10 Best Major John Cena Feuds

4. Vs. Shawn Michaels

A classic wrestling rivalry should mean something, should demonstrate something, should position at least one of the players as having learned something. In the case of John Cena Vs. Shawn Michaels, their 2007 feud did much - onscreen and off - to develop Cena as an in-ring performer.

Michaels was purportedly incensed after their WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 23. Michaels was red hot at Cena for inconsistently selling the leg he'd worked over during the opening act. Cena even looked p*ssed off at himself. He didn't celebrate in the aftermath; he silently remonstrated with himself as his music piped up. Michaels even brushed off the scripted post-match handshake, ending the show on a curious shoot footnote. The match - unless you're Michaels - delivered as a flawed but otherwise worthy 'Mania headliner, disjointed though it was. In their far superior sequel - one of the all-time great John Cena matches, the 55 minute epic on the April 23, 2007 RAW - Cena stepped up. Where the 'Mania match was sloppy, this was a hermetic masterclass of pacing, storytelling and psychology, with Cena teasing the application of the STF throughout with the psychological prowess of his opponent.

For the fans, it was an hour of awesome drama. For Cena, it was an hour of atonement.