10 Major Career-Making Wrestling Matches

More often than not, it takes time to become timeless.

John Cena wrestled, in 2002, what was framed as an onscreen breakthrough performance - against Kurt Angle in his first televised WWE match - but in reality, his march to the realm of acceptance went unnoticed. Much like the narrative flow of his matches, his performances throughout 2007 were maddeningly inconsistent. Entering an awesome babyface performance of pure grit opposite Umaga at the Royal Rumble, in which he never once let slip the illusion of his dire plight, he ignored the knee injury inflicted on him by Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania. He atoned for this b*llocking on RAW weeks later, but we still couldn't see what sort of wrestler John Cena was: able storyteller, or gurning goon with little idea of what he was doing?

Cena hovered around the main event scene for so long that we simply grew to accept him as a main event-level talent, irrespective of the fact that he couldn't throw an athletic dropkick, applied no pressure to his STF, and only just caught his target when gracelessly attempting a diving leg drop bulldog. No one match convinced us of his legend; many of us accepted his work, flaws and all, because he wasn't going away. Unlike that turncoat The Rock, he wasn't going to Hollywood. Until he went to Hollywood.

Again: inconsistent.

Others showed such actual Ruthless Aggression in their big moment that we received them, instantly, as made...

Rey Mysterio entered WWE as a dreaded cruiserweight, the likes of which were marginalised in both competition and perception. Consigned to wrestle one another in meaningless undercard matches, that was the fate most feared for Rey. He was already a star. But WWE had a particular way of ruining heavyweight stars imported, almost begrudgingly, from WCW.

A "vanilla midget" from the "wrasslin'" league, Rey stared both barrels in the face.

He passed his litmus test with high-flying colours in an explosive opener opposite Kurt Angle at SummerSlam 2002, in which he beautifully conflated the philosophies of bumping and selling. Rey showcased his incandescent, witty, emotive in-ring game in a total barnstormer boasting immaculate chemistry. Rey, physically outgunned, attacked Angle from behind at the jump in a manner that resonated as plucky, not cowardly, instigating a gorgeous game of tactical oneupmanship manifesting as fluid mat wrestling and breathless counters. Angle was punishing on offence, Rey savvy and spectacular fighting from underneath. He wrestled with such inspiring drive that he controlled the crowd throughout, convincing them to get behind him by selling hellish moments - Angle's German suplex counter from a wheelbarrow position was pure concussion territory - and orchestrating a cacophony as the match reached an awesome crescendo.

On the night, Rey's star power was undeniable - undeniable even to a man predisposed to pushing his diametric opposite.