10 WrestleMania Main Events That Changed The Direction Of WWE

3. JBL vs John Cena - WrestleMania 21

Fed up of seeing the same old shtick from John Cena these days? Well Wrestlemania 21 was the day when John Cena€™s main event dominance began to take shape. And here we are, 10 years later and the leader of the Cenation is still trying to convince opponents that they can€™t see him. Despite debuting as a completely generic "prototype" with €œruthless aggression€ and some gnarly trunks, Cena€™s star was quickly on the rise once he donned a baseball cap, a basketball jersey, threw a chain around his neck, and started freestyle rapping at all in his way. It seems like a lifetime ago now, but John Cena was a hugely entertaining character who often pushed the boundaries of taste and decency. Not even Bull Buchanan, err, B2 could hold him down! Even though this version of Cena was initially a heel, it wouldn€™t be long before his escapades and attitude had people cheering for him. Wrestlemania 20 saw him overcome the odds against the Big Show for the US Title, but it was Wrestlemania 21 where he was given one of the company€™s two main belts, defeating JBL for the WWE Title. From that moment, the WWE would never be the same again as John Cena is still main eventing near-enough every single PPV to this day. Not since the days of Hulk Hogan has one performer had such a lengthy run of domination. To put it in perspective, the legendary €œStone Cold€ Steve Austin€™s run at the very top level is best classified at 5 years, and that includes time out with injuries and the moment when he walked out on the company. Whether you like him or not, there€™s no doubting John Cena€™s rise to the top of the card, culminating in the Wrestlemania 21 WWE Title win, changed the shape of the WWE for years to come.
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.