John Cena vs. Kevin Owens: Match of the Year Proves Cena Is Best of His Era

Sunday night at Money in the Bank, John Cena and Kevin Owens blew the roof off of the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, with what was arguably the best match of the year to date.

While some continue to marvel over the greatness of this weekend's show-stealer, those who have closely followed Cena's career were not shocked that he has been responsible for two straight classics against the current NXT champion.

For the last decade, chants of "you can't wrestle" have greeted Cena as he entered arenas all over the globe.

This, despite the fact that he has consistently appeared in Match of the Year candidates dating back to his ascension up the WWE ranks in 2005. And the fact that those matches have come against a number of Superstars of different sizes, shapes and abilities.

There was a time when Cena did, in fact, suck. His movements were wooden, and his in-ring skill had not advanced much past that of a generic big man working the opening match of the developmental territory card.

But rather than rest on the idea that he had made it to the big time, Cena worked hard and with every passing match, he grew better than he was previously.

And since his epic encounter with Triple H at WrestleMania 22 solidified him as the face of WWE, the franchise player has refused to allow himself to fall into a place of complacency.

Whether working super heavyweights the likes of Umaga and Great Khali, celebrated workers like Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle, or indy darlings looking to make that leap of faith to the main events like CM Punk or Daniel Bryan, Cena has been the one constant in this era's most celebrated matches.

His harshest critics once chalked up the quality of his main events to the fact that he was the poster boy for the so-called "WWE style." While that may have been true at one point, it certainly is no longer the case.

The younger talent on the roster and their varied styles have driven Cena to change up his move set, something fans have witnessed in great detail here in 2015.

For someone heavily criticized for his signature maneuvers, Cena has dipped into his bag of tricks and pulled out the springboard stunner and even broke out the Code Red during the second war with Owens.

Add to that the fact that Cena let Owens wrestle his style of match, and you have further proof that Cena is not only motivated to be better, but he's also more giving a main event star than the company has ever seen before. 

But flashy and fancy individual moves do not a match make.

There is storytelling and passion, not to mention the all-important connection with the audience. Love him or hate him, there are very few workers in the industry that can bring every important element together to create a truly epic wrestling match the way that Cena does.

There are those in the industry who are celebrated for their matches in small arenas across the country, those who have succeeded in Japan but never to the level that Cena has in the states.

The fact of the matter is that Cena has consistently proven himself the greatest big-match performer this era has to offer. He has worked the biggest shows, in front of record-breaking audiences, and has never allowed the moment to be too big or the pressure too much.

Over the last 10 years, there have been numerous excuses for Cena's string of classic matches, ranging from "he only has a great match when he's in there with a great wrestler" to "he was lucky." But those excuses are no longer valid when he continues to deliver, year in and year out, regardless of the opponent.

Sunday's match between Cena and Owens not only stole the show and emerged from the pack of outstanding pay-per-view matches in 2015, but it cemented Cena's status as the best professional wrestler of his era.

Yet again, the grizzled veteran stepped it up, made his opponent look like a million bucks and won in a way that did nothing to hurt all of the momentum that Owens had gathered leading into the event.

Like he has so many times throughout his Hall of Fame career, Cena had the fans on the edge of their collective seat, living and breathing with every near-fall and false finish.

And, again, he received nowhere near the credit he deserves for his incredible resume of classic performances.

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

But that is OK. One day, absence will make the heart grow fonder, and Cena will finally be remembered as the all-time great, elite performer that he is, and much of that will be the result of the legacy of defining matches he left behind.

And a wealth of young talent will forever be better off for having worked with him.