WWE used up John Cena's WrestleMania-sized Pop Of The Year when he returned at 2008's Royal Rumble but it highlighted a new problem the company would encounter with 'The Champ' for several years before embracing the reality of the situation they'd created. He had become substantially bigger than the titles he allegedly craved.
Cena's mere presence held more weight than any belts he could have won, and fans had gotten their fill of him throughout his January/February run with Randy Orton. Triple H, in the meantime, wasn't ever the lead babyface he pretended to be, and felt oddly purpose-free in this battle between the alleged Austin/Rock pairing of their era.
Orton's victory was a total shock, but it was absolutely the right decision. The clash was barely a talking point emerging out of the show, and 'The Game' and 'The Viper' had another year to wait before stinking up another WrestleMania...
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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
