At TLC, these two legends will write quite possibly the final chapter to their decade long rivalry.
John Cena and Randy Orton were seemingly born to be rivals. Ever since both men landed down in OVW, they were instantly put into direct competition with one another. In the beginning, it was Orton who impressed officials and was deemed "the future of the WWE". As the years went by however, personal issues and immaturity kept Orton from becoming "the man" and it was Cena who in the end won over the audience and became the poster boy of the promotion for the past decade.
Now standing tall as the WWE's two most prominent superstars (with a combined 25 World Championships between them), they again find themselves on the ultimate collision course. For us fans, the Unification match at TLC happened seemingly out of nowhere, but in the eyes of the all-too-familiar rivals, this was something they both felt coming when they both walked away champions at the Hell In A Cell PPV in October.
This is the same curse that has plagued both men's legendary careers in their entire tenures on the WWE roster. Every few years, they find themselves on opposing ends of the squared circle and each time they do, the old flames begin to burn again. It doesn't take much for Randy Orton & John Cena to want to fight each other. No matter how close they've become over the years, there will ALWAYS be that bit of bitterness and tension between them.
Their rivalry first kicked into gear when the two met for John Cena's WWE Championship at Summerslam 2007. At the time, Cena was in the midst of one of the truly great title reigns in WWE lore and Orton, beginning to show a new, darker attitude, would present himself as the champ's biggest threat.
Cena would defeat Orton in their first ever main event matchup, but that victory settled absolutely nothing as the two would spend the better part of the next two years going back and forth in a bloody battle for supremacy at the top of the card. Their I Quit match was brutal and hard to watch. Their HIAC was meant to settle the score, but even the WWE's most infamous structure could not provide a proper end to this decade-long grudge. In fact, it was not until their 60 minute Iron Man match at Bragging Rights 2009, that we got a definitive conclusion....or so we thought.
With nothing else left to prove, this time, it's going to be about protecting a legacy.
When the Unification match was first announced, there were not many fans who were on board with Cena and Orton being the two participants. I have to admit that at first, even I had my reservations. But then I started to step out of my head a bit and take a look at what was really happening before my eyes. John Cena and Randy Orton are the two biggest superstars of the PG era and their rivalry is one of the most well done epics the WWE has produced in that time. No two wrestlers on the current roster have more history and such a rich amount of influence and presence on the current landscape. They are the two most polarizing figures on the active roster. Like it or not, there aren't many other possibilities here more intriguing.
John Cena and Randy Orton both have nothing left to prove to the WWE Universe. They are both two of the most accomplished superstars ever and their personal beef has been settled ages ago. This is the reason why so many fans found frustration with this matchup from the get-go. Why now? Why send these two into each other's path with no real momentum or purpose? These were questions I thought would remain unanswered until the excellent closing segment of this past Monday's RAW.
When Cena & Orton first met in OVW, they were both trying to impress the higher-ups and earn their spot on the main roster. It was friendly competition at best. When they went at it again in 2007, they were both out to prove that they were very well capable of carrying the WWE into the future. And come 2009, they had both cemented their main event status and were now trying to prove who was indeed #1. This time, they will settle the score once and for all. This time, the winner will add a career defining achievement to his already Hall Of Fame worthy list of accolades.
Whatever happens at TLC, I wouldn't make the mistake of thinking of TLC as "just another PPV". Triple H has assured us that we will have one unified champion, thus assuring us a final answer to a question we've often had to ask ourselves over the last ten years. Will the feud between John Cena and Randy Orton ever really be over?
Only time will tell, but either way, we are witnessing history. Take a minute to step out of your current emotional state and let go of your resentment towards the booking (if you have any) and try to realize that we may very well witness something truly special come Sunday. And if this match lives up to the amount of megahype Triple H has thrown on it lately, ask yourself if you'll regret having missed seeing it live.
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