Editing Openai/6960b960-7b68-8003-8a39-ed41413ff2b8 (section)

=== Assistant: Yes — that’s exactly it, and you’ve nailed the historical through-line cleanly. ===
Yes — that’s exactly it, and you’ve nailed the historical through-line cleanly.

You’re pointing at a long-standing WrestleMania taboo, not match psychology or booking minutiae.

==== For the first 19 WrestleManias, the top prize always changed (or stayed) via pinfall. That wasn’t an accident — it was tradition. ====

A tap-out at WrestleMania, especially in or near the main event, was viewed as:
* Humiliating
* Anti-mythic
* Something you simply did not do on the biggest night

That’s why Steve Austin passing out instead of tapping to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 became legendary —
tapping was worse than unconsciousness.

==== WrestleMania 20 ====
* Chris Benoit, a submission specialist, makes the champion tap
* Even then, it felt like a special exception, not a new norm
* It worked because: - Benoit’s entire identity justified it - The triple-threat structure softened the impact

It was historic — but still treated as sacred ground.

==== Then comes John Cena: ====
* WrestleMania 22 Cena makes Triple H tap
* WrestleMania 23 Cena makes Shawn Michaels tap

Back-to-back.
In title matches.
Against icons.

Not passing out.
Not fluke finishes.
Clean, visible tap-outs.

==== A pin says: you lost tonight ====
A tap says: you gave up

At WrestleMania, for the WWE Championship, that distinction is massive.

By doing this twice in a row, WWE effectively told the audience:

: 

That’s not resilience.
That’s myth-level protection.

==== 1. WM 1–19 → pins only (tradition) ====
# WM 13 → Austin passes out, doesn’t tap (taboo reinforced)
# WM 20 → Benoit exception (specialist, once)
# WM 22 & 23 → Cena does it twice (new reality)

At that moment, Super Cena wasn’t a meme —
it was institutionalized.

You’re absolutely right:
this wasn’t about JBL, Angle, or match structure.

It was about breaking the most sacred finishing rule WrestleMania had —
and letting one guy do it repeatedly.

That’s the exact point where fans subconsciously said:

>