The Complete History of the WWE Championship - Part 16

John Cena (March 28, 2010 - June 20, 2010)

John Cena: Regained the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXVI

John Cena regained the WWE Championship from Batista at WrestleMania XXVI. He would go on to successfully defend the strap against "The Animal" in stipulation encounters at Extreme Rules and Over The Limit.

Cena outlasted Batista in a Last Man Standing Match at Extreme Rules when he cunningly tied the Guardians of the Galaxy star's legs around the ring post with duct tape following an STF. Incapacitated and unable to break the tape, Batista fell to defeat to Cena, unable to answer the ten count.

Batista earned a re-match versus Cena by defeating Randy Orton and Sheamus in a triple threat encounter on Raw and challenged the champion to an I Quit Match at Over The Limit. Cena performed the AA on Batista on top of a car which forced "The Animal" to quit. Post-match Cena was attacked by Sheamus to set up their title bout at Fatal 4 Way in June.

Two further participants, Edge and Randy Orton were added to the bout owing to the Fatal 4 Way rules of the event.

Cena lost the strap in the Fatal 4 Way bout to the Irishman.

However, Cena fatigue as a draw and the lack of interest in the Fatal 4 Way gimmick saw the event pull a paltry 143,000 buys, one of the lowest in company history at that point.