#6
WrestleMania XXIV
Randy Orton def. Triple H / John Cena
This match gets overlooked, a lot, mostly because it had to follow Ric Flair's retirement match, and an amazing confrontation between Edge and the Undertaker, which main evented WrestleMania XXIV.
The reason this match turned into a triple threat is kind of convoluted, but it worked to accomplish their ultimate goal, which was to put Randy Orton over both John Cena and Triple H at the same time. Cena made his return in a shocking way at the Royal Rumble PPV earlier in the ring, winning and becoming the #1 contender. However, he decided to cash in his chance at the Elimination Chamber PPV instead, where Orton intentionally got himself disqualified. The same night, Triple H won a Chamber match to earn a spot in the WrestleMania XXIV main event. One thing led to another, and the champ found himself in a triple threat match – much like the one he may end up facing this year.
What made this match good, at least for me, was that I had no idea who was going to win. Cena is always an obvious choice, but Randy Orton was in the midst of a decent title run, and Triple H is almost as infamous as Cena for pulling out the win in high stakes matches. The whole thing was maybe 15 minutes long, but was a fast-paced brawl with a ton of near falls. At any given moment it could have been over. Hunter and Cena traded finisher and signature attempts for several minutes, but it was a surprise punt kick to the Game that allowed the Viper to secure the big win and retain his title.
