10 Best WWE Moments That Have Ever Happened In Chicago
7. John Cenas Debut - Smackdown, June 25, 2002
After the sudden departure of Stone Cold Steve Austin, WWE had a problem with star power. They had only recently split their roster into two distinct brands with their own exclusive wrestlers. Raw was supposed to be led by Austin, while Smackdown would be led by The Rock. Rock had already been scheduled for an extended hiatus to film movies, and with Austin gone, new wrestlers had to step up, and quickly. Vince McMahon held a roster address on the Raw after King of The Ring and stated that he wanted to see ruthless aggression from his superstars. The next night on Smackdown, Kurt Angle issued an open challenge in Chicago, one that was answered by a relative nobody named John Cena, who stated that he indeed had the ruthless aggression that Vince McMahon was looking for. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10ivQ3ogO1M The two men proceeded to have a 5-minute match where Cena was getting the better of Angle, one of the best wrestlers in the company at the time, at numerous points. Angle barely got the win, and Cena had made an immediate impact. Nobody knew at the time just how big Cena was going to get, but every story has a beginning, and Cenas story began in Chicago.
