Why John Cena's US Open Challenge Run Was Truly EPIC

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Whether you're a long-time fan or new to the world of WWE, this video is packed with insights and highlights demonstrating why John Cena's US Open Challenge was one of his best runs and a defining moment in Cena's illustrious career. From surprise opponents and thrilling matches to revitalizing the US Championship, Cena's open challenge brought a new level of prestige to the title.
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[@mysteryman0216]

One of the reasons this worked for him as well is he treated the title like it was the biggest title of the industry. Lots of big stars that go down to a mid card title see it as a demotion, but he saw it as a way to introduce new stars

[@thenightmaricsenpai524]

"YOU took the US Title as a demotion!" - John Cena to Roman Reigns

[@ChiefMichaelPatterson]

I swear I just thought this😂​@@thenightmaricsenpai524

[@marovahauhulh7054]

"DEMOTION!!!!" - some fan ​@@thenightmaricsenpai524

[@ayushkkharwar3213]

😂yeah​@@thenightmaricsenpai524

[@lordasian8476]

A DEMOTION 🗣️🗣️​@@thenightmaricsenpai524

[@maximuskeene8572]

one underrated fact about cena's us title run was that despite being 13 years into his career at the time and being infamous for having a limited moveset, cena added more moves: hurricanrana, sunset flip powerbomb, springboard stunner, etc. to show his versatility and wrestling prowess. after a decade plus, wrestlers usually stick to what they know and do best. it truly felt like a new superstar

[@balamohammed5947]

most of the class of OVW 2002. we're well trained before the call up. Not to mention that some, such as Brock and Sheldon, were highly skilled amateur wrestlers. So it's not that he couldn't do alot of move set, but he was limited because of his size and wrestling persona.

[@MikeJr9284]

Cena absolutely carried the US title in 2015. He made a midcard title no one cared about feel like a World title.

[@djdarq6311]

Sure bud

[@djdarq6311]

You got the no one cared part right

[@nalday2534]

How about you leave ​@@djdarq6311

[@edouardbeauregard7090]

It was a shame by the manner they made him lose the title. But he made the US title valuable, it was similiar to Gunther with Intercontinental title

[@MisterPeckingOrder]

@@djdarq6311Everyone still remembered this though, and probably will for a while. Looks like only one does not bother to care.

[@iyoushhh]

Cena's this particular reign was highly under-appreciated during it's time. His feuds with KO & Rusev were top-tier. People who appreciate Gunther for elevating the IC title often forget Cena who gave the U.S. title its lost prestige. He deserves his flowers for making that title look important & making him loose it to Alberto was not a right move IMO.

[@colindsouza8110]

Match with Cesaro?

[@iyoushhh]

@@colindsouza8110 yeah, his match with Zayn was also good but I mentioned feuds where wrestlers have multiple matches against each other in a kayfabe rivalry

[@edouardbeauregard7090]

​@@iyoushhhdone forget matches with Seth too. They were amazing too!

[@MisterPeckingOrder]

And let’s mention he did this twice. Cena’s first run with the US title back when he was still a rapping heel established that belt in the WWE, and for a while he really was the only guy to actually do anything with the belt. That’s the run that got Cena over too so he really made that belt look nice and special too.

[@iyoushhh]

@@edouardbeauregard7090 dang i forgot that those matches were also a part of his U.S. title reign! Their feud also had pretty cool matches & storyline except for that Jon Stewart cameo 😅

[@donzellmccalipp8510]

This run by Cena was excellent,a top star making the mid card title feel important but also bringing the best out of those he worked with

[@JakeTheMan784]

Completely agree

[@BennyLindo]

This is why Cena is the best. He gave back to the company that made him and reinvented a mid card title into a top tier one. Showcasing his dedication and commitment to the craft that built up the next generation of the company, and changed the hearts and minds of some of his biggest detractors. Hats off to the GOAT.

[@Devondavis-fm2dz]

John us open challenge was truly special back in 2015 you never knew who was going to step up and challenge him for the title at the time

[@joshuaagora2909]

Another reason why his US title run was so cool was how Cena also had this American patriot character while holding the title

[@JohnSmith-wh2ob]

Alberto Del Rio ending it was ridiculous but everything up to that point was fantastic

[@JakeTheMan784]

You know for a fact that Cena is a top tier wrestler if he can defeat a midcard opponent in a US title match and yet it still feels like he put them over 😅

[@Mehdi-k2l]

I still remember in 2015 i was 13 y.o watching cena us open challenge. Lifting up new talents. Cena title reign was amazing.

[@kaeso101]

John Cena in 2015 was him giving back to the business...he gave the US title legit hype...had a good run with it...helped other stars into the limelight and gave us the fans moves we thought he could never do.

[@1ktharris]

This run was epic I appreciated John for making that title so important back then it was badly needed I rewatch those open challenge matches often

[@chancehoffman3588]

One of the best memories of 2015

[@dylanbryant3547]

John cena needs to win the ic title before he retires

[@davidharrison469]

IC Title vacated and cena vs sheamus at wrestlemania

[@PhenomenalOne1000]

I dont get why they just didnt let cena go after the intercontinental title in 2015 getting and ic title open challenge would be just as good

[@wvang0013]

Yep. He deserves the Grand Slam before he retires.

[@potas8]

no need for that

[@potas8]

grandslam nowadays is a joke and meaningless, cena from 2003-2006 television work is literally is bigger than this stupid achievement

[@JakeLlavore]

*14:21* I would *NEVER FORGET* the *Host of WWE SUMMERSLAM 2015* and *former host of The Daily Show,* *Jon Stewart* attacks *John Cena* with a *Steel Chair,* leaving *Seth Rollins defeating John Cena* & winning *BOTH* the *WWE World Heavyweight & United States Championships* in a *Title For Title Match, Winner Take All, For Both The United States & WWE World Heavyweight Championships.*

[@satriahadi1893]

That cuna run was just amazing and cannot be coppied by anyone but the MAN himself

[@PrayasRahangdale]

I still hate Alberto del rio till this day for beating John Cena and ending his great reign. That 10 yr old me was mad at del rio and it continues till this day. 🇺🇲

[@jayrathod2995]

I think US championship should be defended in open challenges more, would give it a new identity, one which Cena aimed it to be

[@JakeLlavore]

*3:37**-**6:39* *NXT Champion Kevin Owens* makes *his debut* in *WWE* and attacks *United States Champion John Cena,* during *John Cena’s United States Championship Open Challenge.* 🇺🇸

[@realwrighthill]

Cena in the early 2000s, before The Time is Now, it was short, boring, but it holds a soft spot in my heart.

[@TheGreatestOfAllTime7228]

This is legit his best run. Like the amount of prestige John Cena gave to the US title was unmatchable... this very run was a win win for everyone. Just beautiful

[@Pierrepaule]

You know what I would love to have ? Is when LA Knight beats Logan Paul and take the United Sates Championship at SummerSlam I want LA Knight to bring back the US Open Challenge. To bring back the prestige of the United States Championship.

[@djdarq6311]

What prestige? It has no real lineage

[@neoterumi4772]

Maybe not prestige but instead make the title seem like a title instead of how it’s treated rn

[@poseidonmedia]

@@djdarq6311 You don’t need a lineage to have prestige. You can still make a title feel important like they did in this run with Cena.

[@n00bc0de7]

​@djdarq6311 What do you mean it has no lineage? It has John Cena, Seth Rollins, Rey Mysterio, Roman Reigns, etc.

[@BUSHIDO117]

Second reply iv seen you in you annoying ass hater ​@@djdarq6311

[@animeswordsman9705]

Wes Lee had some really good open Challenges with the NA title

[@noahjones3769]

I loved John Cena's US title run more than his WWE title runs. Plus, this was around the time John had rivalries with Seth and KO which was the start of John incorporating new moves in his arsenal like the Sunset Flip Powerbomb and the Spring board stunner. Cena was easily the greatest US champion of all time.

[@tylercistrunk9461]

My favorite u.s champion ever he made this title so good definitely in 2015 he was on fire 🔥 in his u.s open challenge run

[@sportlegend4444]

It was one of my favorite thing in 2015

[@kinggold5378]

This made me a fan of Cena's again..... I loved his 3rd run as 🇺🇲 Champion....

[@jjayala]

I got back into wrestling at this time as my life was in absolute shambles and i wanted some joy lol. Great run. The KO debut

[@ryaneugenelawrencewalls1987]

John Cena the G.O.A.T my all-time favorite in WWE History the 16X World Champion 0:04

[@zarghamahmad5571]

Cena's US title Open Challenge was the first time I started watching WWE on TV.

[@zjhony_3083]

Me too

[@paulwatson3025]

That title was the most important title in the company at the time. No doubt about that

[@theunforgiven2885]

Cena is a legend he has earned his respect.The gimmick they gave him in the beginning is why so many people were turned off but he has come so far and he's one hell of a wrestler...period

[@gykx92]

Rusev wasn't undefeated at the time, he'd lost matches by DQ, but wwe was in it's "Fans are stupid and dont remember anything" era, so they slowly shifted "never been pinned or submitted" to undefeated.

[@ronnieaghakhani1462]

What editing software was used to create the effects in this video?

[@potas8]

he got us hyped for a weekly show

[@cristophertoti4814]

There will never be another John Cena ! Or another US champion like him

[@enjumamoru6513]

La Knight is the way he shuld so open challenge and win multiple times

[@cainmazarello3037]

Greatest U.S. champion ever

[@kevin75c]

Nothing was better than his first wwe title run

[@BboyZoinks]

This was such a freaking fun time for wrestling

[@Punk_is_idol]

I’m starting to believe that the purpose of holding the belt is not to elevate the holder but elevate the presence of the other one in the match.

[@RTG625]

#WeWantCena 😢❤️❤️

[@djdarq6311]

No we don’t 😂 worst era of all time

[@RTG625]

​@@djdarq6311 Still It doesn't means that Cena was worst he was the best thing that the wwe was going on in the 2010's Fact If john Cena wasn't there all this years WWE were been dead Cena carried the company more than everybody did that's why his the goat this men deserves his flowers🙏❤️❤️

[@bigdonald123]

Hell no the super cena era is the worst era of alltime he was lucky tsker, hbk, hhh were still around

[@JakeLlavore]

*17:06* *John Cena* *NEVER* gets to be as *UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP* with the *NEW CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE BELT DESIGN,* since *2020*.*

[@unholyperiodza5442]

Cena was the last good US champion ever. The US title has been a curse since Dolph Ziggler won it and vacated it soon after in 2018. Afterwards we had terrible champions like Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe and Austin Theory.

[@JakeLlavore]

Why did *Dolph Ziggler* vacated the *United States Championship?*

[@kayleglaister4657]

That was the best run with the us title

[@yg970]

I just love this man ❤

[@JakeLlavore]

*15:21* *Jon Stewart DESERVES IT!!!!!*

[@JakeLlavore]

*9:18* *Cesaro (Antonio Cesaro)*

[@Nicksisgoated]

WWE needs to have a weekly open challenge for US and IC title

[@RaiVibez]

Once LA knight win this title I think he should do

[@Kuhladestkyicky]

I challenged Cena to a best 3/5 hopscotch. He wimped out.

[@JakeLlavore]

*3:36**-**4:02* *John Cena vs. Stardust* *Raw, April 6, 2015* *United States Champion* *John Cena* 🇺🇸 *Stardust (Cody Rhodes)*

[@JakeLlavore]

*15:18* *John Cena confronts and attacks the host of WWE SUMMERSLAM 2015 & former host Of ‘The Daily Show’, Jon Stewart!!!!!*

[@JakeLlavore]

*15:18* *Celebrity Beatdowns*

[@mbulelomdoda1494]

To this day, no one has elevated or even made the US title feel just as important as John Cena did back in 2015

[@MinMwan]

John Cena is the greatest of all time

[@USV2002]

That's why Cena is the GOAT.

[@afshansaif]

The most important thing was some of his matches were more better than the main events.

[@Chris.Jackaman]

Even when he will retire. The champ with always be here, you just won't see him. 😢

[@willieroland5814]

My favorite cena run

[@ahmedsh1864]

God i miss these days

[@JakeLlavore]

*1:30* *WWE WRESTLEMANIA 31 (2015) Official Match Card* *John Cena vs. Rusev* *United States Championship* 🇺🇸 *John Cena* *CHALLENGER* 🇺🇸 *Rusev* *CHAMPION* *United States Champion* *Rusev* 🇷🇺🇺🇸 *(w/Lana)* 🇷🇺

[@s1991kmn]

Cena stayed at the top for over a decade. That alone makes him the Goat. No one lasted or even stayed relevant that long without major gimmick change. Hogan turned heel, Undertaker became the American badass, neither Austin nor Rock lasted that long.

[@smvenkateshsmvenkatesh6950]

Cena💛

[@shaneoleary9919]

John cena fire yay

[@Must_gamer_7]

Am I the only one who thinks rusev was also pretty good US champion.

[@reinerbraun6670]

Losing to Alberto was one the worst calls

[@mohammadidris5774]

Mine may be an unpopular opinion but i didn't care much for those open challenge segments. Sure, there were great matches but for me its not just good matches but gotta have a story to tell. For what its worth Cena's Open Challenge was better than others. It did what it should (showcase new talents). But overall i didn't like weekly open challenges.

[@mr.awesome6011]

All it did for me was prove that belts are nothing more than props. After Cena lost it, it went right back to the pre-show. Let's just call this run for what it really is. Cena wins lol but with extra steps.

[@Oswald_lusambya]

Cena losing the title to del Rio was stupid cause the title became worthless and irrelevant after cena lost it

[@HighWoody]

Mid card champions bring the best out of a wrestler.

[@shaneaustin4418]

I’ve seen this video like 3 different times

[@JRMagro]

I'll just say this, IN my opinion, the US title has never felt as important (before or after) as it did with Cena's open challenge run. Although I don't think rusev should have lost to cena at mania. Homeboy came out on a tank and everything. Still lost lol.

[@nakulkumar4197]

No one can make mid card title better than WWE title, not even Roman or Rock.

[@Suvux]

Why they nerf sami zayn so much

[@Nickearl1]

The us open challenge proved everyone that said he can’t wrestle wrong lol

[@jugglerj0e]

It doesn't matter which title Cena won or his best title reign. The greatest thing he's ever done is all the Make-A-Wishes he's fulfilled (over 650). How many wrestlers, athletes, or celebrities can say that. And he did it for Nothing in return.

[@ryanmurray4899]

Listen to me, Jhon Chena

[@garrattkenion2439]

Everybody knows why he brought prestige back to the US title .

[@matteste618]

Didn’t ko defend his nxt title against cena when he beat him clean?

[@malcolmmunyaza]

Man, Sami looked better back in the day.

[@EVOPHAZE999]

Cena 1ST BALLOT HALL OF FAMER❤

[@davidholzer4155]

Prime John Cena is 2005-11 in my opinion

[@Ascrediblewrestlingfigures]

Who’s here after he announced His retirement

[@Jackey_Lee]

He revived the US title that rusev killed

[@michaelweird4018]

Cesaro was wasted in wwe honestly wanted cesaro has world champ and wanted him to have a run

[@lionheart650]

Better than Gunther in all departments

[@michaelweird4018]

@@lionheart650 Preach my Brother

[@bigdonald123]

John cena didnt elevate anyone reallt buried alot of young talent, NOW gunther he elevated that intercontinental title and put over someone huge after

[@jjarvicious]

overrated, dis was jus Cena coastin off every hot Indy guy 2 give him a “5 star match” & all dat jus 4 him 2 drop it 2 Del Rio of all ppl so he didn’t even use it 2 put over a younger guy, only guy who benefited off those matches wit Cena was Kevin Owens

[@djdarq6311]

Nothing he ever did was epic and that belt had no legit lineage.

[@johngomes4278]

Agreed 👍

[@cristophertoti4814]

Sure you do what he did and go through everything he did ! It’s easy to be all talk like a arm chair quarterback . I am sure John Cena lost no sleep over your comments

[@johngomes4278]

@@djdarq6311 I agree with you

[@RomaroBrandon]

This is arguable the best version of John Cena since Dr. of Thuganomics, and inarguable his best US Championship run.

[@tylerhartley5031]

Eh.

[@sandiletwala3001]

He made the US champ more prestigious and made it the biggest price to get besides the world championship. His open challenges were bangers and he made the champion bigger than everything and everybody

[@RTG625]

That's why his the goat the goat 🙏 I missed him so much 😢

[@djdarq6311]

🤡

[@silverfuryranger]

Wwe was shit at this time. That's why people remember Cena's US title reing as something special

[@dylanbryant3547]

2015 cena was a beast

[@ajwood-t3z]

John cena is super cena

[@DylanQuitoriano]

Then they had him drop it to del rio LMFAO

[@olgringold5142]

Kurt Angle's open challenge run may not have been for the title, but it was incredible.

[@Grandstaff97]

Isn't that how Cena got his start?? Didn't he accept his challenge on a smackdown

[@olgringold5142]

@@Grandstaff97 Yep

[@InkedupT-raw]

Man this run I believe made alot of the haters start to cheer Cena it was gold & it WORKED!!! 💯💯💯👆

[@dylanbryant3547]

John cena was a beast in 2015