WrestleMania 21 is undoubtedly one of the most pivotal nights in WWE history. It saw the dawning of a new era, where two new stars would emerge and reach new heights that they had never seen before. It was the night where both John Cena and Batista became World Champions, officially cementing themselves as the present and the future.
However, while both would reach incredible heights, it was not the superstar who WWE thought that would end up carrying the company for the longest in history. There have been four Franchise Players in the company’s history – Hulk Hogan, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, The Rock and John Cena. Out of all of them, Cena would end up having the longest tenure as the face of the company.
Even The Rock and ‘Stone Cold’, though iconic and bigger in popularity, had much shorter runs on the top. Being a WWE superstar alone is a daunting task, having to be on the road constantly throughout the year while maintaining tip-top physical shape. However, being the face of the company is a whole different ball game. Not only do you have to do the above, but you have far more media obligations than the rest, far more appearances on big talk shows, far more Make-A-Wish kids to meet and generally, the pressure is far higher.
Inside and outside, you need to keep yourself in the best possible conduct. However, we’re looking at how Cena managed to get there, and where Batista was when it happened. In a way, their careers were like parallels, because they both had a coronation on the same night.
For Batista, it was on RAW, while John Cena made his name on SmackDown. The best part of both of their coronations was just how organic it was. When Batista joined Evolution, he was the muscle of the group, and everything about him made for a great heel. Even when Evolution turned on Randy Orton, it was Batista who slammed him down from his shoulders. However, as the months went by, there started being subtle hints about The Animal potentially turning on Triple H. It was done to perfection, by simple facial mannerisms.
Then, there was increasing interest about a potential Batista and Triple H match, and though Randy Orton was the one being primed for the top spot, it was Batista who organically got hotter. That’s simply how wrestling works. It wasn’t Orton’s time, and he never really got over well as a babyface anyway. The implosion of Evolution was one of the most well-done organic break-ups ever, with Batista’s thumbs up-to-thumbs down transition being one of the best moments of the Ruthless Aggression Era.
The stage was set at WrestleMania 21, but Batista wasn’t the only one with a big match. Over on the blue brand, JBL had an extensive reign with the WWE Championship after revamping his character, one that would be the longest in SmackDown history until 2018. There needed to be someone to end his reign, and John Cena was the man to do it.
Even at the Royal Rumble 2005, it was made very clear that Batista and John Cena would be the two top dogs going forward because they were the final two of the match. Even before Batista made his decision, he would tease a match against John Cena, one that would only come to fruition over three years later.
Either way, their matches at WrestleMania in the co-main and main event were important. While Cena would obviously end up becoming the bigger player, it was the right match that main evented the show. After all, it was the biggest one, and it was also the hottest rivalry at the time.
While the main event was nothing spectacular in itself, Batista’s win would mark a change of the guard and the conclusion of what’s known as Triple H’s “reign of terror”. He would beat Triple H two more times afterward, ending their rivalry inside Hell in a Cell. As for John Cena, fans cheered when he defeated JBL and won the first of his sixteen World Championships. Nobody knew that he would reach the heights that he eventually did.
In many ways, he was WWE’s last-ever megastar. After him, they did try to make a big star out of Roman Reigns, and while he remains WWE’s top star, the reality is that he will never reach the heights that Cena, Austin, The Rock or even Hogan did. It’s more due to the fact that WWE decided to market the company as the draw rather than just a superstar.
Either way, Cena and Batista would lead the company through the Ruthless Aggression and PG Era, mostly being separated from one another. However, after WrestleMania 21, they were the two undisputed top stars of the company. It was the perfect way to make a star, and it’s something that WWE should look to replicate in the future.
