In what will come as a surprise to no one, John Cena’s first defence of the WWE Championship against Randy Orton will take place at Backlash on May 11th.
Given that Orton hit Cena with an RKO on the Raw after Mania and Backlash will be emanating from his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, fans expected to see The Viper featured prominently at the upcoming Premium Live Event.
Both debuted in 2002, 31 World Championships reigns between them and having faced off many times over the course of their careers, it was inevitable that Cena and Orton would cross paths once again as part of the Undisputed Champion’s final year. However, according to a new report, one fan theory will not be coming true.
As Cena and Orton have decades of history together, many have been under the assumption that Orton would be Cena’s final opponent in December. However, in an update by WrestleVotes, the upcoming match between the two at Backlash will be presented as “one last time”, meaning that there won’t be any more rematches:
Surprise, surprise: The main event of Backlash is set to be John Cena vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship—billed as “one last time.” This will be their first singles match since 2/11/17, when they headlined a house show in New Mexico.
Cena defeated Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 to win his record-breaking 17th World Championship.
New Details Emerge On John Cena Heel Turn
Shocking the wrestling world back at Elimination Chamber, Cena turned heel for the first time in 2 decades as he struck Cody Rhodes and aligned himself with The Rock and Travis Scott to close out the show. With it being previously reported that John Cena was set to turn heel at WrestleMania, an update has been provided on why plans have changed.