John Cena, one of the most decorated US Champions of all time
#3 John Cena's US title open challenge featured a who's who of WWE greats
Ad
John Cena
A 5-time WWE United States Champion, many regard John Cena as possibly the greatest US Champion ever. He first won the belt back in 2004, by defeating Big Show in the opening match of WrestleMania 20. He held the belt three times before rising up the ranks and becoming the WWE Champion at WrestleMania 21.
Ad
Trending
In 2015, Cena got into a feud with Rusev and defeated him for the US Championship at WrestleMania 31. He soon announced that he would defend the title on a weekly basis, as a part of his US title Open Challenge. For the next few weeks, Cena gave us classic after classic with some of WWE's best talent, and a handful of rising stars.
Here are some big names that Cena successfully defended the belt against: Dean Ambrose, Neville, Stardust, Zack Ryder, Bad News Barrett, Kane, Sami Zayn, and Cesaro.
After delivering back-to-back bangers in what many deem as a resurgence of the US title, Cena finally lost the belt to Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2015.
×
Feedback
Why did you not like this content?
Was this article helpful?
Thank You for feedback
About the author
Abhilash Mendhe
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.