8. John Cena - "I Quit" Match vs. John Bradshaw Layfield - Judgment Day 2005
At WrestleMania 21, John Cena defeated John Bradshaw Layfield to capture the WWE Championship. While that should have been the moment that Cena broke out as the next face of World Wrestling Entertainment, there were still great doubts about his ability to deliver from an in-ring perspective. After all, his title win over JBL was not particularly impressive and, outside of matches against Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle, he had yet to prove himself as a worker. He was very much in need of a stellar performance to quell his doubters. Judgment Day 2005 was the setting for Cena's breakout match and the first instance of the WWE Universe recognizing that the West Newbury, Massachusetts native was capable of being the franchise player for the biggest company in the industry. His face the proverbial crimson mask, Cena fought through tremendous pain to defeat JBL and retain the WWE Championship. For the first time, Cena had rewarded the faith of management and the fans who had supported him from the moment he uttered his first freestyle rap with a legitimate Match of the Year candidate.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
