Both World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho and his challenger John Cena enter Survivor Series having overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

One man comes in fresh off some of the toughest matches of his career, having defeated two of the most intimidating competitors WWE has to offer, Shawn Micheals and Batista. The other man returns after three months of arduous rehabilitation from a neck injury that would have propelled lesser athletes into retirement.

While each competitor has proven himself an extraordinary survivor, only one will depart Boston’s TD Banknorth Garden as World Heavyweight Champion.

This battle of resolve was arranged by Shane McMahon during the celebration of Raw’s 800th episode, ensuring that John Cena would contend for the title. It was unclear at the time, however, who Cena’s opponent would be. World Heavyweight Champion Jericho had actually recaptured the gold at the end of the celebratory evening from The Animal, who he had lost the gold to just eight days earlier at Cyber Sunday.

The waters between Jericho and Cena run deep – and turbulent. Nowhere moreso, perhaps, than the stretch winding through August 2005. It was then that Cena defeated Jericho in a “You’re Fired” Match, a match that ended the career of the current World Heavyweight Champion, until his return in November 2007. His banishment from WWE remains a moment that Jericho will likely never forget.

When these two clash at Survivor Series, it will be a collision of steel wills. Which of these determined men will bend under the pressure? And which will emerge forged by the fires of combat as World Heavyweight Champion?