April 25, 2026 - John Cena vs Randy Orton Poster at WWE Backlash 2025 (Image Credits:- X/@WWE)

With Their Backlash Match Announced, Will Randy Orton Be the One To Retire John Cena?

Get to know if “The Viper” Randy Orton will be the one to take the belt from John Cena and retire him or not.

April 25, 2026 - John Cena vs Randy Orton Poster at WWE Backlash 2025 (Image Credits:- X/@WWE)

John Cena and Randy Orton have found themselves facing off against each other once again in their WWE careers. All this started on the Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania 41. John “The Last Real Champion” Cena was reveling in the apologies from the public. Unfortunately for him, Randy “The Viper” Orton would have none of it. He snuck up behind Cena and Orton being Orton as usual expressed his difference in opinion with a vicious RKO outta nowhere.

The drama between the two continued on Friday Night SmackDown, when the two confronted each other once again. The two trash talked each other and John Cena received another RKO for his tantrums. This has officially set up a match between John Cena and Randy Orton for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Backlash on May 10, 2025.

This is CHAOS!! 😱@RandyOrton was one step ahead of @johncena… 👀#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/aVTi087apE
— WWE (@WWE) April 26, 2025

Read More:- Most WWE World Title Wins

Is Randy Orton Going To Take the Title Away From John Cena?

Randy Orton has been declared as the official opponent for John Cena at Backlash on May 10, 2025. With this, the tables have turned as Randy Orton is a babyface while John Cena is a heel.

.@JohnCena will defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against @RandyOrton at #WWEBacklash!

🎟️ https://t.co/pkT3dFs4Aj pic.twitter.com/paPGOBkK5m
— WWE (@WWE) April 26, 2025

Notably, Backlash is going to take place in St. Louis, Missouri, United States on May 10, 2025. This also happens to be Randy Orton’s hometown. Hence, he will be cheered as the “hometown hero” against the villain John Cena. The WWE creative team might decide to give the win to Randy Orton in his hometown. However, they might also want to keep the title on John Cena for a while since he just won it. Hence, Orton might win the match by disqualification due to an underhanded tactic from Cena, like striking him with the belt. John Cena still remains the champion.

This can make further their storyline with Randy Orton getting obsessed for the title. All of this might culminate in Randy Orton becoming “The Legend Killer” again. He and John Cena might finally have an epic match again at SummerSlam or at Survivor Series, where Orton eventually beats Cena and become the champion himself. Cena might appear on the following Raw or SmackDown after the event, and apologize to the fans about his behavior throughout the year, thereby turning babyface again.

This is where a twist happens. Babyface champion Randy Orton appears to apparently reconcile with John Cena. However, he would hit him with an RKO, thereby turning heel, leading to a double-turn in the process. He will be back to being a heel once again, claiming he killed another legend in the process.

John Cena and Randy Orton’s WWE history

John Cena as well as Randy Orton have both become legends. The former has already become a 17-time World Champion while the latter has become the champion 14-times so far. However, the two of them have a notable history of their own.

John Cena and Randy Orton have faced each other 21 times in their WWE careers so far. Notably John Cena has been the babyface in most of these matches while Randy Orton was the heel. They have competed in two Hell in a Cell matches, an “I Quit” match and a TLC match among others over the years. The last time Cena and Orton clashed was on SmackDown in 2017, which Cena won.

Moreover, Orton has lost his last four matches against Cena over the years. Out of their 21 encounters, John Cena won 13 and Randy Orton won 7. They have also tied in one match as per the WWE official site.

John Cena

Randy Orton

WWE

WWE Backlash

Arka Mukherjee

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mma

wrestling

I’m a sports content writer focusing on MMA, WWE and MLB writer at The Playoffs. I have a Master’s degree in Media Science (M.Sc) from my college The Heritage Academy. I got into the sports industry through my previous company where I worked from 2023 to March 2025. I’m a fan of combat sports like pro wrestling and MMA. My favorite part about working at The Playoffs is speculating what can be happening in WWE, especially face-heel turns and results of matches.