3. John Cena
In 2007, John Cena was on the top of the wrestling world. Cena, along with Batista and Triple H were the combined faces of the company. The time was a transitional period for the organization as the Ruthless Aggression Era began to fade. It was the last official year of TV 14 ratings (all the sex, blood and raciness which accompanies that). John Cena had finished a successful first run with the championship and was being positioned at the top of the heap. He was fighting monsters (Hulk Hogan) in Umaga and Great Khali. He defeated Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania and really was gaining popularity. And yet there was a fear. Could Cena, make it to the next level or would he suffer from the dreaded Hogan fatigue. WWE only had one top star in their history that remained said top star (without any help) for over 3 years. That was Hulk Hogan. Yet starting in 1990 Hogan's popularity started to wane. Cut to 2007, and Cena was starting to get boos. (The fatigue historically happened quicker in later years) WWE had seen it with Bret Hart, Diesel, Triple H, Undertaker and many more. Therefore most eras from 1995 had two main stars. It was Austin/Rock or Angle/Lesnar. Even 2005 was the beginning of Cena/Batista. (With Batista on top, this of course worked out great when he was injured over and over again) Still, 2007 was a successful year for Cena. He had the longest reign with the WWE championship in a decade and was slowly positioning himself at the top. Then it happened. During a match with Mr. Kennedy (poor Mr. Kennedy), John Cena tore his pectoral muscle right off the bone. This is not a minor injury. His championship was over and John Cena was gone, supposedly through WrestleMania the following year. Of all the superstars to return from injury, John Cena's return at Royal Rumble 2008 was the most surprising. No one expected Cena's music to hit at number 30. I remember watching this live and thinking it was a joke. But there he was, in Madison Square Garden, winning the 2008 Royal Rumble. And the crowd went wild. The kids loved it. The adults loved it. John Cena was the man. And from that point on, he never looked back. Shortly after this, The Marine came out, Cena started being the modern day Hogan and WWE went PG with John Cena as their poster boy. Cena avoided the Hogan fatigue by getting injured and then became him. (2012-2013, Cena has definitely been enveloped by this fatigue. We'll see what happens when he comes back in January)