Cena and Orton to meet again on this week's Smackdown
Wednesday 8 February 2017 06:28, UK
John Cena and Randy Orton will renew one of WWE's most memorable rivalries when they go one-on-one on tonight's Smackdown.
The bout could serve as a preview of WrestleMania 33, with WWE Champion Cena set to face Royal Rumble winner Orton on April 2 if he comes through the six-man Elimination Chamber bout on Sunday night.
Cena and Orton were first acquainted in WWE's developmental territories in the early 2000s and have since battled in Hell in a Cell, Iron Man, I Quit and Tables, Ladders and Chairs Matches.
Ahead of their latest dust-up, we look at five of their key meetings…
SummerSlam, 2007
Cena and Orton were by no means strangers before their first one-on-one pay-per-view bout - they'd met in Ohio Valley Wrestling, on Raw and in various multi-man contests, including when Cena and Shawn Michaels captured the World Tag Team Titles from Orton and Edge - but their SummerSlam clash was still hotly anticipated.
Orton, who had put Cena through a steel chair with an RKO in the build-up, looked poised to win Cena's WWE Title when he escaped an STF and nailed an RKO. However, Cena kicked out and retained his belt with an Attitude Adjustment. The animosity between the two, though, was just beginning…
WrestleMania 24, 2008
Cena and Orton have met once before at WrestleMania, in a Triple Threat Match also featuring Triple H. Orton was WWE Champion heading into the showdown in Orlando - Cena had been forced to relinquish the belt in late 2007 after suffering a pectoral injury - and he slithered out the same way.
Triple H blasted Cena with a Pedigree after countering an Attitude Adjustment attempt, but as he went for the pin, Orton punted The Game in the head and covered Cena himself. Cena will be looking for revenge if he faces Orton in the same arena in April this year.
Bragging Rights, 2009
The rivalry was renewed in mid-to-late 2009, with Orton retaining his world title in a straight-up singles scuffle at SummerSlam, Cena regaining the strap in an I Quit Match at Breaking Point, and Orton winning it back inside Hell in a Cell. A Falls Count Anywhere 60-Minute Iron Man Match to settle their beef was then made for Bragging Rights, with the added stipulation that Cena would leave Raw if he lost. He didn't lose.
The Cenation Leader - who was hurled through an electronic wall and cracked with a DDT into the arena floor - triumphed 6-5 after countering a punt kick into an STF late in a thrilling match. Kofi Kingston did help Cena out, though, chasing away Orton's Legacy cohorts, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, with a steel chair after they interfered in the bout.
Tables, Ladders and Chairs, 2013
Orton beat Cena in a Tables Match on Raw in 2010 - but he also had chairs and ladders to play with when he faced his great foe in a TLC Match to unify his WWE Title with the World Heavyweight Championship Cena held heading into the contest. Yet, it was a pair of handcuffs that proved the crucial weapon as Orton retrieved both belts.
The Viper tied Cena to the ring ropes and then yanked the man from Massachusetts off a ladder and into a table after he had loosened the rope and made a valiant climb towards the titles. Orton downed Cena again at the 2014 Royal Rumble after The Wyatt Family had distracted his opponent, the champion pouncing with an RKO to keep his belt.
Hell in a Cell, 2014
A big prize was on the line during Cena and Orton's most recent pay-per-view duel - a title match against then WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. Cena survived multiple RKOs, while Orton shrugged off the effects of several Attitude Adjustments - except the final one!
Cena smashed The Viper through a table with a Super Attitude Adjustment off the turnbuckle to earn a date with the Beast. It would be over three years before Cena and Orton were next in the ring as opponents - a tag-team match on last week's Smackdown where Orton and Bray Wyatt downed Cena and Luke Harper.
What is your favourite John Cena-Randy Orton match? Let us know on Twitter @SkySportsWWE.
Then catch the next instalment, live on Smackdown, at 1am on Sky Sports 5 in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
