After John Cena defeated Rusev at WrestleMania 31 to win the United States Title, it marked the beginning of The Johnn Cena United States Title Open Challenge. Starting next night on Monday Night Raw, Cena began calling out anyone from the locker room who was tough enough to hang with him, and wanted a shot at glory.
Did you know a top WWE Superstar just wrestled outside the company? More details HERE
Ad
This challenge resulted in weeks upon weeks of incredible matches, with Cena delivering classics against the likes of Sami Zayn, Dean Ambrose, and Kevin Owens.
The sole purpose of the Open Challenge was to elevate future Superstars by squaring them off against John Cena, and it ended up doing the same. Owens and Ambrose went on to become top stars on the Raw roster. Cena lost his title to Seth Rollins at Summerslam, with his reign lasting a total of 147 days.
Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.
Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.
He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.
Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.
When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.
'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Trending
