10 WWE Matches That Defined Each Year Of The 2010s
5. 2015 - Kevin Owens vs John Cena
John Cena was beginning to reinvent himself in 2015.
After winning the United States Championship at WrestleMania 31, he began his "United States Open Challenge", which saw Cena put on great matches with guys like Dean Ambrose, Cody Rhodes, and Neville. Presumably, this was to make up for the fact that he'd completely buried Rusev at 'Mania.
Cena was seemingly becoming the gatekeeper for new talent in WWE, but he'd yet to put anybody over with a win.
Enter Kevin Owens.
Owens, who was NXT Champion at the time, answered Cena's open challenge one week by laying him out and stomping on his belt, holding his own one up high.
This led to a Champion vs Champion match at Elimination Chamber. John Cena vs Kevin Owens. The Old Guard vs The New.
Not only did Owens get over massively with his incredible offence and freakish agility, but he also did what many thought was impossible - pin John Cena clean. Super Cena himself, pinned by a guy from developmental! Unheard of.
This match marked the making of a new star in Owens, but also the beginning of the end of John Cena. He's appeared less and less frequently in WWE since this loss and is now firmly in the role of a part-time attraction and, occasionally, custodian of new talent.