Cena vs. Orton
2002-2017
Written by Canadian Bulldog
It might surprise you to learn that John Cena and Randy Orton have had more than 300 matches together over the years, including singles, multi-person, PPV, main event and title matches.
Two of the top WWE stars in modern history, Cena and Orton first met on OVW television on January 16, 2002 (they also had a handful of non-televised matches the prior year) - Cena working as the heel Prototype and Orton as the up and coming third-generation babyface. That dynamic would, of course, change considerably over the years.
They even graduated from developmental to the company's main roster within months of each other - Orton on April 25, 2002 and Cena on June 27. However, it would be another three years before they met in a televised one-on-one match (the Eddie Guerrero tribute show on Raw on November 13, 2005).
Although Cena vs. Orton would be a recurring theme within WWE programming over the years, the arguable peak to their feud was 2009, when the two met in five consecutive PPV matches - Night Of Champions, SummerSlam, Breaking Point, Hell In A Cell and Bragging Rights. At the top of their game, the two trade victories back and forth, with Cena winning the final contest 6 falls to 5 in an incredible sixty-minute Iron Man match.
Another four years would pass before the two would meet in a major way again This time, both men were champions and they had to decide which was the better man.
Towards the end of 2013, surrounded by a dozen former World Champions and their respective title belts, Cena and Orton agreed to have another go at it at the TLC pay-per-view. This time, both Cena's World Championship and Orton's WWE Championship would be on the line in a Winner Take All Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match. Orton won the bout, gaining a measure of revenge for losing the previous series between the two.
The most recent clash between these two future WWE Hall of Famers was in 2017 on an episode of SmackDown... though it may not be the last time they face off.