WWE History: John Cena wins his first WWE Championship

WrestleMania 20. Madison Square Garden. The night John Cena competed in his first WrestleMania.

Cena rapped his way to the ring to kick off a milestone event, and was the brand new United States Champion a short while later, after pinning Big Show. It was clear as day that WWE had a rising star in their hands, who had all the ingredients to become the face of the company for the next decade or so.

The following 12 months saw Cena steadily rising the ranks on WWE SmackDown. He was the final Superstar to get eliminated in the 2005 Royal Rumble match and went on to defeat Kurt Angle to bag an opportunity to face JBL for the WWE title at WrestleMania 21.

Over the next few weeks, JBL and his Cabinet did everything in their power to destroy John Cena from within and keep his spirits down as he made his way to The Grandest Stage Of Them All. This included Orlando Jordan defeating Cena for the US title.

John Cena vs JBL: The showdown in Hollywood

At WrestleMania 21, Cena vs JBL for the WWE Championship was the co-main event of the night, just before Batista vs Triple H for the World title. JBL received a grand entrance, while a determined Cena came out with one goal in his mind. Cena and JBL went at it for around 11 minutes, with the latter on a quest to keep the WWE title on his shoulder when all was said and done. Cena had other plans though, and a devastating Attitude Adjustment finally put down JBL enough for Cena to get the pin and his first of a whopping 16 World titles under the WWE umbrella.

John Cena went on to retain his title against JBL in an "I Quit" match at Judgment Day, and was soon drafted to WWE RAW in one of the most surprising moments in WWE history. Over the next several years, John Cena remained the face of WWE and later utilized his fame to break into Hollywood. Cena is one of the greatest Superstars in the history of WWE and is a sure-fire future Hall of Famer.

Watch WWE ‘Birth of a Champion’ every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 8.00 pm only on SONY TEN 1 (English) & SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) channels