10 Times A Wrestler Went On An Insane Streak Of Matches

Consistent excellence in professional wrestling is a profound challenge.

In sport, there is no storyteller controlling one's fate. It is impervious to excuses because the same set of incompetent officials referee the same set of fixtures. There is in European football an outrageous financial imbalance, but in those leagues within leagues, teams tend to win if they are the best and they want it the most.

In music, a string of classic albums is achieved, when a band makes it to a certain level, through a patient and methodical process that allows for the careful engineering of perfection. In film, a great and in form actor, if selective, can attach themselves to projects and acclaimed directors that want them. It's a star industry that knows how to build a CV. Daniel Day-Lewis never got directed by f*cking Vince, did he?

In wrestling, there is no off-season, and in the modern industry, the body is challenged to an extreme degree. It is all shaped by politics, and, more often than not, creative regimes so incompetent that they alone can diminish the buzz of the performer no matter how talented that performer is.

To be a transcendent talent isn't enough. To work the hardest isn't enough.

John Cena's 2015 United States Title run was pivotal to his legacy.

When he returns now, it is to a unanimously positive crowd response once thought impossible. WWE had to create a new vernacular to normalise his divided crowd reaction.

It doesn't happen without the Open Challenge that proved Cena capable of wrestling as a true champion in the traditional role. He elevated that legacy by elevating his opponents and the title itself to a level of prestige it has never developed under the WWE umbrella.

Once so clumsy and or wilfully unwilling in that role, in 2015, Cena tacitly put those men over by working to their strengths. His mini-series with Cesaro was particularly great; he looked totally overwhelmed by his opponent, because Cesaro matched his obscene strength but accelerated well beyond his pace and pure in-ring craft. After a decade of rote formula, he worked inspiredly to mount a more immersive and productive comeback. There was a real elegance to Cena's work in this period that wasn't merely powerful for the novelty of Cena, in stunning contrast to a Triple H or Randy Orton, working a more futuristic style.

Sami Zayn; Seth Rollins: Kevin Owens: if those men never truly lived up the expectations placed on them by WWE fans, it has as much to do with Cena's aberrational brilliance as institutional rot.