How John Cena's Time With The United States Championship Saved The Title

Whether you agree or not, there is a reason the WWE calls John Cena the GOAT.

Throughout his 26-year career, John Cena has accomplished everything there is to accomplish in the company. That includes his record-breaking 17 World Championship reigns, winning the Royal Rumble, winning the Money in the Bank, and just recently, becoming a Grand Slam Champion.

While all of that is incredible, the work that many fans look back on fondly is the times that Cena held the WWE United States Championship.

John Cena has held the WWE United States title five times, the most of any other wrestler. 2004 would see Cena dethrone The Big Show at WrestleMania 20 for his first-ever championship, which he would later be stripped of and forced to beat Booker T for the title at No Mercy 2004.

That second reign would be his shortest with the title as Carlito made his debut and took the belt from Cena, only for Cena to regain it about a month later. These first three reigns had good moments, but aren't talked about on the same level as his work with the belt years later.

Orlando Jordan would end Cena's third reign as US champion in March 2005, and it would be almost exactly ten years before Cena and the US title were together again.

The US Open Challenge

Just like he did at WrestleMania 20 all those years ago, Cena would defeat a giant monster of a man to capture the United States Championship at WrestleMania 31. It was a massive moment for both Cena and Rusev, as this also marked the first pinfall loss Rusev had suffered in the company.

When looking at John Cena and the US title, this reign and what he did with the belt are typically what come to mind. Cena began issuing an open challenge for anyone backstage to come out and attempt to win the title from him.

This saw matches between Cena and names like Dean Ambrose, Stardust, Sami Zayn, Neville, and several more. Most of these matches were also incredible and gave these stars the chance to shine while working with one of the company's biggest names.

The run was the shot in the arm that the United States Championship needed, as previous reigns were less than spectacular. Ambrose himself had the title just the year before and had a lengthy 350-day reign that barely ever saw the title defended.

Sheamus would win the title from Ambrose, but it didn't do much for anyone, as the title was rarely seen on pay-per-views before he lost it to Rusev. The Bulgarian Brute was exciting and new as he was called up from NXT, but his matches were all squash matches as he was on a monster run before losing to Cena.

Cena managed to keep the title visible on television and pay-per-view consistently, while also having some of the best matches of his career with a host of fresh faces.

Making Kevin Owens An Immediate Star

The open challenge saw incredible one-off matches, but one of them would spark a feud that is still considered one of Cena's best.

Kevin Owens would make his main roster debut while still reigning as the NXT Champion. This was already shocking as it wasn't the normal route for an NXT call-up, but he did it while also taking out Cena and showcasing his title as more valuable than the United States title.

They would first clash at Elimination Chamber in a non-title Champion vs. Champion match. The match went nearly 20 minutes, and Owens managed to pin Cena cleanly in a shocking victory. They would have two rematches at Money in the Bank and Battleground, with Cena managing the victory those final two times.

Even though Owens lost the feud, that initial debut and victory at Elimination Chamber would set him up as a huge star on the main roster.

All Good Things Must Come To An End

Eventually someone was going to have to beat Cena for the United States Championship, and that would finally come at SummerSlam 2015 when Seth Rollins retained his WWE World Heavyweight Championship while also taking the US title in a Winner Takes All match.

Nothing says THE MAN like winning TWO championships at @SummerSlam! https://t.co/7JzFNNs5XF @WWERollins @JohnCena pic.twitter.com/OkYZjrNHC5
— WWE (@WWE) November 24, 2016

A rematch was set for the US Championship as the SummerSlam bout hadn't ended in the cleanest of fashion. Rollins and Cena would face off again at Night of Champions, with Cena regaining the title for his fifth and final reign.

The open challenge started right back up with matches against Xavier Woods, Big E, and Dolph Ziggler. Cena would also take the open challenge from weekly television to pay-per-view as he kicked off Hell in a Cell with an invite.

This saw Alberto Del Rio return to the company after being fired back in the summer of 2014. Del Rio would shock the crowd by pinning Cena and capturing the United States Championship, thus ending Cena's time with the championship.

Cena's Impact On The US Title

Despite Cena not having held the title since 2015, his open challenge made an impact on the title, and later champions have followed in his footsteps.

Sami Zayn would bring it back in 2025, having matches against the likes of Je'Von Evans, Carmelo Hayes, and Rey Fenix before dropping the title to Ilja Dragunov.

Been reflecting on my run as US Champion. One of my favorite things I’ve done in WWE. 8 weeks, 8 very different opponents, 8 bangers in a row.
It’s hard to do something great. In the age of content, it’s even harder to do something memorable. It felt like this was both. Grateful. pic.twitter.com/l3pg9ju4DA
— Sami Zayn (@SamiZayn) October 30, 2025

Dragunov has since continued the open challenge after his victory over Sami Zayn, providing opportunities to the likes of Aleister Black, Nathan Frazer, and Johnny Gargano.

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