John Cena is not only known for his work as a WWE wrestler in the ring, but also for his association with the US title and a custom swivel belt he had in 2004.
John Cena he went on to establish himself as WWE’s Designated Player for nearly a decade and a half. The Cenation Leader has achieved numerous accolades in his illustrious career, including 16 World Championship titles being his most dazzling statistic. Yet another title is just as significant in Cena’s history, and that is the prestigious WWE United States Championship.
The WWE United States Title was the first driving force that would make John Cena a future prospect in the company. Speaking of the past, despite his overwhelming Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick, Cena still hadn’t won his first WWE singles title back in early 2004. However, that all changed at WrestleMania 20 when John Cena won the United States Title. United by defeating the World’s. The greatest athlete, The Big Show. The sold-out Madison Square Garden audience rose to their feet as the young sensation lifted the 500-pound behemoth for the Attitude Adjustment. It was a breakthrough occasion and WWE had identified their hero of the future when Cena overcame his obstacle.
John Cena winning the starry award was the true start of his rise to the top, however it wasn’t until his third reign as US Champion that saw him add a custom twist to the title and introduce his own version of WWE . United States Championship. So let’s dig in and explore the history of John Cena’s custom title, which came to be known as the WWE US Championship Revolving Belt.
John Cena presented The Spinner US Title Belt during the last reign of his young career
John Cena was a three-time United States Champion before winning a World Championship, and it was during the third reign that he introduced his spinning version of the United States Title to the audience. Cena was coming off a huge victory over Booker T in 2004, ousting the WWE Hall of Famer in a best-of-five series that ended at the No Mercy pay-per-view.
A week later, John Cena would vacate the title against the debuting Carlito, with whom he feuded for a month and regained the United States title for the third time on the November 18, 2004 episode of SmackDown! It was right after that, at the Armageddon 2004 show, that Cena revealed his WWE United States Championship swivel belt that had a custom touch of his on-screen personality.
The championship belt was covered in jewels and retained the red and blue color scheme of the proud nation. The belt’s main selling point was its rotating centerpiece, with “Word Life” and “John Cena” written across the center with the small “TM” to the left of Cena’s name and circular side plates engraved with US flags and stars. USA
The belt was short-lived and had a treacherous end
While still the WWE United States Champion, John Cena had earned a WWE Championship shot at WrestleMania 21 against then-champion JBL. The Wrestling God had been an unstoppable force, defeating the biggest names during his reign and being flanked by his faction called ‘The Cabinet’ consisting of Orlando Jordan, Jillian Hall and The Basham Brothers.
The heated rivalry between John Cena and JBL caused the former to lose his US title to Cabinet member Orlando Jordan on the March 3, 2005 episode of Slap. The following week, JBL and his cabinet chastised Cena for ruining the prestigious title’s reputation with his custom-made belt and added insult to injury when he tossed the spinning belt into a trash can, blowing it to pieces. Additionally, JBL awarded Jordan the traditional version of the championship belt right after.
With that, Cena’s custom title saw the light of day in WWE for just three months and has become a forgotten piece in the WWE history books.