Throwback: John Cena debuts his submission maneuver to retain the WWE Championship

John Cena's superstardom began in 2005 when he had won his very first WWE Championship against JBL at Wrestlemania 21 at Los Angeles, California. A couple of months later, he was drafted to Raw where he overcame all challenges to retain his title. Even though he was the face, Cena was booed by the crowd in the arena as the year progressed. Nonetheless, 'The Champ' managed to keep the biggest prize of the company with him throughout the year. However, in what was arguably Cena's toughest match of that year, he was successful in retaining the title.

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John Cena introduces his new submission maneuver

This happened on November 28, 2005, edition of Monday Night Raw which took place at Cleaveland, Ohio. John Cena had successfully defended his title against Kurt Angle at Survivor Series the previous night. He made his way to the ring in order to save Maria during her one-on-one match against Kurt Angle just when he looked to apply the 'Ankle Lock' on her. While Cena succeeded in getting rid of Angle, he was attacked from behind by Chris Masters and then it was a double team as both the 1996 Olympic Gold medallist and 'The Masterpiece' continued to attack the champion. The then Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff came out and announced that John Cena would be defending his WWE Championship against Chris Masters and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat, No Disqualification, No Countout Submission Match. 

In the main event, Cena straightaway attacked Kurt Angle before Masters interfered and the double team attack continued. Both Masters and Angle applied their respective submissions i.e. Angle Lock and Master Lock on each other as Cena had to break them in order to avoid losing his title. Meanwhile, the odds were against the Champ as he did not have any submission maneuvers. In the end, when Angle tried to hit Cena with a steel chair he reversed it with a kick and the chair hit Kurt on the face. An angry Cena then took the chair and struck Chris Masters twice on the leg and then applied the STF as the Masterpiece tapped out and 'The Chaingang Soldier' retained his WWE Championship.

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The Aftermath 

This would be the last title defence of John Cena in 2005. He would then defend the WWE Championship inside the Elimination Chamber match at New Years' Revolution 2006 where he retained his title once again. But this time, Edge cashed in his 'Money In The Bank' briefcase to win his first WWE Championship. Nevertheless, Cena would win his second WWE title at the Royal Rumble in three weeks' time. He then went on to defend it successfully against Triple H at Wrestlemania 22. 

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