2004 was a pivotal year for Randy Orton. The Legend Killer went face-to-face with the then-World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit at Summerslam. At the time, Randy Orton was the youngest member of WWE Raw’s villainous faction, Evolution, growing under the tutelage of Ric Flair and Triple H. In the main event, Orton pulled off an upset victory by dethroning the Rabid Wolverine with an RKO. As a young WWE superstar with a promising career, Randy Orton had everything that it takes to be a main event talent in the WWE. And so did John Cena.
Orton and Cena debuted in WWE in the same year, 2002. The year also birthed other top talents such as Brock Lesnar and Batista, who debuted on the main roster after completing their training period at WWE’s development territory, OVW. On the same night of Summerslam 2004, Randy Orton met the Doctor of Thugonomics, John Cena, for the first time on WWE TV.
When Randy Orton met John Cena for the first time on WWE TV
In the resurfaced video making rounds on social media, Randy Orton was doing an interview with Todd Grisham backstage. In a typical fashion, Randy Orton went on to boast about his greatness. The third-generation superstar talked about making history.
As Orton continued to shower praise on himself and bask in his own glory by introducing himself as one of the “most talented”, “most charismatic”, and “best-looking” WWE superstars, he was interrupted by his future rival John Cena.
Randy Orton meets John Cena for the first time pic.twitter.com/wSdOZnMHue
— Tungsten Gentleman (@Genghar) February 3, 2023
Orton resentfully stared at Cena as he stole Orton’s thunder and talked about opening up a “shop on Booker T’s ass”. At the time, Cena was on the blue brand, whereas Orton was on the red. History was indeed made later that night, as Orton became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion.
As for John Cena, The Franchise defeated Booker T and won the first match of the best of five series. John Cena’s first WWE Championship win came a year later when he defeated JBL at WrestleMania 21.
When did John Cena and Randy Orton first meet in the ring?
The two legends of wrestling have delivered one of the longest-running feuds in WWE. After meeting face-to-face backstage in 2004, the duo finally locked horns in 2005 in a singles match that ended in a disqualification courtesy of “Cowboy” Bob Orton.
Both men would then go on to face each other on many occasions in their careers. However, Cena and Orton first locked up in a match in OVW in 2002 before they did on WWE TV. In Randy Orton’s farewell match at OVW against The Prototype (John Cena), Orton conceded defeat to Cena after the latter hit him with the “Protoplex”.
Over the years, Cena gained more victories over Randy Orton. The sixteen-time World Champion’s win record over Orton is 13-7. Nonetheless, both superstars are two of WWE’s greatest talents to step foot between the ropes.
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