15 Best WWE Smackdown Matches Ever

By Douglas Scarpa /

15. John Cena vs. Kurt Angle - June 27, 2002

John Cena has gone on to become the top guy in the world of WWE. He€™s been in that position since he first became the company€™s champion in 2005. However, at one time, John Cena was just an unknown competitor with €œruthless aggression.€ On the June 27th, 2002 edition of Smackdown, Kurt Angle issued an open challenge to the locker room. However, Angle was looking for some fresh meat -- a wrestler he had never competed against before. After some pretty terrible, generic rock music hit, an unknown superstar walked down the ramp. After introducing himself, Cena slapped the taste out of Angle€™s mouth. The match was on and Cena quickly took it to the Olympic gold medalist. Despite an early flurry of offense, Angle soon turned the tide. However, Kurt was again overtaken by the ruthless Cena. The somewhat bland yet impressive looking superstar tried everything he could to put Angle away. Kurt was not to be undone, though, and rolled up the brash upstart for the pin.John Cena had entered the ring a nobody and quickly established himself as a force on the Smackdown brand within a matter of minutes. It€™s doubtful that anyone saw where this locomotive was headed, but within just a few short years, John Cena went on to become the company€™s number-one guy.