Kevin Owens
Folks, it was quite the toss-up between JBL and Kevin Owens, but we decided to go with the “Prized Fighter” himself. “Why?” you may ask. The reason for Owens’ inclusion is that he was basically the breath of fresh air John Cena needed to secure his second career wind. What that means is K.O. revitalized an otherwise stale character that fans had grown weary of over the last five years up to that point.
Their rivalry came in the middle of Cena’s “U.S. Open Challenge” and Kevin’s run as NXT Champion. While Cena’s open challenges were great on their own, once Owens was in the equation, it gave John Cena a new edge, with even Cena’s repertoire of moves evolving to keep up with the relentless and unpredictable offense of Kevin Owens.
Their trilogy of matches defined the mid-2010s, with one of their best ones being a highly-regarded bout at WWE Money in the Bank 2015, and their initial one at the same year’s Elimination Chamber had fans salivating at seeing the main-eventer go up against the Indie scene’s finest.
To sum it up, Owens was the right opponent for a John Cena looking for another formidable challenge in an otherwise murky era of his career.
