John Cena Explains Purpose Of His WWE U.S. Title Open Challenges

WWE star John Cena has explained the inspiration behind the US Championship Open Challenge, which he held back in 2015.

In 2015, Cena issued open challenges when he was the United States Champion, facing the likes of Kane, Dean Ambrose, and Sami Zayn, to name a few. The WWE legend looked back at some of his most iconic WWE matches in a recent retrospective video, where one match he listed was the clash against Kevin Owens for the WWE United States Championship at Battleground in 2015, and detailed the significance of the open challenge.

"The theme of the US Title Open Challenge, for me was for the performers to showcase what they could do," said Cena. "And I wanted to make it a little commercial, for the person challenging me, because if you were to answer an open challenge, that's kind of how I got my start. So, I wanted to give the same opportunity back, and I think this was no different. Although, Kevin [Owens] had great success in 'NXT,' this was a chance for him to show what he could do as a performer and on a high-level stage. He can do great things. He has such a library of athletic things that he can do. He very much brought the best out of me in that perspective, and I thought this is a really cool moment."

Cena later added how the audience wanted something new from him, and his match with Owens was just that. His US title reign began in March 2015 and ended in September 2015, when he lost to Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2015, just a month after retaining the title at Battleground against Owens.