John Cena and Randy Orton started their journey at OVW and were a part of the legendary OVW 2002 batch that also consisted of Batista, Shelton Benjamin and Brock Lesnar. It is a lesser-known fact that both superstars were also tag team partners. Cena was an ambitious rookie and Orton was a third-generation superstar who bonded together in the ring. The battles they had in OVW, laid the foundation of their iconic rivalry throughout their WWE career.

Randy Orton and John Cena are two of the biggest pillars of The Ruthless Aggression Era. Sworn rivals for over two decades in WWE, are the two veterans and inevitable Hall of Famers friends in real life?

Hustle, Loyalty, Respect vs. Viper, Legend Killer, and Apex Predator

To start with, both superstars have long been sworn on-screen enemies who have battled on numerous occasions, especially for the WWE World title. On WWE TV programming, John Cena portrays the role of a babyface while Orton is the ultimate heel, two opposite sides of the same coin. Together, they share 30 World titles between them, 7 WrestleMania main events, multiple Tag Titles, and 4 Royal Rumble wins. But, outside of WWE TV programming, they are real—life friends and have a ton of mutual respect.

In a video uploaded on WWE’s YouTube channel on 10th June 2022, he said, “Of all I hear just, Hustle, Loyalty, Respect. He lives his life by those three words.” He further said, “I can say like John, he’s just a mature kid, he saw the big picture early on.”

Despite their complex on-screen rivalry, Orton has often gone away from kayfabe to applaud John Cena. Although he has admitted to not praising Cena during their rivalry, he once mentioned that he wants Cena to induct him into the Hall of Fame. He said, “I don’t know if I’d be able to get Cena to come in from Hollywood to do it, maybe he could do it virtually, I don’t know.” But what is Cena’s response to it?

John Cena shows mutual respect for Randy Orton

Orton’s wife, Kim Orton also gave further updates on the same when she revealed John Cena’s response. She said, “John texted him [Randy] a couple of days later and goes, ‘If I was on Mars, I’d make sure that I would be there for that for my friend,” It is an indicator of John Cena’s respect for Orton.

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John Cena has also praised Orton highly. Cena once said, “For 20 years @RandyOrton has cemented his legacy as 1 of the greatest @WWE Superstars ever.” He further said, “But my genuine love & admiration for him is in his maturity & growth as a human being. Here’s to RKO!”

Which is your favorite moment from Cena-Orton rivalry?

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