WWE: Why John Cena vs. CM Punk Is a Historic Rivalry

Every generation has a top star. And every top star has a defining rivalry.

Hulk Hogan’s rivalry with Randy Savage resulted in the historic Wrestlemania V main event, and one of the great year-long rivalries in the history of the sport.. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels changed the idea of what a main event talent in WWE could be, all the while allowing their on-screen rivalry to pour over into their personal and professional lives. And Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock became linked with one another forever through a series of matches that defined an entire era.

For this generation, a generation plagued by the extremely unpopular “PG” era, that star is John Cena. And for John Cena, that rivalry is with current WWE Champion, CM Punk.

Cena has had notable rivalries in the past. His feuds with Triple H and Shawn Michaels helped shape the performer fans see today. His feud with Umaga changed fan perception of the multi-time WWE Champion. But it was Cena’s rivalry with Randy Orton that would serve as his first real, long-running program.

John Cena and Randy Orton have competed against one another, in some shape or fashion, in 15 pay-per-view events between 2007 and 2010. Many would consider this the defining rivalry of John Cena’s Hall of Fame career and the signature series of matches he needed to really cement his legacy.

That is, until CM Punk entered his life.

While the feud between Cena and Orton was instrumental in developing both men as indisputable main event performers, it was also one that was forced on fans by a company desperate to cement both young competitors as top stars in the industry. Orton had been groomed for the top from the moment he stepped foot in a WWE ring, and Cena had been on the receiving end of a massive push from the moment Vince McMahon realized he could make money off of him.

In many ways, they were the same kind of WWE-produced performer when they were programmed against one another.

There were no high expectations for CM Punk amongst WWE management. It took backstage support by WWE Hall of Famers and Paul Heyman to ensure that Punk would not be released by the company. He had to work his way up the ladder, endured numerous different character changes, and had seen one World Heavyweight Championship reign fail before he was even put in the same ring with John Cena.

He is the anti-Cena, a cult-favorite amongst die-hard wrestling fans. He speaks his mind and is a show-stealing in-ring performer. Meanwhile, Cena toes the company line, and is a perfect example of a Superstar who has mastered the “WWE style” between the ropes.

Like Hogan-Andre, Hart-Michaels, and Austin-Rock, John Cena and CM Punk are polar opposites. It is that dichotomy between the two that makes their rivalry far more interesting than some of the more cookie-cutter feuds across WWE programming.

Cena represents the image-conscious attitude of today's WWE. Punk is the voice of the fans disenfranchised by today's product. Cena is the white knight of the company, the prototypical superhero. He is WWE's Superman. CM Punk is the dark knight, the antihero. He is WWE's Batman. And like Batman and Superman, they have had their share of memorable battles against one another.

John Cena and CM Punk have had some of the best matches of their individual careers against one another. They have the ability to bring out the best in each other, and have proven as much with their matches at Money in the Bank 2011, SummerSlam 2011, and Night of Champions 2012.

In a rivalry between two very different characters and people, the one common denominator between them is their passion to have a great match with one another every time they square off. That passion to be the best is the one thing that every truly great and historic rivalry needs. John Cena versus CM Punk is a defining rivalry for not only John Cena or CM Punk, but for an entire generation.

Regardless of one’s opinion of what is or is not the greatest rivalry in the history of professional wrestling, and regardless of whether or not Cena-Punk lives up to the quality of the others mentioned above, the feud between the current WWE Champion and his top contender is the one that will forever define today’s WWE and stand the test of time.