Preview: John Cena vs Shawn Michaels

John Cena and Shawn Michaels will meet in the first round of our Champion of Champions tournament, designed to determine your favorite champion of the past ten years.

John Cena has been the face of the WWE for the past seven years.  He’s a 9-time World Champion, 3-time United States Champ, and has held tag team gold on 4 occasions.  He’s won a Royal Rumble, and he’s taken home the Slammy Award for Wrestler of the Year twice.  After this year, Cena will have been involved in a World Title match at an astonishing 7 consecutive WrestleManias.  His 380 reign as WWE Champion is the longest consecutive run since Hulk Hogan’s first title reign that began in 1984, and his 947 combined days as champion is good for fifth best all time.

Shawn Michaels is a 4-time World Champion, 3-time IC Champ, and a 5-time Tag Team Title holder.  His European Title win in 1997 made him the WWE’s first Grand Slam Winner.  HBK has won 2 consecutive Royal Rumbles, in 1995 and 1996, and has taken home a record 11 Slammy Awards.  The Showstopper has been part of PWI’s Match of the Year an amazing 11 times, being designated the honor in 1993-1996 and in another multi-year run from 2004-2010.  Mr. WrestleMania has certainly earned that nickname, performing in unforgettable matches against Razor Ramon, Bret Hart, and Ric Flair at the big event.

John Cena and Shawn Michaels have wrestled each other on a few occasions.  In their most high-profile match, John Cena was able to retain his Championship by forcing Michaels to submit to the STFU at WrestleMania 23.  Three weeks later, the two met again on Raw in what would be named the Match of the Year.  This time, it was the Heartbreak Kid who gained the victory after nailing his opponent with the Sweet Chin Music.  Cena and Michaels weren’t always enemies either – the duo were once Tag Team Champions together.  So who’s your pick for the decade’s better Champion?  Let your voice be heard this Friday when the first round of voting begins!