20 Greatest WWE SummerSlam Matches Ever

By Chad Matthews /

17. Chris Jericho vs. John Cena - WWE Championship (2005)

After John Cena made his famous 1st pick in the draft appearance on Chris Jericho€™s €œHighlight Reel,€ Y2J targeted him and his WWE title just months before his contract ran out and he took his first hiatus from wrestling. Jericho vs. Cena was announced some 7 weeks prior to Summerslam, which was quite advanced for a non-Mania match in the modern era. They had a really good feud and it was nice to see Jericho back in the spotlight, challenging Cena to step up in the character department in his first consistently live experience on Raw. The Cena vs. Y2J storyline made Summerslam €™05 feel like more than just your every day PPV. Behind the scenes, Jericho had once pegged Cena as a star of the future back in 2002 and did not understand the hate that people threw his way when Cena was coming up through the ranks. He seemed to revel in the chance to help Cena progress in his career as €œThe Champ.€ Subsequently, their chemistry was unmistakable and Cena improved a lot from working with Jericho. As a fan of Jericho€™s work, it was also nice to see him back in the main-event right before he left. It was a performance from both of them worthy of praise, but it was also historically significant for being the first match that featured the crowd€™s dueling chants, half in favor of Cena€™s heroic persona and the other against.