John Cena hopes to be leaving WWE at the end of the year with the Undisputed WWE Championship around his waist, but he still has some challenges to overcome to make that happen. One such challenge is The Viper Randy Orton, and their match at Backlash was full of unexpected moments, including Orton winning the match twice, multiple downed Referees, and RKOs for everyone and their brother in the ring. One of the most surprising moments though took place after Cena’s win, which teased that Cena is already starting the road towards ending his heel turn.
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The match itself started in pretty traditional fashion, especially considering that Orton and Cena know each other extremely well, though there was one hilarious opening sequence that had Cena raking Orton’s eyes and then Orton returning the favor. The pace was more methodical in the early going, and at one point, the two stars traded chinlocks and sleeper holds and got the crowd invested in who would win that particular collision.
Then the shenanigans really began, starting with when Orton accidentally took out the referee. Cena tried to capitalize but ended up getting hit with an RKO, and soon after, Orton pinned Cena for a 4-count, but no referee was conscious to start the count. Then soon after, the referee got taken out again against the steel steps.
A new referee was brought in afterwards, but then he was taken out when Cena had the Championship and tried to take out Orton with it. Orton dodged the charge, but Cena hit the referee instead, but Orton was able to take out Cena and pin him for what seemed like a 10-count. At that point, multiple WWE officials, including General Manager Nick Aldis, raced out to wake up the referee and get the match going again, but they were unable to make it happen.
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Obviously, Orton was incensed by this, and as the match was slipping away, he boiled over and hit everyone in the ring with an RKO, including Aldis. Afterwards Cena was able to get to his feet and hit a low blow on Orton, and then he finally took out Orton to get the win. Orton won the match multiple times, but Cena is still the Champion.
Cena gloating about his win was what closed out Backlash, but then the cameras came right back on and followed Cena in the ring as he listened to the crowd’s assortment of chants and jeers. Cena just listened and then left the ring and held the Title, and it was this point that you could visibly see Cena looking almost disappointed in how this played out, and you could see him getting emotional as the crowd started to cheer “Thank you Cena” as he stood by the ring.
Cena stayed there for a minute and then walked slowly away from the ring, and you could see that he was still emotional as he walked off. Compared to how cocky and taunting he looked earlier in the match, he looked downright shamed here, and it very much seems as if he is already planting the seeds for his babyface turn and the end of this heel era.
What did you think of the match, and do you think Cena is already ending his heel run? Let us know what you think in the comments, and you can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
