John Cena- Randy Orton Rivalry: How Many Times Has Randy Orton RKO’ed John Cena?

John Cena and Randy Orton have become absolute legends in the world of WWF/WWE. Both of them have stayed dominant forces throughout the Attitude Era, Ruthless Aggression era, the PG era to the present. The two real life best friends however, have almost always found themselves on the opposite sides when it comes to storylines in the WWF/WWE.

John Cena was always the hero while Randy Orton was always the villain. Fast Forward to 2025 and the tables have turned. Now Randy Orton is the hero while John Cena is the villain. These two have eaten countless RKO’s and Attitude Adjustments from each other during their feuds over the years. So how many times did Randy Orton exactly RKO John Cena outta nowhere? Let’s have a peek. 

Read More:- Randy Orton and John Cena face to face once again.

Randy Orton’s RKO’s to John Cena

Randy Orton, “The Apex Predator” has delivered 41 RKO’s to John Cena over their careers so far. Notably, these two have encountered each other 21 times in matches. These include both matches for the titles as well as non-title matches. Some even include segments. The WWE have compiled a video of everytime John Cena has eaten a RKO from Randy Orton via WWE on YouTube–

Some notable examples of these include Randy Orton RKO’ing John Cena on a steel chair, on the announcer table even injuring himself in the process. Another example happened when John Cena was about to perform an Attitude Adjustments to Cody Rhodes. However Randy Orton delivered an RKO to him instead. One of the best examples happened during an Iron Match match between the two. Randy Orton and John Cena performed an Attitude Adjustment and an RKO on each other at the same time. There are countless other examples. These show what a despicable and deranged villain Randy Orton was to John Cena’s honorable hero in the WWF/WWE. Orton hearing voices in his head led him to do some really disturbing things to John Cena.

John Cena and Randy Orton’s Present Day Relationship

John Cena and Randy Orton are still on the opposite sides of each other. However, there is a major difference this time around. There is a quote from The Dark Knight (2008) where Harvey Dent says, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”. Well, that quote has become true for John Cena. After being the good guy for being three decades, he embraced his dark side in 2025. 

The villain John Cena has proved to be a despicable one who can do anything and everything to keep his Undisputed WWE Championship. However, a new hero has also emerged in the form of Randy Orton. “The Viper” now represents the WWE Universe and wants to protect wrestling for the fans. John Cena, however wants to ruin it. Unlike the boy scout hero like John Cena, Randy Orton still retains heelish tendencies. This includes sneaking up from behind and RKO’ing his opponents outta nowhere. That being said, he is a truly good guy at present, although how long that lasts is another story altogether.

It will be interesting to see what these new incarnations of Randy Orton and John Cena will do when they meet at Backlash 2025. Fans can expect a lot of RKO’s and Attitude Adjustments in their match as usual.