5 ways Brock Lesnar squashing John Cena changed WWE 

#2 Brock Lesnar became one of the most protected Superstars in recent history

Lesnar and Strowman

There comes an athlete once in a while who is a guaranteed draw, and thus the company turns them into someone who can't be defeated easily. It happened with Hogan and Warrior during the 80s, and Cena during the 2000s. Lesnar's victory over The Undertaker at WrestleMania 30 and the SummerSlam squash was followed by WWE turning him into the most dominant Superstar of this era.

Superstars like Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, and a few others tried and failed to put down The Beast. It took Reigns three years to finally pin Lesnar. Rollins defeated Lesnar in the opening match of WrestleMania 35, but it too a low blow, followed by three Curb Stomps to bag the win. Lesnar is quite possibly the most protected Champion of the modern era and it made Seth Rollins' recent SummerSlam win even better, cementing him as a credible megastar.

#1 Superman Cena became history

John Cena

John Cena won his first WWE title at WrestleMania 21 by defeating JBL. As time passed, it became clear that WWE wanted to push Cena as the next big thing. Cena moving to the flagship show during the 2005 Draft Lottery made things clear as day. Over the course of the next decade, Cena won multiple WWE titles, and carried the company on his shoulders, becoming the face of the PG Era.

Much like Hogan in the 80s, Cena became the episode of a good guy, and was promoted as a superhero who would come out victorious in the end and defeat the bad guy. Superman Cena died at SummerSlam 2014 when Lesnar squashed him like a bug. Cena's aura died that night and he was never the same after this loss.