JBL had built up serious heat during his run as WWE Champion. Taking on the gimmick of an angry Texan upset by illegal immigration, JBL rose to the top of the WWE and held the championship for the better part of a year. However, just like Breaking Bad and the 2010 Pavement reunion tour, all good things eventually must come to an end. JBL squared off against the up-and-coming John Cena at WrestleMania 21. Cena was one of the most popular superstars in the company at the time and went on to capture the title, his first WWE Championship. Cena quickly became the face of the company and has gone on to become a 15-time world champion. Almost a decade later, Cena is still the companys cash cow, and this was the night where he solidified himself as a main event player. The match itself was nothing spectacular, with Cena winning after hitting an AA, but it remains influential because JBL put over Cena clean on the biggest stage of them all to pass the torch from one generation to the next.
Michael Hicks is a writer originally from Pittsburgh, PA. He has written for a number of websites about subjects ranging from professional wrestling to raw denim.
