10 Best Rookie Years In WWE History

7. John Cena

Kurt Angle Intercontinental Champion
WWE.com

It was very clear that WWE had grand designs for John Cena from the day he debuted.

Marching-out to answer Kurt Angle’s open challenge on a June 2002 episode of SmackDown, the brazen rookie pushed Angle to his absolute limits in a hard-fought loss that brought post-match congratulations from veterans like Faarooq and The Undertaker, and immediately stood Cena out as one to watch.

After prevailing over Chris Jericho at Vengeance ‘02, Cena continued his winning ways against the likes of Chavo Guerrero and Test, before debuting the Vanilla Ice-aping rapper gimmick that helped establish him. Cena was on fire, cutting his opponents apart with sharp, witty lines during his freestyle rap promos, and winning legions of fans over with his charm and charisma on the microphone.

A feud with then-WWE Champion Brock Lesnar followed, and while Cena was unsuccessful in his initial pursuit, he was well on his way to becoming one of the biggest stars in the business. Cena hit the ground running from day one, and the fans adored him, even when attempting to play a villainous role.

John Cena might be the most widely complained-about superstar in WWE today, but his rookie performances showed the world he was going to be a company mainstay for years to come.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.