Wrestlezone’s Top 10: John Cena’s Greatest Rivalries

#2 – Randy Orton

The rivalry between Randy Orton and John Cena is one of unavoidable circumstance. Both John and Randy came up around the same time, both started showing signs of greatness around the same time, and once it became clear both were headed for main event glory and world championships, it was only a matter of time before they would collide. Orton had RAW, Evolution, his "Legend Killer" gimmick, and greats like Triple H, Undertaker, and Ric Flair to help put him over. Cena had Smackdown, his "ruthless aggression", and then-modern day heels like JBL and Brock Lesnar.

They took different paths to the top, and it'd be hard to argue that WWE was more invested in Orton during those first years, but once they came together the Cena-Orton feud never really went away. Between the start of their rivalry and now they have had 16 PPV main event matches for the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship. I don't know the exact statistics about non-Cena and non-Orton PPV events over the past 10 years, but I can assure you there aren't many. 

John Cena vs. Randy Orton became the WWE's go-to match whenever something fell apart, the ratings sunk, or creative just couldn't elevate a star fast enough to work with either of them. It's obvious by this year's Royal Rumble PPV that the fans have soured on the two of them working together, but I honestly feel that's more in response to their self-entitled reaction to Daniel Bryan than any animosity towards these legends. You can say a hundred things about the product, and how neither John or Randy are living up to their full potential right now, or how this and that could be better, but the reality of the situation is that I will always watch a John Cena vs. Randy Orton match. It will always be decent, if not good, if not great, and the fans will always care by the time the final bell rings. They are just on that level as performers.