John Cena said the United States Title Open Challenge pushed him out of his comfort zone and gave new talent a way onto television.
Cena ran the open challenge through 2015 after WrestleMania 31, defending the title against opponents including Kane, Sami Zayn, Dean Ambrose and Cesaro. Asked about it during an appearance at Tampa Bay Comic-Con, he said the format changed what fans could expect from his segments.
“We got to debut new talent, right? It was an open challenge. So you never knew who was going to come out. It was a match defense every single time I was on television,” Cena said. “During that US Open wave, you knew every time I come out, I was going to have a match, and you didn’t know who it was up against, and you knew it was going to be a televised championship match. Usually they save those for premium live events.”
Cena said the run also did something for the title itself.
“We elevated the US title. I’d like to think we made it a little bit important,” he said. “Anytime you can give opportunity to others, take something that’s not important, make it more important, test yourself. Boy, did I do some crazy moves that I’ll never try again… I got pushed out of my comfort zone. I really enjoyed it. It was a really important project for me.”