FLASHBACK: One Year Ago today on Let's Wrestle - Cena Making WrestleMania His Own Personal Playground
The Following was posted one year ago today on Let's Wrestle
WrestleMania is a wrestling event that has over the years made or broken careers. Look at the defining moments of the sport, and you can easily trace some of them back to Mania's of the years past. From Hulk Hogan to Stone Cold Steve Austin, the men that have made Mania their showcase have mostly gone on to have great wrestling careers. That is why right now you can say that current WWE Champion John Cena is on a roll that no other wrestler in the history of the sport has seen, and that his last four years at WrestleMania is a direct result of it.
Yes, trace it back, the statement that I am about to throw out cannot be denied - John Cena has had the best four years at WrestleMania over any other wrestler in the history of the event. Forget Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, or Bret Hart. Cena is the biggest name in the sport right now, and whether you love him, or hate him, that fact cannot be denied. Going back to WrestleMania 20, he has either won, or defended a major title in his first four showings at Mania. At WM 20, he beat the Big Show in the opener to take home the US Title. The following year in LA, he topped JBL in a underachieving match to win his first WWE Title. Then last year he won a match that just about no one thought he would win, making HHH submit to keep the WWE Title. Now just two days ago, he once again kept the gold, making Shawn Michaels submit to the same move he used on HHH a year ago, keeping the spinner belt alive.
Look back at history, and you will see why Cena is right now making his career each and every year he wrestles at Mania. Even the Undertaker, who has never lost at the event, has had bad matches against lackluster guys (Kevin Nash, Mark Henry, and King Kong Bundy come to mind). Hulk Hogan? Even going back to his run to start WrestleMania, he won a tag match with Mr.T in WM 1, then beat Bundy in a cage in two, slammed and pinned Andre in 3, but then had a double DQ with the Giant in 4. From that point on, he went 6-2. Not bad, but right now not on tap with Cena.
I'm not saying that Cean will never lose at Mania. I for one am already saying that maybe next year he's due to take a fall. A rematch with HHH in front of over 70,000 in Orlando would be a spot for Cena to give up the belt that he has had a stranglehold on for what seems to be the last two years. But, as his career continues towards what someday will be a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame, Cena right now owns Mania more than any other wrestler in the history of the sport - and that's a fact.
Labels: john cena, wrestlemania 23
