Both men have been sparring verbally for the entire year, even moreso over the past month, so fans all over the world were ready to see these guys finally FINALLY!!! It was evident how much the higher-ups in the WWE thought of him at the time also, because he was the sole survivor and winner of his very first match. On pay-per-view. In Madison Square Garden. All of the ups and downs. It took him a while to find his stride, and when he did, he never looked back.
Sad times right there. He looked like me, he talked trash that me and my friends could relate to, and it just made me proud to see a black man with the WWE heavyweight championship draped over his shoulder and not playing some African tribal character, black militant, or street thug that never got the win Saba Simba ring a bell? What about Cryme Tyme? Returning ex-champion? Something even more astonishing? At the risk of sounding like an insipid Buzzfeed headline, what happened next was truly unforgettable.
When the opening strain of Cena's "The Time is Now" entrance music blared, Madison Square Garden temporarily forgot that were supposed to hate the man based on some irrational form of insecure machismo, and popped loudly at the reveal. Cena had been absent for almost four months, mending from a torn pectoral muscle that was reportedly set to side line the man for eight to twelve months.
It's worth watching for the initial cheer that betrayed the usual veil of resistance that WWE crowds tack on, as those Garden revellers were genuinely amazed even awed by Cena's recuperative abilities. Punk's biting criticism of the elephants in WWE's board room turned tedious weekly television into the "what's going to happen next?
Cena had six years of practice rising to the occasion against the "If Cena wins, we riot, just kidding, complaining on Reddit is easier," crowds, but this was just something else. Not only was the war of wars in front of Punk's friends and neighbours sound tracked by ear-splitting volume, but the match itself matched that high amplification. Cena and Punk delivered what might be the best WWE main roster match of this decade, hitting bullseyes on the fronts of crowd response, action, drama, and emotion.
Cena's loss was more than just the gain of Punk - it was the gain of everyone who endeavoured to see him lose. The Rock WrestleMania 28 Before turning into a walking Skittles rainbow of day-glow merchandise, Cena was the son of Attitude, a throwback to the recent past, someone that would've fit in fending off the Ministry of Darkness, or throwing Mankind from some great height. Cena "freestyling" on Rock three weeks prior to the showdown was a sobering revelation - Cena was the relative "new guy" and yet he has characteristics that we can be nostalgic for.
The match itself was responsible for WrestleMania 28 doing the highest buy rate in professional wrestling history, a staggering 1,, buys. Much of that could be placed on Rock's broad shoulders, as well as the viability of the WrestleMania brand, but Cena deserves credit as well.
A main event of Rock vs. Mason Ryan isn't topping the record books, for instance. The match itself was properly superb, conveying the big fight feel that Rock vs. Cena is supposed to convey. Even the dissenters must agree that Cena looked like he belonged in there with "The Great One", that it was no Muhammad Ali vs. Rock may be the greater star, but Cena has the right to be Dwayne Johnson's neighbour. Fans who were enjoying the one-sided flaying that took place in Extreme Rules' main event were disheartened by Cena somehow seeking out the victory over a fresh-from-UFC "Beast Incarnate".
Now, the fans demanded the return of Rock, so he could put the insolent jabroni in his place. Finally, the Rock was back. Finally, fans would be blessed with the dream match-up of Cena versus the Rock. Finally, Rocky would dismantle the one-dimensional Cena on the microphone to the delight of the fans. Sadly and surprisingly, the feud crashed and burned, alongside the careers of a number of wrestlers in the company.
The feud was billed up as once-in-a-lifetime and the company went all out in promoting the rivalry, generously deploying pyro, video packages, and most importantly, the credibility and careers of other wrestlers. After all, one cannot have a grand match without burying half of the roster. Long story short, after a disastrous WrestleMania 27, Cena and Rock agreed to have a match at the next 28th installment of the event.
As soon as the two verbally agreed to the showdown, the faction known as the Corre ran down to the ring and was served a healthy dose of finishing moves by the two superstars. The group had absolutely no incentive to interfere but they did, and that set the tone.
Rock then returned to Hollywood and Cena was tasked with building up the feud for his absentee rival. John Cena did so by burying superstars left and right. Cena and Rock then teamed up at Survivor Series to defeat the duo of Miz and R-Truth and finally, Cena took part in the grand burial of Zack Ryder before Rock returned to television. Twice In A Lifetime And Hopefully Never Again After a fairly underwhelming buildup and a series of nauseating face-to-face promos between the two megastars, Rock defeated Cena in the main event of WrestleMania 28 to send the crowd home happy.
This time Ryback was the heel, and Henry was a face. Their chemistry never clicked which is why their in-ring bouts were forgettable. Evans and Corbin's conniving plans failed with Rollins managing to keep a hold of the Universal Title.
Nonetheless, Del Rio and Swagger continued their rivalry, and they battled in a number one contender's "I Quit" match at Extreme Rules Ziggler had a concussion which stopped their triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Title from happening. Del Rio and Swagger's match at WrestleMania 29 was decent and their "I Quit" match was average but fans were not bothered in the slightest to see them battle again.
Their title match at the Royal Rumble was poor, and there was an inevitable rematch with Big Poppa Pump as he beat Triple H by disqualification. There was repeated interference from Randy Orton and Ric Flair who played a pivotal role in Triple H's successful title defense. Ultimately, Triple H's trademark Pedigree was enough to end their rivalry.
Lawler dominated the match and he initially won the match but the Anonymous Raw General Manager overturned the result. Lawler gave Cole his comeuppance but whilst it was hilarious, it wasn't a match that fans were too excited to see.
Their bout happened in Canada, just like their WrestleMania 18 encounter but it was so much worse. Hogan lost a step inside the ring but Rock was still at the top of his game. Ultimately, it was always going to be hard to replicate their WrestleMania 18 bout but all thanks to interference from Mr.
The feud was billed up as once-in-a-lifetime and the company went all out in promoting the rivalry, generously deploying pyro, video packages, and most importantly, the credibility and careers of other wrestlers. After all, one cannot have a grand match without burying half of the roster. Long story short, after a disastrous WrestleMania 27, Cena and Rock agreed to have a match at the next 28th installment of the event.
As soon as the two verbally agreed to the showdown, the faction known as the Corre ran down to the ring and was served a healthy dose of finishing moves by the two superstars. The group had absolutely no incentive to interfere but they did, and that set the tone. Rock then returned to Hollywood and Cena was tasked with building up the feud for his absentee rival. John Cena did so by burying superstars left and right.
Cena and Rock then teamed up at Survivor Series to defeat the duo of Miz and R-Truth and finally, Cena took part in the grand burial of Zack Ryder before Rock returned to television. Twice In A Lifetime And Hopefully Never Again After a fairly underwhelming buildup and a series of nauseating face-to-face promos between the two megastars, Rock defeated Cena in the main event of WrestleMania 28 to send the crowd home happy.
At that point, Cena had been the franchise player of WWE for more than seven years and his defeat made the fans wonder if WWE was transitioning Cena out of his role as the top babyface. In an unprecedented masterstroke, Vince McMahon flipped the entire wrestling world over.
After winning the Royal Rumble, Cena fulfilled his destiny and gained redemption against the Rock, whom he defeated at WrestleMania 29 to reclaim the world title. That is, at least, how the company presented the whole disaster. What should have been one match between the two devolved into a burying extravaganza that surely made even Triple H blush. The series of matches between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker in back-to-back WrestleMania's in and , and Steve Austin's trilogy with Bret Hart were brilliant matches that fans still look back on fondly.
In some rivalries, there have been a series of matches that have been dreadful right from the start, and fans are not enthused to see a rematch. Sometimes it's hard to top the original, and there have been many occasions where the rematch has been downright disappointing.
It ended up being the World's Strongest Man who answered the challenge, and the match was another underwhelming encounter between the pair. This time Ryback was the heel, and Henry was a face. Their chemistry never clicked which is why their in-ring bouts were forgettable. Evans and Corbin's conniving plans failed with Rollins managing to keep a hold of the Universal Title.
Nonetheless, Del Rio and Swagger continued their rivalry, and they battled in a number one contender's "I Quit" match at Extreme Rules Ziggler had a concussion which stopped their triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Title from happening. Del Rio and Swagger's match at WrestleMania 29 was decent and their "I Quit" match was average but fans were not bothered in the slightest to see them battle again.
Their title match at the Royal Rumble was poor, and there was an inevitable rematch with Big Poppa Pump as he beat Triple H by disqualification. There was repeated interference from Randy Orton and Ric Flair who played a pivotal role in Triple H's successful title defense. Ultimately, Triple H's trademark Pedigree was enough to end their rivalry. Lawler dominated the match and he initially won the match but the Anonymous Raw General Manager overturned the result.