2015 has been John Cena’s most watchable and most successful year of his career.
His main event US Title match against Cesaro was one of the best RAW main events I have ever seen. Hell, it might have been the best RAW match ever. The only match I could think of that could top it would be Cena/Punk for the #1 Contendership.
John Cena has been an actual must-see attraction more this year than any other in his career. Although Cena has been the face of the WWE since his rise to the World Title scene in 2005, he has been viewed as a stale competitor who “never puts many guys over”. This year has proven all of those people wrong.
Beginning at the Royal Rumble when Cena battled Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Title, his performances grew in awe and entertainment. That match has been a Match of the Year candidate since January and it has been rivaled by only a few matches. After unsuccessfully challenging for the World Title, Cena set his sights on the US Title, held by Rusev. With the US/Russia heavy storyline being the focus, the fact that Cena was actually determined to hold the a “lesser, midcard” title was garnering interest in the whole wrestling community.
Everyone knew that after Cena had defeated Rusev at WrestleMania 31, in addition with the addition of some new moves in his arsenal, that 2015 was beginning to look bright for Cena. Starting with the RAW after WrestleMania, Cena began issuing his “John Cena US Title Open Challenge”, where anyone could challenge him for the belt. This gave a ton of superstars the opportunity to shine on a weekly basis and the list of men who have had the best match of the night (RAW or PPV) with Cena is staggering.
Neville
Sami Zayn
Cesaro
Dean Ambrose
Zack Ryder
Bad News Barrett
Stardust
The man I omitted from that list is Kevin Owens. This is because he is by far the most elevated star due to Cena’s run with the US Title. After answering the challenge, the then NXT Champion made it known that he had a disdain for Cena like no one else. He even defeated Cena clean in his first match on the main roster at Elimination Chamber. Then, their match at Money in the Bank stole the show as well. With WWE Battleground looming, and the rubber match between Cena and Owens being contested for the United States Title, the stock of Kevin Owens and the performances of John Cena will only continue to be elevated into a new stratosphere.
With moves such as the Springboard Stunner, Hurricanrana, and Rolling Yoshi Tonic all being new weapons of John Cena and the drive of Cena to elevate new stars at an all time high, the second half of 2015 for Cena shall be just as successful and entertaining as the first.