29. The John Cena United States Title Open Challenge
WWE.com
Taking an almighty step back in order to try and help the company leap forward, John Cena's 2015 was spent mostly giving as many newer or younger talents the opportunity to shine even if their final destination was similar to just about everybody else he'd faced over the prior ten years.
The John Cena United States Title Open Challenge produced a series of absolute bangers, allowing the likes of Cesaro, Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Neville and Kevin Owens the opportunity to express themselves on WWE's flagship against one of the biggest stars in its history right as he worked to level up to them. The quality was rising within the industry at large, but Cena spotted where the wind was blowing and got in front of it with a series of captivating clashes.
It was a genuinely unique career move for 'The Champ' to take, and one of his last as a full-timer.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
