It's a sobering thought, but John Cena has been a WWE main event regular for longer than the likes of The Rock or 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. Further to that, Cena's run on the top of the card has lasted longer than even Bret Hart or Randy Savage, which is an incredible thing to imagine. For John, that road to the headline slot really culminated at WrestleMania 21. On the show, JBL put Cena over strong as the new WWE Heavyweight Champion. One year prior, Cena had defeated The Big Show at 'Mania XX to win the United States Title. In fact, at WrestleMania XIX, the man wasn't even on the main card, instead cutting a pre-show promo before the live crowd on Heat. This was a rapid rise then, one that installed Cena as WWE's new hope for the future. Ever since, John Cena has went from strength-to-strength. Today, he's arguably WWE's top name, and definitely exists as the 'franchise player' in the organisation. Cena is regarded as a locker room leader, a veteran. In order for all of that to fall into place, he had to beat JBL at WrestleMania 21 and win his very first WWE Title. This was a statement from WWE that they were capable of creating new stars.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
