth World title run overall.

Cena’s superhuman healing factor is a thing of legend. The fact that he returned so quickly from not one, but two serious injuries in the same year is incredible. The Cena chants start while Jericho is waiting in the ring, and then the pop is massive for Cena’s music. At the time, I was a huge Jericho fan. So, I didn’t want Cena to win, I wanted more of serious Jericho as champion. But you can’t argue with that crowd reaction.

Enter the Viper

This would mark a time of Cena playing hot potato with the WWE and Heavyweight Championships. He would hold the Heavyweight Championship until No Way Out, where he would lose it to Edge in an Elimination Chamber. At WrestleMania 25, he would beat Big Show and Edge in a Triple-Threat, for reign number five. But he only held the title until Backlash, losing it back to Edge.

He would then challenge Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at Night of Champions and SummerSlam, before finally beating him at Breaking Point in a I Quit match, for his sixth reign. Orton and Cena would trade the title back and forth. With Orton beating Cena at Hell in a Cell, and Cena getting his seventh championship at Bragging Rights.

His seventh reign would end at the hands of Sheamus in a Tables match at Tables, Ladders, and Chairs in December of 2009.

I loved Sheamus from the moment he showed up on ECW. A big Irish brute who just loved to beat people up. His hard-hitting and snug style is one of my favorite things to watch. So, for me, this match and win was cathartic. It’s also a credit to Sheamus that he got a normally divided crowd fully behind Cena.

This is also a great example of something I find funny about the IWC. We always say we want someone new, someone fresh to get a push to the top. But a lot of the time, what that means is we want a particular wrestler to get a push. Because, like Jey Uso this year, people crapped all over Sheamus, claiming it was because he was workout buddies with Triple H that he got the win here.

Cena wouldn’t be without a World Championship for long, though. Cena would win the WWE Championship at the Elimination Chamber for his eighth World Championship. He would then immediately lose it to Batista. Only to win it back at WrestleMania XXVI for his ninth reign.

The Nexus

Following the first season of NXT, the rookies formed a group called The Nexus and debuted on the June 7th, 2010 Raw. Their debut would be shocking, interrupting a main event between CM Punk and John Cena.

This wouldn’t be a normal beatdown, though; the group would attack both Punk and Cena. And destroy the ring, attack the announcers, and in a move that got him temporarily fired, Daniel Bryan choked out ring announcer Justin Roberts with his own tie.

We had never seen Cena attacked like this, with every member hitting their finisher on Cena. It was a shocking night, and even watching it back now, I get chills. Stuff like this happens so seldom, which is great, because then when it does happen, it has a huge impact.

Cena would lead the charge against The Nexus through the summer. They would cost him his WWE Championship in a match against Sheamus at Fatal 4-Way. And again in a rematch at Money in the Bank.

Cena would ally with Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth, Bret Hart, and returning Daniel Bryan. They would defeat The Nexus at SummerSlam. It’s been confirmed that Cena admitted his team should win, even against the advice of both Jericho and Edge. It’s a move that even Cena has since expressed regret over pushing.

I agree that a win wasn’t needed here, even more so because this wasn’t the blow off. I could understand Cena wanting to win the blow-off. But with this just being the middle of the story? Let The Nexus win.

Cena would lose to Wade Barrett at Hell in a Cell and was forced to join The Nexus. This is where the story kind of fell off for me. The Nexus went from this force of destruction to just another heel stable doing heel stable things.

At Survivor Series, Cena was the ref for a match between Barrett and Orton for the WWE Championship. The stipulation was that if Barrett lost, Cena would be fired. As we know, Barrett was never a World Champion, so Cena was “fired.” This led to the appearance of Juan Cena on House Shows.

Cena would show up the next week, though, and attack the different members of the Nexus, ala Steve Austin hunting D-X.

This would culminate with a match between Barrett and Cena at TLC, which Cena won and ended the feud.

A Pipebomb

2011 would see Cena and Punk have a small feud, which ended during the Royal Rumble when Cena eliminated most of the New Nexus. While he didn’t win the Rumble, he would win the Elimination Chamber and earn a shot against The Miz at WrestleMania XXVII for the WWE Championship.

I remember being totally invested in The Rock’s comeback and his showdown with Cena. Again, I was usually on the Cena Sucks side of the crowd, so seeing the Rock come back to kick his ass was awesome.

He would fail to win, but he would start a yearlong feud with The Rock, who attacked Cena during the match. In the meantime, Cena would continue to feud with The Miz, finally capturing his ninth World Championship in a Triple-Threat Steel Cage match, which also included John Morrison.

Wrapping up his feud with the Miz at Over the Limit. He would end up on a collision course with CM Punk. After a fiery pipe bomb of a promo. The two would meet at Money in the Bank 2011 in Cena’s first five-star match, and Punk would leave with the Championship as his contract expired.

As someone who has followed Punk for most of his career, this win was huge. Going into this, there was this little spark of hope that we would see a WWE version of The Summer of Punk. While we never would see Punk defending the title in other promotions, or even an extended absence. The lead-up to and the match at Money in the Bank were magic.

A tournament was held on Raw to crown a new champion, which was won by Rey Mysterio. Cena would challenge Mysterio later in the night and would win his ninth World Championship. Punk would show up after the match and challenge Cena to a unification match at SummerSlam. Cena would lose the match, but on Night of Champions, he would regain it by beating Alberto Del Rio for his tenth World Championship. He would lose it back to Del Rio at Hell in a Cell.

I know I talked about the whole fans being selective with what new guy they want to see pushed. But did anyone really want Del Rio as Champion? Not to mention a multiple-time World Champion?

He got over due to his entrance, but once the bell rang? I never really saw anything in him. Couple that with him just being a terrible human, and this period is better off being forgotten.

Once in a Lifetime and The Beast Returns

After a brief feud with Kane to start the year, Cena and The Rock would finally kick things off into high gear. The match would main event at WrestleMania XXVIII and be billed as Once in a Lifetime.

While the match wasn’t the best, the crowd was hot. It was the tenth anniversary of Rock vs Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8, and there was a full-circle feel to the whole thing.

Cena would invite The Rock out on Raw the next night, only to be met with a returning figure from his past. The Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar, had returned. Cena would manage to beat Lesnar in an Extreme Rules match at Extreme Rules.

Cena would win the 2011 Money in the Bank, but would only get a disqualification win over WWE Champion CM Punk. This makes Cena the answer to the trivia question. Who was the first person to fail a Money in the Bank cash-in?

Cena would continue to try and fail to win the WWE championship before ending the year with a feud against Dolph Ziggler. The feud would start over AJ Lee and would end with back-to-back Cena wins in January of 2013.

It’s kind of crazy to think that at the height of Cena’s career, he actually spent the entirety of 2012 without being a World Champion. Looking back, it seems like he was always Champion, but this year was the year of Punk

The perception that he was always a champion is probably because when he wasn’t challenging Punk, he was usually the main event over him.

Twice in a Lifetime and Making Daniel Bryan

Cena would win his second Royal Rumble in 2013 and declared he would be facing the WWE Champion at WrestleMania 29. On the same night, CM Punk would lose that championship to The Rock. Setting up Cena and The Rock for Twice in a Lifetime.

Cena would get his win back and earn his 11th World Championship. I think I prefer this match over the previous years. The crowd is still hot, and I feel like it has better pacing, and the in-ring action is better than the previous year’s match. And just listen to that crowd pop when Cena finally wins!

After beating The Rock, Cena would go on to feud with Ryback. Most feuds would be a downgrade from The Rock. But Ryback?  Ryback was another guy I just couldn’t get behind.

He was just another musclebound guy who couldn’t work. But it’s what Vince wanted, so it’s what we got. After beating Ryback in a Three Stages of Hell match at Payback, Cena would beat Mark Henry.

During the July 15th episode of Raw, Cena would ask fans who they wanted him to face at SummerSlam. It was impossible to deny that the fans wanted Daniel Bryan.

And just listen to that crowd, before he could even ask the question, they were already chanting his name.

Daniel Bryan had such an organic rise to the top. The WWE never was behind him, but the fans refused to let it go.

The reaction he gets when Cena announces him as his opponent, and the constant chants during the match. The fans picked him and got him to the top.

This is and was just such a special moment. Yeah, the booking after the match was frustrating, but like Punk before him, this was a guy I’d followed from his days in ROH.

It is just as emotional to watch now as it was in 2013. Cena gave Bryan everything and selflessly made Bryan into an even bigger star.

And we will end here, on a similar note to last week’s column. Cena would have to undergo surgery for a torn triceps and wouldn’t return until October.

Preview

Next week, we will be covering Cena’s return, his first feud with Bray Wyatt, his United States Championship runs, and his time as a part-timer.

It’s been fun to relive some of Cena’s greatest moments, and I hope you all are enjoying the ride as well. Feel free to leave comments with your own memories and feelings about Cena. I’d like to include them in the final column in a couple of weeks.