John Cena and Randy Orton’s Heated Confrontation Leads to Backlash Title Match

Posted By: Ben Kerin on Apr 26, 2025

John Cena and Randy Orton will once again collide inside the ring for a championship, following an explosive encounter on tonight's WWE SmackDown.

The tension between the two superstars escalated as both Orton and Cena made their way to the ring after last week's shocking RKO from Orton on Cena during WWE RAW. Orton initially tried to reason with Cena, suggesting he should focus on other aspects of life, like having children.

Cena, however, quickly fired back, accusing Orton of “parent shaming” him. He explained that he hasn’t started a family because he has spent the last 25 years raising the WWE universe. Cena then mocked the crowd, calling the WWE fans entitled and claiming they had done nothing in life.

Orton responded by stating it was pointless to try to convince Cena to stop being disrespectful. He then took aim at Cena’s apparent goal of “ruining wrestling.” Referring to Cody Rhodes’ theme song, Orton reminded Cena that there is more than one royal family in wrestling, and he belongs to one. Orton declared that wrestling had been his life for as long as he could remember, and he would be damned if Cena was going to ruin it.

Cena interrupted Orton, yelling at him to “shut up.” He reminded Orton that his 14 championships were still fewer than Cena’s 17, adding that when Cena retires, Orton's chances at winning a “real” title would be over. Cena stated that his goal was to erase Orton’s entire legacy.

The tension continued to rise, with Orton ultimately challenging Cena to a title match right then and there. Cena refused, proposing they save the match for WWE Backlash. He explained that he wanted Orton to be at his absolute best for the match, especially since Backlash would take place in Orton’s hometown. Cena insisted Orton should spend time with his family ahead of the big fight, making it clear he wanted Orton to have no excuses when he inevitably failed.

As the segment came to a close, Cena once again taunted both the WWE crowd and Orton, proclaiming, “This is what the ‘last real champion’ looks like.” He then threw the title at Orton before attacking him. However, Orton quickly regained control, delivering another RKO to Cena and posing with the championship.