10 WWE Stars Who Got Over After Huge WrestleMania Performances

7. John Cena - WrestleMania 22

John Cena was the WWE champion entering WrestleMania 22 but that does not mean he was a bona fide headliner. In fact, he had lacked that one definitive victory that every superstar needed to validate their championship reign. Sure, he had beaten JBL, but most still saw the Texan as a glorified midcard star who lucked his way into a title run on SmackDown.

He beat Kurt Angle, but the Olympian was merely enhancement, used to pad Cena's win-loss record. The champion desperately needed a defining victory to make him, to prove that WWE management was correct in tapping him to lead them into the future. He got it in Chicago, in front of one of the most hostile crowds he would ever perform for.

His opponent that night? The standard bearer of World Wrestling Entertainment, The Game, The King of Kings: Triple H. Cena needed to perform up to the level of his opponent and deliver a match that would announce to the world that he was here to stay, that he was the lead hero in the morality play that is WWE. He did, not allowing the venomous response from the audience rattle him.

For the first time on the biggest stage wrestling has to offer, he explored the "overcoming the odds" formula that would come to define him. And after kicking out of a Pedigree and a sledgehammer shot to the face, he trapped The Game in the STF and forced a tapout just half an inch from the bottom rope, crushing the dreams of fans already tired of his act.

While the negative reactions would continue in arenas across the country for over a decade, Cena's victory on that night solidified his status as the man in WWE. Without that win, against that opponent, there is no telling whether or not Cena would have ever achieved the greatness and Hall of Fame accolades that he has since, becoming one of the greatest superstars in the company's annals.