John Cena's 10 Greatest WWE Moments
2. Proving Himself With HBK - WrestleMania 23
After five years on WWE television, John Cena was well and truly ingrained in his role as the face of the company. That 'polarising' response was getting less polarising, more vicious as the crowds in attendance made it clear that Cena might have been Vince's chosen heir to Hulk Hogan's throne, but wasn't good enough to compete with their favourite between the ropes.
That argument took a major dent in the month of April 2007. First, Cena went to The Grandest Stage Of Them All and competed toe-to-toe with Mr WrestleMania himself, Shawn Michaels, in an excellent match for the WWE title. Sir John Winsalot came out of 'Mania with his title intact and his status as a worthy in-ring worker enhanced.
Three weeks later the pair were given almost half an episode of Monday Night Raw (still two hours back then, good times), and tore the house down in spectacular fashion. The bout was one of the best TV matches ever, and while HBK played a huge part in that, Cena's ability to go that long with the greatest worker of all time should be respected.