John Cena had a successful career in Slap, where he became one of the top stars of the blue brand. However, Cena was recruited from SmackDown to Crude as the reigning WWE Champion in June 2005. This is arguably the biggest draft pick in WWE history. Cena became the franchise player once he moved to Raw and was a dominant force on the red brand for a decade.
Cena had a mix of matches on Raw, where he was involved in a large number of gimmick matches and defended the WWE Championship. Cena was a huge asset to Raw, but he had countless obstacles to clear that Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff placed in front of him.
10/10 John Cena vs. Tyson Tomko- 9/5/05
John Cena collided with Tyson Tomko in a one-on-one action, and the reigning WWE Champion was in a foul mood when he tackled Tomko to the ground. For a moment, Tomko weathered the storm and floored Cena with a thunderous clothesline to the ground.
Tomko missed the big booty and Cena took Tomko down with the fans going wild for Cena. Cena barely had any problems and prevailed with the FU with relative ease.
9/10 John Cena vs. Mohammed Hassan – 06/20/05
John Cena first defended the WWE Championship on Raw against Muhammad Hassan, who was aiming to become one of the youngest WWE Champions in history at the age of 25 years and 2 months. Cena got off to a rocky start to his title defense, taking out Hassan and Daivari.
Hassan stopped Cena’s momentum and used some chokes to keep Cena at bay. Hassan was undefeated on Raw, but Cena regained control by knocking Daivari off the apron, and defeated Hassan with the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena retained the WWE Championship in a quick title defense with the FU ending Hassan’s unblemished record on Raw.
8/10 John Cena vs. Kurt Angle and Tyson Tomko – 9/12/05
The sledgehammer was stacked against John Cena when he faced Kurt Angle and Tyson Tomko in a handicap match on the home leg of Raw earlier. unforgivable 2005. Cena got off to a fast start to the fight as he knocked Angle off the apron and zeroed in on Tomko.
Tomko leveled Cena with Cena at the back for a short time. Eric Bischoff watched with interest from the top of the ramp. Angle and Tomko went in and out to freshen things up. However, Angle blocked Cena’s FU on Tomko by connecting with the German Suplex on Cena. There was a miscommunication with Tomko accidentally kicking Angle, and Cena made a shoulder tackle and FU for the win.
7/10 John Cena and Chris Jericho vs. Christian and Tyson Tomko – 06/13/05
WWE Champion John Cena teamed with Chris Jericho on the June 13, 2005 edition of Raw. This was Cena’s first match on Raw, three years into his WWE career. Cena was tagged in the match by Jericho, and Cena dealt with Tomko with minor issues.
Cena and Jericho lifted Christian over the top rope towards Tomko. The pendulum swung in favor of Tomko and Christian. This was a decent match, but Cena opened his Raw account with a win by executing the FU on Tomko. Subsequently, Chris Jericho turned rude by assaulting Cena.
6/10 John Cena vs. Snitsky – 07/18/05
Chris Jericho selected the lumberjacks to surround the ring in John Cena’s lumberjack match with Snitsky. Jericho yelled encouragement in Snitsky’s ear after Cena threw him out of the ring. The lumberjacks were rude and would assault Cena when given the opportunity to do so.
Snitsky controlled the match, but Cena refused to budge. Cena tried the FU but Kurt Angle connected with a block when the ref was distracted. Tomko, Carlito, Chris Masters, Rene Dupree, Heart Throbs, and Danny Basham were among the loggers. However, the odds were evened when Shelton Benjamin, Big Show, and a few other faces attacked the lumberjack heels. Ultimately, Cena survived by running the FU on Snitsky.
5/10 John Cena vs. Chris Jericho & Carlito – 8/15/05
John Cena faced Chris Jericho and Intercontinental Champion Carlito in a handicap match. Cena rocked Jericho and threw Carlito over the top rope. It was an explosive start for Cena, but Jericho and Carlito began to collaborate well, causing problems for Cena.
Eric Bischoff was in the front row repeatedly waving the Canadian flag. Carlito spat his apple in Cena’s face and Cena shoved him in the face. Y2J attempted the Walls of Jericho but it didn’t go as planned. However, Carlito stopped Cena from FUing Jericho but Cena caught Carlito, and Carlito executed the FU for the win.
4/10 John Cena, Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan vs. Chris Jericho, Christian and Tyson Tomko – 6/27/05
John Cena, Shawn Michaels, and Hulk Hogan faced Chris Jericho, Christian, and Tyson Tomko in a six-man tag team match. Cena and Jericho began the process, and Jericho hit Cena with a few blows to the chest. Jericho, Christian and Tomko isolated Michaels on his side of the ring.
Michaels managed to tag Hogan and received a huge pop. Cena tackled Jericho out of the ring while Tomko and Christian double-teamed Hogan. Plus, HBK nailed Christian with Sweet Chin Music, and Hogan connected with a big boot and leg drop on Tomko for the win.
3/10 John Cena vs. Carlito – 25/7/05
Chris Jericho was the special guest referee in the champion vs. champion match between WWE Champion John Cena and Intercontinental Champion Carlito. Carlito was looking to hit Cena with a steel chair in the early stages, but Jericho grabbed him. Eric Bischoff stood at the top of the ramp to watch the action unfold.
This was an excellent match between the pair that wrestled for the United States Championship on SmackDown. However, Cena was going for the FU but Jericho hit him low and connected with a bulldog and a lionsault. Carlito pinned Cena to prevail.
2/10 John Cena vs. Carlito – 8/1/05
Carlito was aiming to become the first man in 15 years to hold both the WWE and Intercontinental Championships simultaneously. Jericho was once again the special guest referee, and Carlito and Jericho tossed Cena into the ring post. It was a glorified handicap match with Cena needing to get tired of Jericho’s quick counts.
Carlito was at cruise control for the match, and Jericho exposed the barricade with Carlito smashing Cena’s head into it. Jericho refused to count Carlito’s shoulders down. Eric Bischoff appeared on the apron and Cena pushed Jericho into Bischoff. Big Match John managed to retain the WWE Championship with the FU while another referee counted Carlito’s shoulders down.
1/10 John Cena vs. Chris Jericho – 8/22/05
24 hours after John Cena defeated Chris Jericho in a WWE Championship at summer festival 2005, the stakes were higher. They squared off in a WWE Championship match once again, but this time it was a You’re Fired match with the loser set to leave WWE.
This was a spectacular WWE Championship match with Jericho desperate to keep his job. Jericho tried every trick in the book and pounded Cena with brass knuckles, but the defending champion found a way to survive. Cena executed the FU on Jericho to retain the WWE Championship with Y2J leaving WWE for two years and begged to keep his job, but Bischoff refused to rehire him.