The Complete History of the WWE Championship - Part 17

John Cena (April 7, 2013 - August 18, 2013)

John Cena: Defeated The Rock at Wrestlemania 29 to regain the WWE Championship

John Cena's 11th WWE Championship reign kicked off in style in front of a pay-per-view audience of 1.039 million viewers and a capacity crowd of over 80,000 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Cena defeated The Rock at the second attempt in the headline attraction at WrestleMania 29 to regain the title with which he is most synonymous with.

Any subsequent feud could not hold a candle to his collision with The Rock, but his battles with Ryback at Extreme Rules and Payback were rewarding contests.

Cena next contested one of the finest bouts of the lumbering Mark Henry's career at Money in the Bank 2013 in a heated title battle, which is best remembered for the killer angle that proceeded it. Sporting a smart salmon suit, it seemed that Henry came out to announce his retirement but swerve turned on Cena, laying him out to set up the title bout.

Cena would defeat Henry however and then battle with Daniel Bryan in the main event of SummerSlam.

In one of the finest matches of his career, Cena put over Bryan clean via pinfall. Cena could not have been more giving in making Bryan look like a megastar.

Following his title loss, Cena would undergo triceps surgery. He would not factor into the title picture again until the following year.