Randy Orton will set the record for competing in the most matches on WWE pay-per-view tonight at 177 when he and Riddle take on The Usos at Survivor Series. “The Viper” will break the previous record held by Kane, who wrestled in 176 pay-per-views across 26 years. The 14-time world champion managed to break it in under 20 years and is well ahead of any other wrestler who is still active in WWE (Edge with 135, The Miz at 121, Kofi Kingston at 117). John Cena, who competed against Orton on pay-per-view many times throughout their careers, took to Twitter on Sunday morning to congratulate his former rival.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“Tonight’s #SurvivorSeries achievement by @RandyOrton is nothing short of mythical. I hope @WWE superstars and @WWEUniverse understand just how incredible it is,” he wrote. “A milestone I’ll never reach and ALWAYS admire. So proud of you Randy. Thank you for the inspiration! #Respect.
Cena is currently fifth in the record books with 163 pay-per-view matches and popped back up on WWE programming over the summer for a program with Roman Reigns that culminated in him losing at SummerSlam. He then returned to Hollywood to continue his acting career.
“Words cannot describe how appreciative I am that the @WWEUniverse allowed me the opportunity to return and perform. Thank you staff, superstars, and most of all FANS for giving me an unforgettable summer at ‘home’ with my ‘family.’ The journey takes me away now but I’ll C U soon,” Cena wrote following his loss to Reigns.
“Returning to WWE, it’s a brand new world. A new cast of characters, new direction with the company, new platforms, new environment. There is a challenge there,” Cena told Chris Hardwick in an interview leading up to SummerSlam. “To challenge myself as a 44-year-old to go back, there is an Intrinsic challenge there, a set of circumstances. That’s a good challenge in many ways. My body could tell me after this extended stay, ‘dude, you’re done’ or it could tell me, ‘You’re so far from done it’s crazy.’ That’s another interesting conversation with myself. If physically, I’m slower, I’ve said openly to everyone that I will keep doing this until I feel I’m offending the customer. I will continually go out there and do what I can to contribute and add.
“I don’t want to go out there and be like, ‘Okay, just let him go out there and (do his thing).’ I’m not into that because I know what it’s like to pay for a ticket,” he added. “If I were to get that on this go-round, it’s a humbling and tough thing that I will have to hurdle. If I get the opposite and it’s like, ‘You’re quicker and can do some things better and define a new personality,’ then that’s a new conversation because I do not have much time left and if I want to give it like, ‘let’s really commit to this thing and really go all in,’ that’s an honest choice where other stuff will have to take a backseat.”
