The main event of WrestleMania XXIII could most likely be considered something of a forgotten classic. When lists of the greatest main events from the event are made this one might not come into the initial debate, and that is a crying shame. This might be due to the lack of memorable story around it, but that shouldn't dull the fact that this was a fantastic professional wrestling match, one that put to bed a lot of the arguments about John Cena's inability to wrestle. Sure, he was in there against one of the greatest of all time, but a great match requires two performances at least. Cena was more than up to his part of the bargain. The early stages are a battle between power and speed, and things are kept even throughout. Mike Chioda takes a bump and things start to get serious between the two, with Michaels even hitting a piledriver onto the steel steps. After a plethora of false finishes and near falls, Michaels eventually taps to the STF in the middle of the ring. Cena and Michaels had undeniable chemistry, and this was as technical a match as Cena had put on at this point. It also came with a healthy dose of psychology and sports entertainment-stylings, big spots and drama. You can pick holes in it for sure, but this is simply the best match of John Cena's WrestleMania career to date. The two would go on to better it just a few weeks later with their almost one hour classic in England. WrestleMania XXXII will be the first Mania Cena has missed since his big show debut at WrestleMania XX. The man has amassed an impressive legacy at the event, with the vast majority of his matches proving his standing as a fantastic big match wrestler. Will he ever top the battle with Michaels? Time will tell.
Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.
