14 Greatest Rubber Matches In Wrestling History

11. John Cena Vs. Kevin Owens - WWE Battleground 2015

NXT Champion Kevin Owens made his main roster debut on Raw on May 18 2015, interrupting John Cena's United States Championship open challenge. An embittered Owens resented Cena for being fast-tracked to the top of WWE, while he had worked the independent circuit for 15 years and had only just made it to the big time. He attacked Cena with the pop-up powerbomb and put a disrespectful boot on Cena's championship belt, setting up a match for Elimination Chamber. In one of WWE's biggest ever upsets, Owens beat Cena with a clean pinfall in his main roster debut. Cena won the rematch at Money in the Bank and an increasingly aggressive feud led to a US Championship bout at Battleground. The champion went into the bout under the greater pressure, aiming to preserve the integrity of his beloved championship. Cena is not renowned for a large move-set but the three matches against Owens brought the best out of WWE's poster boy. He used a wider range of holds and manoeuvres against KO than in many of his bouts. Owens used these three matches and the spotlight it brought to show off his technical prowess and prove what an amazing heel he is. He was brash and defiant, the perfect rival to Cena's clean-cut babyface. In the end, Cena made Owens tap out to the STF. Many would argue Cena's victory - and the manner of it - killed Owens' momentum and damned him to a disappointing midcard run for the rest of 2015. That's probably true, but the match still made Owens look relatively strong, particularly after he kicked out of an Attitude Adjustment from the second rope. Their match at Elimination Chamber was probably the best fight they had, but their Battleground bout ran it fairly close.