John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena s?n born April 23, 1977 is an American professional wrestler, rapper and actor signed to WWE. He has been described as "the face of the WWE for a long time" and one of the most polarising and divisive figures in WWE (or even professional wrestling history, despite playing a heroic character for the majority of his career in WW11
Cena started his professional wrestling career in 1999 with Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he held the UPW Heavyweight Championship. Cena signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation WWF, later renamed to WWE in 2001, debuting on the main roster in 2002. As of November 2014, Cena has had 22 championships reigns and is a 15-time world champion, consisting of a record 12 reigns as WWE Champion WWE World Heavyweight Champion and three reigns as World Heavyweight Champion. He has the fourth-highest number of combined days as WWE World Heavyweight Champion, behind Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, and Hulk Hogan. He has also headlined WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania on five occasions WrestleManias 22 23 XXVII XXVIII and 29 over the course of his career.
Outside of wrestling, Cena has released the rap album You Can't See Me, which debuted at No.15 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and starred in the feature films The Marine 2006, 12 Rounds 2009, and Legendary 2010. Cena has also made appearances on television shows including Manhunt, Deal or No Deal, MADtv, Saturday Night Live, Punk'd, and Psych. Cena was also a contestant on Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, where he made it to the final round before being eliminated, placing third in the overall competition
Cena was born on April 23, 1977 in West Newbury, Massachusetts, the son of Carol née Lupien and John Cena, Sr. He is the second oldest of five brothers: Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean. His maternal grandfather was baseball player Tony Lupien. After graduating from Cushing Academy, Cena attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. In college he was a Division III All-American center on the college football team, wearing the number 54, which is still used on some of his WWE merchandise. He graduated from Springfield in 1998 with a degree i exercise physiology, after which he pursued a career in bodybuilding and worked as a driver for a limousine company.
Cena was born on April 23, 1977 in West Newbury, Massachusetts,the son of Carol née Lupien and John Cena, Sr. He is the second oldest of five brothers: Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean. His maternal grandfather was baseball player Tony Lupien. After graduating from Cushing Academy, Cena attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. In college he was a Division III All-American center on the college football team, wearing the number 54, which is still used on some of his WWE merchandise. He graduated from Springfield in 1998 with a degree in exercise physiology, after which he pursued a career in bodybuilding and worked as a driver for a limousine company.
In 2001, Cena signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation now WWE. He was assigned to its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling OVW. During his time there, Cena wrestled under the ring names "The Prototype" and "Mr. P". He held the OVW Heavyweight Championship for three months and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship with Rico Constantino for two months.
Cena made his television debut answering an open challenge by Kurt Angle on June 27, 2002. Inspired by a speech given by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to the rising stars of the company, exhorting them to show "ruthless aggression" to earn a place among the legends, Cena took advantage of the opportunity to face Angle. Cena managed to counter the Angle Slam and the ankle lock submission hold, but ultimately lost to a hard amateur wrestling-style pin. Following the near-win, Cena became a fan favorite and started feuding with Chris Jericho, defeating Jericho at Vengeance. In October, Cena and Billy Kidman took part in a tag team tournament to crown the first WWE Tag Team Champions of the SmackDown! brand, losing in the first roun The next week, Cena turned on and attacked Kidman, blaming him for their loss, becoming a villain.
Shortly after the Kidman attack, on a Halloween themed episode of SmackDown, Cena dressed as Vanilla Ice performing a freestyle rap. The next week, Cena received a new character: a rapper who cut promos while rhyming. As the gimmick grew, Cena began adopting a variant of the 1980s WWF logo – dropping the "F" – as his "signature symbol", along with the slogan "Word Life. Moreover, he was joined by an enforcer, Bull Buchanan, who was rechristened B-2 also written B² and pronounced B-Squared. Buchanan was later replaced by Red Dogg, until he was sent to the Raw brand in February. It is also around this time that Cena would wrestle a then 22-year-old enhancement talent named Bryan Danielson. Cena won the match cleanly on the February 8 edition of Velocity. Danielson would later become known as Daniel Bryan and cleanly win the WWE Championship from Cena at SummerSlam more than 10 years later.
For the first half of 2003, Cena sought the WWE Championship and chased the reigning champion, Brock Lesnar, performing weekly "freestyles" challenging him to matches. During the feud, Cena unveiled a new finishing maneuver: the FU, a Fireman's carry powerslam, named to mock Brock Lesnar's F-5 because both moves start with Fireman's carry, with the first victim being Rikishi. Cena won a number one contenders tournament against Lesnar at Backlash. However, Cena was defeated by Lesnar. At Vengeance Cena lost a singles match against The Undertaker.At the end of the year, Cena became a fan favorite again when he joined Kurt Angle as a member of his team at Survivor Series.
In early 2004, Cena participated in the Royal Rumble match at the 2004 Royal Rumble, making it to the final six before being eliminated by Big Show and the Match being won by Chris Benoit. The Royal Rumble elimination led to a feud with Big Show, which Cena won the United States Championship from Big Show at WrestleMania XX. During his reign, Cena came into contention with SmackDown General Manager Kurt Angle over issues arising with René Duprée and Torrie Wilson. The reign ended almost four months later, when he was stripped of the belt on July 8 by Angle after he accidentally knocked him over, thus attacking an official Cena won the championship back defeating Booker T in a best of five series that culminated at No Mercy, only to lose it to the débuting Carlito Caribbean Cool the next week. After the loss to Carlito, the duo began a feud, which Cena was stabbed in the kidney while at a Boston-area nightclub by Carlito's bodyguard, Jesús. This worked injury was used to keep Cena out of action for a month, while Cena was filming The Marine. Immediately on his return in November, Cena won the United States Championship back from Carlito débuting a "custom made" spinner-style championship belt.
Cena took part in the 2005 Royal Rumble match, making it to the final two. Cena and Raw brand wrestler Batista went over the top rope at the same time, ostensibly ending the match. Vince McMahon, however, appeared on stage and restarted the match in sudden death rules, with Batista eventually eliminating Cena. The next month, Cena defeated Kurt Angle to earn a spot in the SmackDown brand's WrestleMania 21 main event match beginning a feud with WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield JBL and his Cabinet in the process. In the early stages of the feud, Cena lost his US belt to Cabinet member Orlando Jordan, who proceeded to "blow up" the spinner championship with JBL and returning a more traditional style belt.Cena defeated JBL at WrestleMania winning the WWE Championship, giving Cena his first world championship.[64] Cena then had a spinner WWE Championship belt made, while JBL took the original belt and claimed to still be WWE Champion, until Cena reclaimed the original belt in an "I Quit" match at Judgment Day.
Cena was drafted to the Raw brand on June 6, 2005, becoming the first wrestler selected by General Manager Eric Bischoff in the annual draft lottery. Cena immediately entered a feud with Bischoff, after refusing to participate in the "war" against the Extreme Championship Wrestling ECW roster at One Night Stand. With Bischoff vowing to make Cena's stint on Raw difficult, he hand picked Jericho to take Cena's championship from him. During their feud, even though Cena was portrayed as the fan favorite and Jericho as the villain, a vocal section of live crowds, nonetheless, were booing Cena during their matches. More crowds followed suit during Cena's next feud with Kurt Angle, who took over as Bischoff's hand-picked number-one contender after Cena defeated Jericho in a You're Fired match on the August 22 Raw. As the feud continued and the dissenters grew more vocal, sometimes seeming to outnumber fans by wide margins, the announce team was forced to acknowledge the booing on television and began calling Cena a "controversial champion", claiming some people disliking him on account of his "in-ring style" and his chosen fashion. Despite the mixed and negative reactions, Cena held on to his championship through his feud with Angle, losing to him by disqualification which titles do not change hands in WWE – at Unforgiven and pinning him at Survivor Series. The feud with Angle also saw Cena add a secondary, submission based, finishing maneuver – the STFU a Stepover Toehold Sleeper, though named for a Stepover Toehold Facelock when he was put into a Triple Threat Submissions Only match on the November 28 Raw.
Cena lost the WWE Championship at New Year's Revolution, but not in the Elimination Chamber match that he had been advertised to participate in beforehand. Instead, immediately after winning the Elimination Chamber, he was forced into a match against Edge, who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract – a "guaranteed title match for the WWE Champion at a time and place of the owner's choosing." Two quick spears allowed Edge to pin Cena, winning him the championship. Three weeks later, Cena won the championship back at the Royal Rumble. After winning the championship, Cena began feuding with Triple H, which the crowd began booing Cena and cheering the intended villain, Triple H. Cena beat Triple H at WrestleMania 22 to retain his WWE Title. The negative reaction towards Cena intensified when facing Rob Van Dam at One Night Stand. Taking place in front of a crowd of mostly "old school" ECW fans at the Hammerstein Ballroom, Cena was met with raucous jeering and chants of "heck you, Cena, You can't wrestle, and "Same old garbage". When he began performing different moves into the match, the fans began chanting "You still suck". Cena lost the WWE Championship at One Night Stand, with Van Dam pinning Cena after interference from Edge.
In July, Edge won the championship from Van Dam in a Triple Threat match that also involved Cena, re-igniting the feud between him and Cena from earlier in the year. After Edge went about retaining the title by dubious means – getting himself disqualified for which Championships do not change hands and using brass knuckles – he introduced his own version of Cena's "custom" belt, this one with his logo placed on the spinner. Cena eventually won the championship back in a match and arena of Edge's choice: a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at Unforgiven at the Air Canada Centre in Edge's hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada after FU'ing Edge through two tables off a ladder. The match had a stipulation that, had Cena lost, he would have left the Raw brand for SmackDown. Cena returned his version of the spinner belt on the next night's Raw.
On the heels of his feud with Edge, Cena was placed in an inter-brand angle to determine the "Champion of Champions" – or which was the most dominant champion in WWE's three brands. Cena, the World Heavyweight Champion King Booker, and the ECW World Champion The Big Show engaged in a mini-feud leading to a Triple Threat match at Cyber Sunday, with the viewers voting on which of the three championships would be placed on the line.At the same time, Cena became involved in a storyline with non-wrestler Kevin Federline, when he began appearing on Raw with Johnny Nitro and Melina. After getting into a worked physical altercation with Federline on Raw, Federline appeared at Cyber Sunday to hit Cena with the World Heavyweight Championship during the match, helping King Booker retain his championship. 2006 ended with Cena beginning a feud with the undefeated Umaga over the WWE Championship, while 2007 began with the end of his storyline with Kevin Federline. On the first Raw of the new year, Cena was pinned by Federline with an assist from Umaga, although later in the night he was able to get his hands on Federline performing an FU on him.
One night after the Royal Rumble, an impromptu team of Cena and Shawn Michaels defeated Rated-RKO Edge and Randy Orton for the World Tag Team Championship, making Cena a double champion.On the April 2 episode of Raw, after losing a WWE Championship match to Cena at WrestleMania 23, Michaels turned on Cena, costing them the championship in the second of two 10 team battles royals, by throwing Cena over the top rope and eliminating the team. The Hardys Matt and Jeff eventually won the match and the championship. For the rest of the month, Cena feuded with Michaels, Orton, and Edge until The Great Khali declared his intentions to challenge for Cena's championship attacking and "laying out" all three of the top contenders before assaulting Cena himself and stealing the physical belt. For the next two months, Cena feuded with Khali over the championship, eventually becoming the first person in WWE to defeat him by submission at Judgment Day and then by pinfall at One Night Stand.Later that summer, Randy Orton was named the number one contender for the WWE championship, starting a feud between the two. Leading up to SummerSlam, Orton delivered a number of sneak-attacks, performing three RKOs to Cena, but in the actual match, Cena retained the championship.A rematch between the two occurred at Unforgiven, with Orton winning by disqualification after Cena ignored the referee's instructions and continued to beat on him in the corner.
During a match with Mr. Kennedy on the October 1, 2007 episode of Raw, Cena suffered a legitimate torn pectoral muscle while executing a hip toss.Though finishing the match and taking part in the scripted attack by Randy Orton after the match, surgery the following day found that his pectoralis major muscle was torn completely from the bone, estimating at the time to require seven months to a year of rehabilitation. As a result, Cena was stripped of the title by Vince McMahon on the next night's episode of ECW, ending what was the longest WWE Championship reign in over 19 years. Cena's surgery was performed by orthopedic surgeon James Andrews at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama Two weeks later, in a video update on WWE.com, Dr. Andrews and Cena's physical trainer both said that he was several weeks ahead of where he was expected to be in his rehabilitation at that time.Despite his injury, Cena attended the annual WWE Tribute to the Troops show filmed at Camp Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq on December 7, and aired on December 24.
Cena made a surprise return as the final participant of the Royal Rumble match, winning the match, and the traditional WrestleMania title shot, by last eliminating Triple H.Instead of waiting until WrestleMania, the title shot was cashed in against WWE Champion Randy Orton at February's No Way Out pay-per-view in a match where Cena won by disqualification, resulting in him not getting the championship. The night after No Way Out, Cena was placed back into WrestleMania XXIV's WWE Championship match, making it a Triple Threat match also involving Triple H during which he was pinned by Orton. At Backlash, Cena failed to regain the title in a Fatal Four-Way elimination match, in which he was pinned by OrtoTriple H won the title during that match. During the match, Cena eliminated JBL renewing their feud from 2005. Cena defeated JBL at Judgment Day and then at One Night Stand in a First Blood match.JBL, however, defeated him in a New York City Parking Lot Brawl at The Great American Bash in July.
On the August 4 episode of Raw, Cena became a World Tag Team Champion for a second time, teaming with Batista to defeat Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase but failed to retain the titles the following week against the former champions. Batista defeated Cena at SummerSlam; shortly after, he was named one of four contenders for CM Punk's World Heavyweight Championship in the Championship scramble match at Unforgiven. He was replaced by Rey Mysterio, however, after Cena suffered a herniated disc in his neck, which required surgery. Cena underwent successful surgery to repair the injury.
Cena made his in-ring return at the November pay-per-view event, Survivor Series, defeating Chris Jericho to win his first World Heavyweight Championship.The two continued their rivalry up to Armageddon, where Cena retained his championship. Cena lost the championship at No Way Out, to Edge after Kofi Kingston was attacked by Edge, who took his place in theElimination Chamber match. Cena was given an opportunity to regain the title at WrestleMania XXV in a Triple Threat match also involving Big Show, which Cena won.
Cena lost the championship back to Edge in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash after interference from Big Show, who chokeslammed Cena through a big spotlight. This angle resulted in Cena beginning a feud with Big Show. Cena defeated Big Show at Judgment Day and at Extreme Rules in a Submission match by applying the STFU.
At the July pay-per-view, Night of Champions, he participated in a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship, which also involved Triple H and WWE Champion Randy Orton. Cena, however, did not win the match.Two months later, at Breaking Point, Cena defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Championship in an "I Quit match to win his fourth WWE Championship.At Hell in a Cell, Cena lost the title to Orton in a Hell in a Cell match. Three weeks later, at WWE Bragging Rights, Cena defeated Orton in a 60-minute Iron Man match. Cena successfully defended the title against both Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a Triple Threat match at Survivor Series, and lost it to Sheamus at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a Tables match.
Cena egained the title at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in an Elimination Chamber. His reign was cut short after Mr. McMahon made him defend the title against Batista, who won the title. Cena defeated Batista at WrestleMania XXVI for the title, and successfully defended it at Extreme Rules, in a Last Man Standing rematch. Cena faced Batista one more time, winning an I Quit match at Over the Limit.
On the June 7, 2010 episode of Raw, Cena was suddenly thrust into a new storyline when during his main event match against CM Punk, he was attacked by all eight former contestants of WWE NXT Season 1, with Wade Barrett as their leader. Punk, his follower Luke Gallows, and other personnel around the ring were attacked as well, but Cena took the worst of the attack and was carried out on a stretcher. This group later referred to itself as The Nexus.At Fatal 4-Way, Cena lost the WWE title to Sheamus, in a fatal four-way match involving Edge and Randy Orton, after The Nexus interfered. Cena again lost to Sheamus, in a steel cage match, at Money in the Bank, after The Nexus again interfered. Cena, in retaliation to The Nexus, formed an alliance with Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth, The Great Khali, and Bret Hart. They defeated The Nexus at SummerSlam, with help from the returning Daniel Bryan, a former member of Nexus, who replaced Khali after he was injured.
Hoping to end The Nexus, Cena challenged Wade Barrett to a match at Hell in a Cell with the stipulations that if he were to lose, he would join The Nexus. After Barrett defeated Cena, he joined The Nexus, and was forced by the Raw GM to follow their orders or be fired. Cena and fellow Nexus member David Otunga defeated Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre to win the Tag Team Championship at Bragging Rights. Later, he was forced to help Barrett defeat Orton in a championship match, giving Barrett the disqualification win. The next day, Cena and Otunga lost the Tag Team Championship to fellow Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel, when Barrett ordered Otunga to lay down and lose the title. At Survivor Series, Cena officiated a match for the WWE Championship between Wade Barrett and Randy Orton. Per stipulation, if Barrett didn't win the championship, Cena would be fired from the WWE.
Orton defeated Barrett to retain the title, thus terminating Cena's WWE contract. The following day on Raw, Cena gave a farewell speech, before costing Wade Barrett the WWE Championship by interfering in his rematch with Randy Orton.A week later, Cena invaded Raw, first as a spectator, but then attacked members of Nexus, explaining that he would still take down Nexus one by one, despite not having a job in the WWE anymoreOn the December 13 episode of Raw, Cena was rehired by Barrett, in exchange that he would face him at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a Chairs Match. Prior to TLC, Cena teamed up with Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio to defeat Wade Barrett, The Miz, and Alberto Del Rio at the WWE Tribute to the Troops. On December 19 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Cena was victorious against Wade Barrett in a Chairs match in the main event of the evening.
On the December 27 episode of Raw, The Nexus, minus Wade Barrett, announced they were under new management and offered to bury the hatchet with Cena, to which he refused. The Nexus attacked Cena, leaving a Nexus armband in the ring during the process. As the group retreated, CM Punk, who had attacked Cena with a steel chair twice the week before, came to the ring to apparently attack Cena, but instead put on the armband left behind to symbolically announce his allegiance with The Nexus.The next week, Wade Barrett returned to Raw and confronted CM Punk over the issue of who the leader of The Nexus was and who was responsible for Cena's attack the week before. Barrett was placed into a Triple Threat steel cage match that night to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship. CM Punk added his own stipulation to the match saying if Barrett lost, he would be banished from the group, but if he won he would remain leader. Barrett lost the match after CM Punk interfered and ripped off Barrett's armband.
On the January 17 episode of Raw, Cena returned and faced Punk in a match. During the match, a man, who was later revealed as Mason Ryan, attacked Cena. During the 2011 Royal Rumble match, Cena eliminated most of The Nexus, ending his feud with them.
Cena competed in the 2011 Royal Rumble match at the pay-per-view, making it to the final five before being eliminated by The Miz, the current WWE Champion at the time, who wasn't an official participant in the match. At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Cena won the chamber match to face The Miz at WrestleMania XXVII for the WWE Championship.
On the February 21 episode of Raw, Cena replied to The Rock's comments about him from the previous week in rap form, as The Rock returned as the announced guest host of WrestleMania. That night, Cena was placed into a WWE Tag Team Championship match, with him teaming with The Miz, where they defeated Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater to become WWE Tag Team Champions. After the match, Wade Barrett invoked Gabriel and Slater's rematch clause straight away, where they won their titles back after The Miz attacked Cena. Cena and The Rock continued to feud, on-air and through social networks. After weeks of insults, they finally met face-to-face. Cena denied The Rock's claim to truly "love" the WWE, claiming that he used WWE only to jumpstart his acting career, a claim which Johnson angrily refuted. After a brief attack by The Miz and Alex Riley, Cena hit The Rock with the Attitude Adjustment. At WrestleMania, Cena and Miz fought to a double countout. The Rock restarted the match and hit Cena with a Rock Bottom, allowing The Miz to retain. The next night on Raw, Cena, in response to The Rock "screwing" him out of the title, agreed to face him in the main vent of WrestleMania XXVIII, making it the first match to be set up for WrestleMania one year in advance. At Extreme Rules, Cena defeated The Miz and John Morrison to become WWE Champion Cena went on to successfully defend the title against The Miz at Over the Limit in an "I Quit" match and R-Truth at Capitol Punishment.
Cena then began a feud with CM Punk, who was leaving the company at Money in the Bank. Punk was enraged at Cena and The Rock, calling them "phonies", already booked to headline the next WrestleMania, and demanded change. At Money in the Bank, CM Punk defeated Cena to win the WWE Championship, and left the company with the title.fter Rey Mysterio was crowned WWE Champion, Cena challenged and defeated him later that night to become WWE Champion for a record-breaking ninth time only to be interrupted by CM Punk, who also claimed to be champion. Punk again defeated Cena at SummerSlam in a title unification match. After Alberto Del Rio became WWE Champion by cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase, Cena became number one contender and beat Del Rio at Night of Champions to become WWE Champion for the tenth time. He lost it back to Del Rio at Hell in a Cell, in a Triple Threat Hell in a Cell match also involving CM Punk. Cena lost his rematch to Alberto Del Rio at Vengeance in a Last Man Standing match, due to interference by The Miz and R-Truth. After a few weeks of Miz and Truth attacking Cena and other employees, Cena was allowed to choose his partner to challenge Miz and Truth at Survivor Series. Cena chose The Rock as his partner. Leading up to Survivor Series, Cena and The Rock continued to verbally assault each other, reiterating their points for their WrestleMania match, while attacking the "Awesome Truth". At the pay-per-view, after Cena and Rock defeated Miz and Truth, Rock gave Cena another Rock Bottom.
On the December 12 Raw, during his match with Mark Henry, Cena was attacked by the returning Kane.ena then began a feud with Kane, who continually attacked him, crediting his disgust for Cena's "Rise Above Hate" slogan and that Cena would need to embrace the hate in order to defeat The Rock at Wrestlemania. Cena fought Kane to a draw at the Royal Rumble, and then defeated him in an Ambulance match at Elimination Chamber.
After Elimination Chamber, Cena and The Rock verbally attacked each other. At WrestleMania XXVIII, Cena faced The Rock in the main event match which had been building for a year and was billed as "once in a lifetime". Cena claimed the match was the most important of his life and that winning was a necessity, since nobody remembers second place. The match ended when Cena attempted the People's Elbow on The Rock, and The Rock countered with a Rock Bottom for the pin
The following night on Raw, Cena addressed The Rock, admitting defeat and accepting the loss at WrestleMania; Cena then called The Rock the greatest WWE wrestler ever and invited The Rock to the ring so that he could congratulate him. However, Cena's call was answered instead by the returning Brock Lesnar, who then attacked Cena with an F-5. This resulted in Cena feuding with the Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis, who revealed that he signed Lesnar to bring "legitimacy" to WWE and for Lesnar to become its "new faceOn April 29 at Extreme Rules, Cena defeated Lesnar in an Extreme Rules match.The next night on Raw, Cena was confronted and then attacked by Laurinaitis, who declared himself Cena's opponent at Over the Limit. Cena lost to Laurinaitis after Big Show interfered. Laurinaitis added that Cena would face Show at No Way Out and, dependent on the winner, either Cena or Laurinaitis would be fired. Cena won the match, then hit the Attitude Adjustment on Laurinaitis through the announce table. Vince McMahon then fired Laurinaitis
On January 27, Cena entered the Royal Rumble match at #19 and won after last eliminating Ryback, becoming the fourth wrestler after Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin to win multiple Rumble matches. The following night on Raw, Cena announced that he would pursue the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 29, after which, he would be assaulted by The Shield. The following week on Raw, Cena would gain vengeance on the Shield when he, along with Ryback and Sheamus, attacked the stable. This culminated in a six-man tag team match on February 17 at Elimination Chamber, where the Shield emerged victorious.On the February 25 Raw, Cena defeated CM Punk to reaffirm his status as number one contender for the Rock's WWE Championship. Cena then returned to his rivalry with The Rock, with Cena blaming his personal and professional troubles on his loss to the Rock the previous year, going so far as admitting his own vanity had cost him the match.On April 7 at WrestleMania 29, Cena defeated Rock in their rematch to win his eleventh WWE Championship. The following night on Raw, Cena began a rivalry with Ryback, after he saved Cena from a post-match assault from Mark Henry only to attack Cena himself. During his feud with Ryback, Cena suffered a legitimate achilles tendon injury, while also battling the Shield and facing them in losing efforts. On May 19 at Extreme Rules, Cena retained the WWE Championship against Ryback in a Last Man Standing Match after Ryback rammed Cena and himself into the electric backdrop at the top of the ramp, resulting in a no contest. n June 16 at WWE Payback, Cena defeated Ryback in a 3 Stages of Hell match to retain the WWE Championship, with Cena losing the Lumberjack match and winning the Tables match and the Ambulance match. The following night on Raw, Cena was attacked by the returning Mark Henry, who feigned his "retirement", with World's Strongest Slam, sparking a rivalry between the two. On July 15 at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Cena defeated Henry via submission to retain the WWE Championship. The next night on Raw, new Raw general manager Brad Maddox announced that he would allow Cena to choose his own opponent for SummerSlam. Later in the night, after taking an informal poll of the live audience, he chose Daniel Bryan. On August 18 at the pay-per-view, Cena lost the WWE Championship to Bryan, with Triple H as the special guest referee, ending his reign at 133 days.[220] The following night on Raw, Cena announced that he would undergo surgery for a triceps tear and would be out for four to six months.[22
On January 27, Cena entered the Royal Rumble match at #19 and won after last eliminating Ryback, becoming the fourth wrestler after Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin to win multiple Rumble matches.The following night on Raw, Cena announced that he would pursue the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 29, after which, he would be assaulted by The Shield.The following week on Raw, Cena would gain vengeance on the Shield when he, along with Ryback and Sheamus, attacked the stable. This culminated in a six-man tag team match on February 17 at Elimination Chamber, where the Shield emerged victorious. On the February 25 Raw, Cena defeated CM Punk to reaffirm his status as number one contender for the Rock's WWE Championship. Cena then returned to his rivalry with The Rock, with Cena blaming his personal and professional troubles on his loss to the Rock the previous year, going so far as admitting his own vanity had cost him the match.On April 7 at WrestleMania 29, Cena defeated Rock in their rematch to win his eleventh WWE Championship.The following night on Raw, Cena began a rivalry with Ryback, after he saved Cena from a post-match assault from Mark Henry only to attack Cena himself.During his feud with Ryback, Cena suffered a legitimate achilles tendon injury,while also battling the Shield and facing them in losing effort On May 19 at Extreme Rules, Cena retained the WWE Championship against Ryback in a Last Man Standing Match after Ryback rammed Cena and himself into the electric backdrop at the top of the ramp, resulting in a no contest. On June 16 at WWE Payback, Cena defeated Ryback in a 3 Stages of Hell match to retain the WWE Championship, with Cena losing the Lumberjack match and winning the Tables match and the Ambulance match. The following night on Raw, Cena was attacked by the returning Mark Henry, who feigned his "retirement", with World's Strongest Slam, sparking a rivalry between the two. On July 15 at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Cena defeated Henry via submission to retain the WWE ChampionshipThe next night on Raw, new Raw general manager Brad Maddox announced that he would allow Cena to choose his own opponent for SummerSlam. Later in the night, after taking an informal poll of the live audience, he chose Daniel Bryan. On August 18 at the pay-per-view, Cena lost the WWE Championship to Bryan, with Triple H as the special guest referee, ending his reign at 133 days. The following night on Raw, Cena announced that he would undergo surgery for a triceps tear and would be out for four to six months.On the October 7 episode of Raw, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero announced that Cena would be returning at Hell in a Cell, to face Alberto Del Rio for his World Heavyweight Championship.Cena went on to defeat Del Rio at the pay-per-view on October 27, to win his third World Heavyweight title. The following night on Raw, Cena defeated Damien Sandow in his first title defense after Sandow attacked Cena before the match and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. Cena successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Del Rio at Survivor Series.
On the November 25 edition of Raw, Cena suggested that there only be "one champion" in WWE, so Triple H stated there would be a unification match between him and Randy Orton at the TLC pay-per-view. Cena went on to lose the match to Orton, losing the World Heavyweight Championship in the process. Stephanie McMahon announced a rematch, in which Orton would defend the WWE World Heavyweight title against Cena at the Royal Rumble. Orton defeated Cena at the Rumble following a distraction by The Wyatt Family. Cena was then attacked after the match by the Wyatts. The following night on Raw, Cena teamed up with Sheamus and Bryan to defeat The Shield via disqualification by the Wyatt Family and was qualified to compete in an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Elimination Chamber 2014. The next night on Raw, The Wyatts interfered in the main event John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Sheamus vs. The Shield attacking Cena again therefore giving the win to the latter's team by DQ. At Elimination Chamber, the Wyatts cost Cena the match once again which led to Orton pinning him for elimination.
After Elimination Chamber, Wyatt accepted Cena's challenge for a WrestleMania match, Wyatt wanted to prove that Cena's heroic act was a facade characteristic of "this era of lies" while further wanting to turn Cena into a "monster. At WrestleMania XXX, Cena successfully resisted the urge to become a "monster" and overcame interference from Harper and Rowan to defeat Wyatt. The feud continued after WrestleMania based on the story that Wyatt was capturing Cena's fanbase, which was exemplified by Wyatt leading a children's choir to the ring on the April 28 episode of Raw, with the children later putting on sheep masks.At Extreme Rules, Wyatt defeated Cena in a steel cage match, after repeated interference from the rest of the Wyatt Family and a demonic child Cena's feud with Wyatt continued with a Last Man Standing match being set up for Payback. At the pay-per-view, Cena buried Wyatt under multiple equipment cases to win the match.
The next night on Raw, Cena faced Kane after interrupting Stephanie McMahon, who was criticizing Daniel Bryan's decision not to vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Payback pay-per-view. McMahon revealed an ultimatum for the champion; be fit for the Money in the Bank pay-per-view or the title will be held for the first time in Money in the Bank ladder match. Cena went on to call McMahon a spoiled, jealous, ego maniac. Stephanie, in return, set Cena up against Kane. Cena won via disqualification, and was subject to being thrown into the steel steps. Cena retaliated, and threw the steps at Kane. The following week, after remaining Shield members Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns addressed Seth Rollins, they were attacked by The Wyatt Family. Cena came to their aid and was added in The Shield's six man tag team match against the Wyatts, which resulted in The Shield and Cena winning.
The next night on Raw, Cena faced Kane after interrupting Stephanie McMahon, who was criticizing Daniel Bryan's decision not to vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Payback pay-per-view. McMahon revealed an ultimatum for the champion; be fit for the Money in the Bank pay-per-view or the title will be held for the first time in Money in the Bank ladder match. Cena went on to call McMahon a spoiled, jealous, ego maniac. Stephanie, in return, set Cena up against Kane. Cena won via disqualification, and was subject to being thrown into the steel steps. Cena retaliated, and threw the steps at Kane. The following week, after remaining Shield members Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns addressed Seth Rollins, they were attacked by The Wyatt Family. Cena came to their aid and was added in The Shield's six man tag team match against the Wyatts, which resulted in The Shield and Cena winning.
On the June 16 edition of Raw, Cena was forbidden by The Authority to participate in a battle royal for a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but he would instead earn a spot another way: facing Kane in the originally proposed stretcher match Daniel Bryan was supposed to fight, which Cena won and earned his spot for the main event at Money in the Bank. At the pay-per-view, Cena captured his 15th world championship by winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the 12th time Cena then retained the title at Battleground against Roman Reigns, Randy Orton and Kane.At SummerSlam, Cena lost the championship to Brock Lesnar in a squash match, during which Lesnar hit Cena with sixteen German Suplexes and two F-5s, ending his reign at only 49 days. It was announced later in the week on Main Event that Cena would invoke his rematch clause at Night of Champions in which Cena won via disqualification after Seth Rollins got involved. Cena then began feuding with Dean Ambrose for the right to face Rollins at Hell in a Cell, but Ambrose got that right after beating Cena in a No Holds Barred Contract on a Pole match, after which they shook hands in respect. Cena would instead face Randy Orton in a Hell in a Cell match to determine the number one contender to face Lesnar for the World Title, which Cena won by sending Orton into a table with an AA from the top turnbuckle.
WWE Studios, a division of WWE which produces and finances motion pictures, produced Cena's first movie — The Marine, which was distributed theatrically by 20th Century Fox America beginning on October 13, 2006. In its first week, the film made approximately US$7 million at the United States box office. After ten weeks in theaters, the film grossed $18.7 million.Once the film was released on DVD, it fared better, making $30 million in rentals in the first twelve weeks.
His second film, also produced by WWE Studios, was 12 Rounds. Filming began on February 25, 2008 in New Orleans;the film was released on March 27, 2009.
Cena co-starred in his third film produced by WWE Studios, titled Legendary, which was played in selected theaters starting on September 10, 2010, for a limited time, then it was released on DVD on September 28, 2010.
That same year, Cena starred in the children's film Fred: The Movie, a film based on Lucas Cruikshank's YouTube videos of the same name, where he plays Fred's father. The movie was released on the Nickelodeon channel in September 2010
Guest appearance
Before his WWE début, Cena made an appearance on the Internet stream show Go Sick as Bruebaker, an angry, cursing wrestler in
During his WWE career, Cena has appeared on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! three times. Cena has also appeared on morning radio shows; including the CBS and XM versions of Opie and Anthony as part of their "walkover" on October 10, 2006. Other appearances have included NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Fuse's Celebrity Playlist, Fox Sports Net's The Best Damn Sports Show Period, FOX's MADtv, G4's Training Camp with Shelton Benjamin, and two appearances on MTV's Punk'd August 2006 and May 2007, as the victim of a practical joke. He also served as a co-presenter, with Hulk Hogan, at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, as a guest judge during the third week of the 2006 season of Nashville Star, and appeared at the 2007 Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards.
In January 207, Cena, Batista, and Ashley Massaro appeared representing WWE on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, giving the children of the family whose house was being renovated WWE merchandise and eight tickets to WrestleMania 23. Two months later, he and Bobby Lashley appeared on the NBC game show Deal or No Deal as "moral support" to long time WWE fan and front row staple, Rick "Sign Guy" Achberger. Edge and Randy Orton also appeared, but as antagonists. On April 9, 2008, Cena, along with fellow wrestlers Triple H and Chris Jericho, appeared on the Idol Gives Back fund-raising special.In March 2009, Cena made an appearance on Saturday Night Live during the show's cold opening sequence.On March 7, 2009, he was a guest on NPR's quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! in a Not My Job sequence titled "Sure, pro wrestling is a good gig, but when you win, do they throw teddy bears into the ring?
In 2001, between his training in Ultimate Pro Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling, Cena was involved in the UPN produced reality show Manhunt. Cena portrayed Big Tim Kingman, leader of the group of bounty hunters who chased down the contestants who acted as fugitives. The show, however, was mired in controversy when it was alleged that the portions of the show were rigged to eliminate certain players, scenes were re-shot or staged to enhance drama and contestants read from scripts.
Cena was featured on the ABC reality series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, which aired in June 2007 making it to the final round before being eliminated on June 24, placing third in the competition overall
In 2007, Cena was interviewed for the CNN Special Investigations Unit documentary, Death Grip: Inside Pro Wrestling, which focused on steroid and drug use in professional wrestling. When asked if he had taken steroids he was heard to reply, "I can't tell you that I haven't, but you'll never prove that I have. The day after the documentary aired, WWE accused CNN of taking Cena's comments out of context to present a biased point of view, backing up their claim by posting an unedited video of Cena answering the same question – filmed by WWE cameras from another angle – in which he is heard beginning the same statement with "absolutely not. A text interview on the website with Cena later had him saying the news outlet should apologize for misrepresenting him, which CNN refused, saying they felt the true answer to the question began with the phrase "my answer to that question. They did, however, edit the documentary on subsequent airings to include the "absolutely not.
Cena hosted the Australian Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards with Natalie Bassingthwaighte on October 11, 2008 in Melbourn
Cena guest starred as Ewan O'Hara, brother of Juliet O'Hara, in an episode of the fourth season of the comedy drama Psych.He also guest starred as himself in the seventh episode of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana Forever.
Before his professional wrestling career, Cena appeared in an advertisement for Gold's Gym. As a wrestler he has endorsed the energy drink YJ Stinger, appearing in commercials beginning in October 2003, and Subway, for whom he filmed advertisements with their spokesperson Jared Fogle in November 2006 that began airing the next January. For a time in 2007 he also endorsed two "signature collections" of energy drinks and energy bars sold by American Body Builders. In 2008, Cena filmed a commercial as part of Gillette's "Young Guns" NASCAR campaign
In 2009, Cena expanded his relationship with Gillette by introducing a new online campaign called "Be A Superstar" featuring himself alongside fellow WWE wrestlers Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes. The campaign features motivational videos.
For the extent of his WWE career, Cena's attire has attempted to reflect the most current fashions and stylings within the hip hop culture that his character represents. Cena started out wearing "throwback jerseys" until WWE produced specific Cena merchandise which he began wearing. While Cena was a member of the SmackDown! brand, one of his WWE produced t-shirts bore the suggestive spoonerism "Ruck Fules". Whenever it appeared on television the image was censored, not by the network, but by WWE to sell more shirts under the premise that it was "too hot for TV. He also wore a chain with a large padlock, occasionally using it as a weapon, until WrestleMania 21, when it was replaced with a chromed and diamond studded "Chain Gang" spinner medallion—reminiscent of the ones worn by members of G-Unit—matching his spinner title belt
Around the time The Marine was released, Cena began wearing attire more military related, including camouflage shorts, dog tags, a Marine soldier cap and a WWE produced shirt with the legend "Chain Gang Assault Battalion Shortly after WrestleMania 23, when promotion for The Marine ended, the military attire diminished and was replaced with apparel bearing his new slogan "American Made Muscle" along with denim shorts, not seen since he was a member of the SmackDown roster. He then wore shirts that promoted Cenation and his trademark line "You Can't See Me." From late 2011 until Wrestlemania XXVIII, Cena again switched to camo shorts honoring the U.S. Armed Forces, to coinincide with his black "Rise Above Hate" T-shirt promoting WWE's "Be a Star" anti-bullying campaign. On September 16, 2012, Cena débuted a new pink and black t-shirt and cap combo with the phrase "Rise Above Cancer" that he wore through October in partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure in honor of breast cancer awareness month.
In addition to his wrestling career, Cena is a rapper and a hip hop musician. Cena performed his fifth WWE theme song, "Basic Thugonomics," himself, and it was featured on the WWE soundtrack album WWE Originals. He also recorded a song,"Untouchables", for the company's next soundtrack album WWE ThemeAddict: The Music, Vol. 6. He collaborated on the song H-U-S-T-L-E remix along with Murs, E-40, and Chingo Bling.
Cena's début album, You Can't See Me, was recorded with his cousin Tha Trademarc. It features, amongst other songs, his entrance theme, "The Time is Now", and the single "Bad, Bad Man", for which a music video was made that parodied 1980s culture, including the television show The A-Team. A video was also made for the second single, "Right Now," and premiered on the August 8 Raw. Cena and Tha Trademarc were later featured on a track by The Perceptionists named "Champion Scratch." Cena will appear on Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins' upcoming album Still Cool featuring other guests.
In October 2014, Cena was featured on two songs with rapper Wiz Khalifa for his two singles "All Day" and "Breaks" for the soundtrack to the WWE 2K15 video game.
Randall Keith Randy Orton born April 1, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to WWE. He is a 12-time world champion, holding the WWE Championship eight times and the World Heavyweight Championship four times, and was the final holder of the World Heavyweight Championship before it was unified with the WWE Championship to create the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Orton is a third-generation professional wrestler his grandfather Bob Orton, Sr. his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton, and his uncle Barry Orton all competed in the professional wrestling business. Before being promoted to the main World Wrestling Federation WWF now WWE roster, Orton trained in and wrestled for Mid-Missouri Wrestling Association-Southern Illinois Conference Wrestling for a month. He was then sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling OVW where he held the OVW Hardcore Championship twice.
After signing with WWF, Orton became a member of the stable Evolution, which quickly led to a WWE Intercontinental Championship reign, his first title with the company. He also acquired the moniker "The Legend Killer" during a storyline where he began disrespecting physically attacking WWE Hall of Famers and wrestling veterans. At age 24, he became the youngest person ever to hold the World Heavyweight Championship. With this win, he departed from Evolution and a feud with his former stablemates began. In 2006, Orton joined forces with Edge in a tag team known as Rated-RKO. Together, they held the World Tag Team Championship.
After Rated-RKO disbanded in mid 2007 Orton gained two WWE Championship reigns in one night. He formed the group The Legacy with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase in 2008. It disbanded in 2010 and Orton returned to singles competition. In 2013 he aligned with The Authority, who named him the "face of the WWE". Overall, he has won 14 total championships in WWE. He is also the winner of the 2009 Royal Rumble match and has headlined many pay-per-view events for the organization, including WrestleMania XXV and WrestleMania XXX.Orton was born in Knoxville, Tennessee the son of Bob Orton, Jr. and his wife Elaine. He is the grandson of Bob Orton, Sr. and the nephew of wrestler-turned-musician Barry Orton. He has two younger siblings, Nate and Rebecca. Knowing from experience the hardships of life as a professional wrestler, Orton's parents tried to convince him to stay away from the business, and his father warned him that life in the ring meant a life on the road and away from family. Orton attended Hazelwood Central High School, where he was an amateur wrestler.
Military career
After graduating from high school in 1998 Orton enlisted with the United States Marine Corps. At the base, he received a bad conduct discharge a year later after Deserting on two separate occasions and disobeying an order from a commanding officer. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Private First Class Orton was tried and convicted under a special court-martial, subsequently spending 38 days in a military prison.
Professional wrestling career
Training
Orton made his wrestling debut in 2000 at the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Association-Southern Illinois Conference Wrestling MMWA-SICW in St. Louis, Missouri, an offshoot of the historic St. Louis Wrestling Club headed by Sam Muchnick. There, he was trained by both the promotion and his father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. He wrestled for the promotion for one month where he performed with wrestlers such as Ace Strange and Mark Bland. Orton also refereed a few matches with World Organized Wrestling, a promotion where his uncle Barry Orton worked.
In 2001, Orton signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment WWE and was sent to its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling OVW in Louisville, Kentucky, where he continued his training. During his time in OVW, Orton wrestled the likes of Rico Constantino and The Prototype and teamed with Bobby Eaton during a tag team title tournament. He won the OVW Hardcore Championship on two separate occasions by defeating Mr. Black on February 14, 2001, and Flash Flanagan on May 5, 2001. On several occasions he faced Rico Constantino on combined WWE OVW events, and also lost to The Prototype John Cena in a tag match on July 28 in Jacksonville, IN. He also began appearing on several WWE house shows that were unaffiliated with OVW, the first being on May 1, 2001 when he faced Billy Gunn. After taking the mic and promising to beat Gunn, Orton was defeated. That fall he began appearing regularly on WWE house shows, facing Chuck Palumbo, Steven Richards, and Shawn Stasiak, but mostly wrestling in tag team matches.
One of Orton's first official WWF appearances was March 16, 2002 at WrestleMania X8's Fan Axxess, where he was defeated by Tommy Dreamer. Orton's first televised WWF match was against Hardcore Holly on SmackDown! on April 25, 2002. Soon after, Orton became a fan favorite and was placed in a series of matches with Holly. In September 2002, Orton was drafted to the Raw brand, where he defeated Stevie Richards in his debut on the show. Within weeks of his debut on the Raw brand, Orton suffered a shoulder injury leaving him sidelined for months. While recovering, Orton still appeared on Raw in his own Randy News Network segment, a weekly vignette featuring him talking about his condition. The show interrupted other segments of Raw programming, which caused Orton to slowly transition himself into a narcissistic and self-centered villain.
After his injury healed, Orton joined the Evolution stable, which consisted of Ric Flair, Triple H, and relative newcomer, Dave Batista. The group was pushed on Raw from 2003 to 2004, with the height of their dominance occurring after Armageddon in 2003 when all of the men's titles on Raw were held by the members of Evolution. In 2003, Orton spent much of his time helping Triple H overcome challenges for the World Heavyweight Championship. Orton joined Triple H in a six-man Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam, involved primarily to secure Triple H's title defense, and was eliminated by Goldberg, but the stable managed to fulfill its purpose and Triple H went on to eliminate Goldberg and thus retain his title.Afterwards, Orton proclaimed himself "The Legend Killer", a young upstart who was so talented that he touted himself as the future of professional wrestling. He embarked on numerous storyline feuds with "legendary" wrestlers and gained infamy for his blatant disrespect of many older, well-respected names in wrestling history. With the help of his stablemate and mentor Ric Flair, he defeated Shawn Michaels at Unforgiven in the first of many high profile matches billed as "Legend versus Legend Killer. Orton then spat in the face of Harley Race on the April 26, 2004 Raw.
During this time, Orton began using the move that would become his signature finisher, the RKO, a jumping cutter named after his initials. Orton soon defeated Rob Van Dam for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Armageddon on December 14, 2003. With this win, Orton started the longest Intercontinental title reign in seven years, holding the title for seven months.
Orton continued to establish himself as a "Legend Killer" throughout 2004, challenging the semi-retired wrestler Mick Foley. Famed for his hardcore matches and ability to handle excruciating pain, Foley offered Orton a hardcore "Legend versus Legend Killer" match for his Intercontinental Championship. At Backlash, in a bloody match involving thumbtacks and barbed wire, Orton defeated Foley. Two months later at Bad Blood, he retained the Intercontinental Championship against Shelton Benjamin.
In July, at Vengeance, Edge defeated Orton to win the Intercontinental Championship, ending Orton's seven-month title reign. After losing the Intercontinental Championship, Orton became the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship after winning a 20 man battle royal on July 26. At SummerSlam, Orton defeated Chris Benoit for the championship. Orton became the youngest person ever to hold the title in WWE history at the age of 24. Benoit congratulated Orton after the match, shaking his hand for showing the ability to "be a man.
The following night, after Orton successfully defended the championship against Benoit in a rematch, Evolution threw Orton a mock celebration, only to reveal that they were not pleased with his new victory.
While Batista had Orton propped on his shoulders in elation, Triple H gave him a pleased thumbs up and then abruptly changed it to a thumbs-down, which was followed by Batista's dropping Orton to the mat. Ric Flair and Batista attacked Orton in the ring as Triple H revealed his jealousy for Orton's title. He ordered Orton to hand over the championship, but he refused, spitting in Triple H's face and hitting him with the title belt. Orton's break-up with Evolution began a new storyline for him as a fan favorite when he continued to feud with his former stablemates. A month later, Orton lost his championship to Triple H at Unforgiven. Seeking revenge, Orton lashed out at Evolution members, catching them by surprise during a show by giving them a large cake as a make-up gift, which he came out of to beat and humiliate the group. At Taboo Tuesday, Orton defeated Ric Flair in a Steel Cage match. After this, Orton experienced another push, becoming General Manager of the Raw brand for a week following a match stipulation at Survivor Series where he picked up the win for his team by last pinning Triple H in a 4 on 4 Survivor Series match. He continued to feud with Triple H, using his authority to place his opponents at severe disadvantages during title defenses. Orton was granted another chance at the championship in January 2005, but lost a six-man championship Elimination Chamber match to Triple H at New Year's Revolution. On the January 10 Raw, Orton defeated Batista to earn a match against Triple H at the Royal Rumble for the World Heavyweight title. At the Royal Rumble, Triple H defeated Orton to retain the World title.
Feud with The Undertaker and Rated-RKO 2005–2007
Orton began an on-screen relationship with Stacy Keibler and briefly feuded with Christian in February 2005. On the February 28 Raw, "Superstar" Billy Graham made an appearance, in which he advised Orton to "go where no wrestler gone before. Orton then produced a copy of SmackDown! magazine, which featured The Undertaker on the cover. Heeding Graham's advice, Orton claimed he would set himself apart from all other wrestlers by ending The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania. Throughout March 2005, Orton taunted The Undertaker, claiming he was unafraid of him. On the March 21 Raw, Orton turned into a villain once more after he delivered an RKO to his unsuspecting on-screen girlfriend, Stacy Keibler, knocking her unconscious. During Orton's promos, he ran for cover whenever signs of The Undertaker's appearance lightning, darkness, or smoke occurred. When legendary wrestler Jake Roberts advised Orton not to underestimate The Undertaker, Orton performed an RKO on Roberts as well. In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, Orton became more defiant and unafraid of The Undertaker, taunting and assaulting him in the ring following distractions from his father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. At WrestleMania 21, however, the heavily hyped match was unsuccessful for Orton, as he lost despite his father's interference.The following night on Raw, Orton faced Batista, who had become World Heavyweight Champion. Orton stated on-screen that his match with The Undertaker had aggravated a shoulder injury. While sidelined, Orton appeared on Raw and claimed that he was ineligible for the WWE Draft Lottery due to his injury. He was informed by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon that he was indeed a candidate for the draft, leaving a possibility of a return to SmackDown. Orton returned to WWE programming for the SmackDown! brand on June 16, announcing that he was the second pick in the 2005 draft lottery. He rekindled his feud with The Undertaker, defeating him at SummerSlam following a distraction from his father. Two months later, Orton and his father Bob Orton defeated The Undertaker in a Handicap Casket match. The following month, Orton was a participant in the annual elimination match of Team SmackDown against Team Raw at Survivor Series. In the match, Orton was the last remaining wrestler in the match, as he pinned Shawn Michaels to get the victory for Team SmackDown. At the event, The Undertaker, who had been absent since Orton had apparently killed him on an episode of SmackDown returned by emerging from a flaming casket. The feud was finally settled with a Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon, where The Undertaker offered to retire if he lost. On December 16, The Undertaker entered the ring to deliver a promo while one of his druids appeared to be standing in the ring. The Undertaker sustained an RKO from Orton in a surprise attack. The druid revealed himself to be Orton's father, who gave Orton The Undertaker's urn, which, according to the storyline, allowed whomever held it to control The Undertaker. The Undertaker, however, beat both Ortons in a Hell in a Cell match, ending their nine-month-long feud.
Following Armageddon, Orton entered the 2006 Royal Rumble match as the thirtieth and final wrestler, but he was eliminated by Rey Mysterio. Mysterio won the match and a title shot, and Orton urged him to put the title shot at stake in a match at No Way Out. In the weeks preceding No Way Out, Orton made disparaging remarks about Eddie Guerrero, Mysterio's friend who had died a few months previously, in an attempt to gain villain heat. Many fans felt the comments were highly distasteful so soon after Guerrero's death in November 2005. Orton won at No Way Out, earning Mysterio's title shot for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22. General Manager Theodore Long re-added Mysterio to the WrestleMania 22 title match, however, making it a Triple Threat match between Orton, Mysterio, and then-champion, Kurt Angle. On April 2, at WrestleMania 22, Orton was pinned by Mysterio, making Mysterio the World Heavyweight Champion and ending their on-screen rivalry.
On April 4, 2006, Orton was suspended for sixty days for "unprofessional conduct. In an interview, Orton stated, "my conduct[clarification needed] was unbecoming of a champion, which is what I will be again when I return. To cover for the suspension, a scripted injury was devised, where Kurt Angle broke Orton's ankle during a grudge match. Orton returned from his suspension in June to the Raw brand where he entered a rivalry with Angle, culminating in matches at One Night Stand and Vengeance before engaging in a storyline feud with Hulk Hogan. Orton began cutting promos insulting the aging Hogan and flirted with Hogan's then-eighteen-year-old daughter Brooke. At SummerSlam, the two met in a "Legend vs. Legend Killer" match, which Hogan won.After the newly reformed D-Generation X DX Triple H and Shawn Michaels cost Edge the WWE Championship numerous times, Edge approached Orton and asked him to join forces to defeat the team. Orton, whose championship reign had been ended by Triple H in 2004, agreed, forming the tag team Rated-RKO. The two became the first to defeat DX since their reunion and quickly dominated the Raw brand's tag team division to become tag team champions. As part of the angle, Rated-RKO attacked Ric Flair with steel chairs to enrage DX on November 27. At New Year's Revolution, Rated-RKO faced DX in a title defense but the match was declared a no-contest when Triple H suffered a legitimate injury during the match. With Triple H out of action Rated RKO continued their on-screen rivalry with remaining DX member Shawn Michaels. Michaels teamed with John Cena to defeat Rated-RKO for the tag team championship on January 29. After losing the tag team titles, both Edge and Orton focused on the WWE Championship, causing friction in the group. They would lose a triple threat match against Shawn Michaels to earn a title match at WrestleMania 23. They both competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match at the same event, but the match was won by Mr. Kennedy. Finally, they faced off in a fatal four way for the title against Cena and Michaels at Backlash, however Cena retained the title. Their alliance was effectively ended once Edge was drafted to Smackdown. Orton then continued his Legend Killer" persona, attacking Shawn Michaels. Using frequent attacks to the head, including an elevated DDT and a running punt to the face, Orton defeated Michaels at Judgment Day. When the kayfabe wounded and concussed Michaels collapsed in the ring, the referee was forced to stop the match and award Orton the victory. Orton continued his attacks when he engaged himself in feuds with Rob Van Dam Ric Flair Dusty Rhodes and Sgt. Slaughter.
On the July 23 Raw, Orton was named number one contender for John Cena's WWE Championship . Three times before their scheduled bout at SummerSlam, Orton assaulted Cena with the RKO. Orton lost the title match when Cena pinned him after an FU. The next night on Raw, Orton demanded a rematch, but Raw General Manager William Regal denied him. He then appealed to Mr. McMahon, who offered him the shot if he "proved himself". That night Orton interfered in Cena's match, assaulting him before kicking his father, who was at ringside, in the head. McMahon granted Orton his rematch at Unforgiven, which he won by disqualification when Cena refused to stop punching him in the corner. Cena retained the championship because titles cannot change hands by disqualification. After the match, Cena's father, who was again at ringside, kicked Orton in the head. The next night on Raw, Orton defeated Cena's father by DQ, then hit him with an RKO, while Cena was handcuffed to the ropes.
At the beginning of No Mercy, Mr. McMahon awarded Orton the WWE Championship after Cena vacated it due to injury the previous week, cutting their feud short. Orton lost the title to Triple H in the opening match. In the main event, Orton defeated Triple H in a Last Man Standing match to regain the title.
Orton then restarted his feud with Shawn Michaels, who returned on the October 8 Raw and Superkicked him. Michaels was chosen by fan voting over Jeff Hardy and Mr. Kennedy to meet Orton in a title match at Cyber Sunday. Orton was disqualified when he low blowed Michaels but retained the title. Orton won a rematch at Survivor Series after hitting Michaels with the RKO. Per stipulation, if Michaels had used Sweet Chin Music, he'd have lost and never had another chance at the title, and if Orton was disqualified, he would have lost the title.
Orton then feuded with Jeff Hardy, and defeated him in a title match at the Royal Rumble. He then restarted his feud with John Cena, who had returned from injury to win the 2008 Royal Rumble match. Instead of taking his title shot at WrestleMania XXIV, as Rumble winners typically do, Cena took it at No Way Out and defeated Orton, who intentionally got himself disqualified to retain the title. At WrestleMania, Orton retained the WWE Championship in a Triple Threat match over Cena and Triple H, by pinning Cena after Triple H Pedigreed him.
The next month, at Backlash, Orton lost the title to Triple H in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match, also including Cena and John "Bradshaw" Layfield. After failing to win it back at Judgment Day Orton faced Triple H for it in a Last Man Standing match at One Night Stand, which he lost when Triple H countered an RKO by throwing him over the top rope, breaking his clavicle. During this time, Orton gained a new nickname, "The Viper" and new entrance theme, "Voices", performed by the band Rev Theory. Shortly before he was to return from his injury, Orton was reinjured in a motorcycle accident. He returned to Raw on September 1, criticizing all the champions, including World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, who he berated and slapped for letting Cryme Tyme steal their belts. This inspired them to try to gain Orton's respect. They achieved this at Unforgiven when, with new stablemate Manu, they assaulted World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, forcing him to vacate his title before his scheduled defense that night. Orton returned to the ring on the November 3 Raw, losing to Punk by disqualification when DiBiase interfered. In retaliation, Orton punted DiBiase in the head. On the December 1 Raw, Orton proposed that he, Rhodes and Manu form an alliance. The stable, called The Legacy, debuted the next week, defeating Batista and Triple H, Orton's former Evolution stablemates, in a three-on-two handicap match.
Orton began feuding with the McMahon family on the January 19, 2009 edition of Raw when he confronted both Mr. McMahon and Stephanie, claiming that he was worth more than her, and that she had become "worthless". This infuriated Mr. McMahon, who demanded that Orton apologize, or he'd terminate him on the spot. As Mr. McMahon was about to fire him, Orton attacked him and viciously punted him in the head, leading to him being carried out of the arena on a stretcher. On January 25, Orton won the Royal Rumble match, last eliminating Triple H.
The next night on Raw, Orton claimed that he suffered from IED, and that he was not responsible for his actions towards Mr. McMahon, claiming that he suffered a "loss of control" because of the disorder. He also claimed that WWE knew of the condition, but did nothing, and threatened to sue WWE for that reason, and also, if Stephanie were to fire him, threatened a second lawsuit for breach of contract, due to the fact that he was legally entitled to compete at WrestleMania because he won the Royal Rumble. Though Stephanie teased firing Orton, she changed her mind and said she had "bigger plans leading to Shane McMahon returning to Raw and viciously attacking Orton. This lead to Orton facing Shane in a No Holds Barred match at No Way Out, which he won. The next night on Raw, Orton faced Shane again in an unsanctioned match, which ended in a no-contest when he punted Shane in the head, thus rendering him unable to continue the match. Stephanie then ran down to the ring to tend to her brother, but Orton hit her with an RKO. This drew Triple H into the feud, who claimed that Orton "crossed the line" when he attacked Stephanie, his real-life wife. Later, Orton claimed that everything he had done was part of a plan to get revenge on Triple H after he kicked him out of Evolution; according to Orton, Triple H "ruined his life", so Orton was going to do the same and take everything that Triple H cared about away from him. He challenged Triple H for the WWE title at WrestleMania XXV, which he was unsuccessful. He won it the next month at Backlash by pinning Triple H in a special six-man tag match between The Legacy and Triple H, Batista and Shane McMahon. At Extreme Rules, he lost the title to Batista in a Steel Cage match. The following night on Raw, Orton and Legacy attacked Batista and broke his arm, forcing him to vacate the title.
On the June 15 Raw, Orton regained the title in a Fatal Four Way match, over Triple H, John Cena and The Big Show. He lost the title to John Cena in an "I Quit" match at Breaking Point. He then regained it from Cena in a Hell in a Cell match at Hell in a Cell. At Bragging Rights, Orton lost the title back to Cena in a one-hour Iron Man match.
On the January 11, 2010 Raw, Orton won a Triple Threat match, with help from Rhodes and DiBiase, for the right to challenge Sheamus at the Royal Rumble for the WWE Championship. Orton lost by disqualification when Rhodes interfered. After the match, Orton attacked Rhodes and DiBiase. On the February 15 Raw, Orton was again disqualified in a rematch when The Legacy interfered. Orton and DiBiase both competed in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match at Elimination Chamber. DiBiase eliminated Orton after hitting him with a pipe Rhodes gave him. The next night on Raw during a six-man tag match, Orton attacked them in retaliation. At WrestleMania XXVI Orton now a face for the first time since 2005, defeated Rhodes and DiBiase in a Triple Threat match. After The Legacy disbanded, Orton unsuccessfully challenged Jack Swagger for the World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules in April. During a number one contender's match for the WWE Championship on RAW, Orton was speared by Edge, costing him the match and setting up a bout at Over the Limit Orton separated his right shoulder during the match, which ended in a double countout. At Fatal 4-Way in June, Orton lost a fatal four-way WWE Championship match, also involving champion Cena and Edge, to Sheamus. On the July 19 Raw, he won a number one contender's match over Edge and Chris Jericho, earning a match against Sheamus at SummerSlam. Sheamus was disqualified for bringing a steel chair into the ring, giving Orton the win, but not the title. Immediately afterward, Orton hit Sheamus with the chair and an RKO.
Orton defeated John Cena, Chris Jericho, Wade Barrett, Edge and Sheamus in a Six-Pack Challenge Elimination Match to become WWE Champion for the sixth time at Night of Champions.
After defending the title against Sheamus at Hell in a Cell Orton feuded with Wade Barrett, who was blackmailing Cena to help him capture the title. Orton defeated Barrett again at Bragging Rights and Survivor Series After one final match on the November 22 episode of Raw, The Miz immediately cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and quickly beat Orton for the title.
Orton lost to The Miz in a title tables match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs and again in a standard match at the Royal Rumble in January 2011, after The New Nexus interfered, starting a feud between Orton and CM Punk.
The next month at Elimination Chamber, Orton lost the a WWE Championship number-one-contender Elimination Chamber match to Cena. Over the next three weeks, Orton punted and injured all members of The New Nexus, Michael McGillicutty, David Otunga and Mason Ryan. At WrestleMania XXVII, Orton pinned Punk after the RKO. On the April 11 Raw, McGillicutty, Otunga and Ryan returned and cost Orton a number one contender's match for the WWE Championship. Two weeks later, in the 2011 WWE Draft, Orton was drafted to SmackDown and beat Punk in a Last Man Standing Match at Extreme Rules, ending his feud with The New Nexus. On April 29 SmackDown, was in a tag team match with Christian against Alberto Del Rio and Brodus Clay. The following week, Orton received a title opportunity against World Heavyweight Champion, Christian. Orton was successful in defeating Christian to win his second World Heavyweight Championship. At Over the Limit and Capitol Punishment, Orton successfully defended his championship against Christian. In July at Money in the Bank, Orton met Christian in a match where, if Orton got himself disqualified, or the referee made a "bad call", Christian would win the title. Christian spat in Orton's face, causing him to lose control of his temper, kick Christian in the groin and get disqualified. A month later, at SummerSlam event, Orton regained the title when he defeated Christian in a No Holds Barred match. Orton ended his feud with Christian when he retained the World Championship in a Steel Cage Match on the August 30 SmackDown.
Orton then began a feud with Mark Henry after Henry became the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. Over the next few weeks, Henry regularly attacked Orton. At Night of Champions Orton lost the World Heavyweight title Henry and failed to regain it two weeks later at Hell in a Cell. On the October 14 edition of Smackdown, Orton received another title shot against Henry after winning a 41 man battle royal, he was successful in winning the match by disqualification but failed to win the title after interference from rival Cody Rhodes. He then defeated Rhodes at Vengeance and on the November 4 Smackdown in a Street Fight.
Orton reignited his feud with Wade Barrett after both were named captain for a traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match. On the November 11 SmackDown, Orton lost a match to Barrett. On the November 14 Raw, Orton won a rematch by disqualification. His team was defeated at Survivor Series with Barrett and Cody Rhodes being the sole survivors. Barrett then began attacking and distracting Orton during matches. At Tables, Ladders, & Chairs, Orton defeated Barrett in a tables match hitting the RKO mid-air with Barrett landing through the table. Barrett and Orton continued their feud on the December 23 SmackDown, where they brawled backstage and Orton hit Barrett with an RKO onto a car. This led to a Falls Count Anywhere match on December 30 Smackdown, in which Barrett pushed Orton down a flight of stairs resulting in a herniated disc, which sidelined Orton for four weeks. On January 27, 2012 edition of SmackDown, he returned to the ring and attacked Barrett. On the February 3 edition of SmackDown, Orton defeated Barrett in a No Disqualification match to end the feud.
On the February 14 edition of Raw SuperShow, Orton suffered a concussion after World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan smashed Orton over the head with the title belt. Due to the injury Orton was taken out of his elimination chamber match at Elimination Chamber and was replaced by Santino Marella. Orton returned on the March 2 SmackDown losing to Bryan by count-out, following interference from Kane who then attacked Orton after the match. In retaliation, Orton hit Kane with an RKO on the March 5 edition of Raw Supershow, after the latter defeated R-Truth. On the next SmackDown, Orton hit Kane with another RKO before his match. They later brawled as the show ended. At WrestleMania XXVIII, Orton was defeated by Kane in a singles match. Orton defeated Kane on the next SmackDown in a No Disqualification match and at Extreme Rules in a Falls Count Anywhere match to end the feud.
On April 30 Raw, Orton was part of a Beat the Clock challenge to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship match at Over the Limit he defeated Jack Swagger in 4:16 to beat The Miz's time by two seconds. Orton's time was later beaten by Daniel Bryan, thus earning him the title match. On the following Raw SuperShow, Orton was brogue kicked by tag team partner Sheamus during their match against Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio, costing them the match. After the match, Orton RKO'd Sheamus and then he, Jericho, and Del Rio demanded a match for Sheamus' World Heavyweight Championship at Over the Limit, which they were granted. At the pay-per-view, Orton failed in his World title pursuit after Sheamus pinned Jericho to retain the title.
On May 30 WWE announced that they had suspended Orton for 60 days due to his second violation of the company's Talent Wellness Program. Orton returned on the July 30 Raw, defeating Heath Slater. Orton began feuding with Mr. Money in the Bank Dolph Ziggler, after hitting him with the RKO when trying to cash his contract on a vulnerable Sheamus on the August 24 SmackDown. The following week on SmackDown, the two faced off in a match that was won by Orton. Three days later on Raw, Orton was defeated by Ziggler in a rematch, after Ziggler pinned him while holding his tights. Orton and Ziggler faced each other again at Night of Champions where Orton won. On the September 28 SmackDown, Orton was scheduled to face Big Show in a number one contenders match for the World Heavyweight Championship. However, a pre-match assault from Alberto Del Rio cost Orton the match and started a feud. Orton returned to SmackDown two weeks later, attacking Del Rio and his ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez. The rivalry built to a singles match on October 28 at Hell in a Cell, where Orton emerged victorious. On the following WWE Main Event, Orton teamed with Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara to face Del Rio and the Prime Time Players Darren Young and Titus O'Neil in six-man tag team bout that ended with Orton pinning Del Rio for the win. On the November 6 SmackDown Orton defeated Del Rio again in a Falls Count Anywhere match, after hitting the RKO onto the ring steps. The two were then on opposing teams for the traditional five-on-five elimination tag match on November 18 at Survivor Series. Del Rio's team, led by Dolph Ziggler, ended up defeating Orton's team, led by Mick Foley. The following night on Raw, Orton defeated Del Rio once again in a Two Out of Three Falls match to end the feud. On the December 3 Raw, Orton began a feud with The Shield, after he was attacked by them following a victory over Brad Maddox. On the December 14 SmackDown, Orton was once again assaulted backstage by The Shield. This was used to write him off television due to a shoulder injury. Orton returned on the New Year’s Eve Raw, helping Ryback and Sheamus fend off The Shield. On the January 4 SmackDown, Orton announced his entry in the 2013 Royal Rumble match. On the January 11 SmackDown and the January 16 Main Event, Orton was again attacked by The Shield during his matches with Antonio Cesaro. On the February 1 SmackDown, Orton defeated longtime rival Wade Barrett to earn a spot in the Elimination Chamber match. On February 17 at Elimination Chamber, Orton eliminated Mark Henry and Chris Jericho before being the last man eliminated by Jack Swagger. In late February, Orton aligned himself with Sheamus to feud with the Shield. Over the next weeks, Orton and Sheamus saved each other from attacks by The Shield and Big Show. On the March 15 SmackDown, Orton and Sheamus were then allowed to pick a third partner to face the Shield in a six-man tag team match at Wrestlemania 29 an chose Ryback. Three days later on Raw, however, Ryback was booked in another match for the event, leaving the spot open. Later that night, Big Show saved the two from an attack by The Shield and was immediately recruited as their partner. On April 7 at WrestleMania 29, Orton, Sheamus and Show were defeated by The Shield, after which, both men were knocked out by Show.[233] The following night on Raw, Orton and Sheamus faced off in a match to earn a match with Big Show, however, the match ended in a no contest after Show interfered.[234] Orton and Sheamus then teamed up to defeat Show in two handicap matches, first on the April 12 SmackDown via cont-out, and second on the April 15 Raw via pinfall.[235][236] On the April 19 SmackDown, Orton and Sheamus were defeated by Big Show and Mark Henry in a tag team match.[237] The feud between Big Show and Orton led to an Extreme Rules Match at Extreme Rules, which Orton won.[238] After Extreme Rules, Orton began pairing with Daniel Bryan despite their poor relationship to face a common enemy in the Shield.[239][240] On the June 14 SmackDown, Orton teamed with Bryan and Kane to end the Shield's unpinned and unsubmitted streak in televised six-man tag matches.[241][242] Three days later at WWE Payback, Orton and Bryan's poor teamwork resulted in an unsuccessful challenge for Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins' WWE Tag Team Championships. The following night on Raw, Orton and Bryan faced off in a No Disqualification match, that Orton won via referee stoppage after Bryan suffered a legitimate nerve injury. Four days later on SmackDown, Orton was defeated by Bryan in a singles match via count-out. Orton and Bryan faced each other for the third time on the next Raw, but their match ended in a no-contest after both men were counted out. Later that night, Orton was defeated by Bryan in a Street Fight Match after he was forced to submit to the Yes! Lock with a kindo stick applied to the move.
On July 14 at Money in the Bank, Orton defeated Christian, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Rob Van Dam, and Sheamus to win the WWE Championship Money in the Bank ladder match, thus earning him an opportunity to challenge for the WWE Championship at a time of his choosing within the next year. On August 18 at SummerSlam, Orton turned heel after he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Daniel Bryan, who had just won the WWE Championship and had been subsequently attacked by special guest referee Triple H, who also counted the pinfall to give Orton his seventh WWE title. The following night on Raw, Orton was endorsed as the face of the company by Vince McMahon and the newly formed Authority Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. On September 15 at Night of Champions Orton lost WWE Championship back to Bryan however Triple H stripped Bryan of the title the next night on Raw, due to a fast count by referee Scott Armstrong, but refused to give the championship back to Orton. Orton and Bryan faced off for the vacant title on October 6 at WWE Battleground, but the match ended in a no contest after Big Show interfered and knocked out both men. Orton once again challenged Bryan for the vacant championship at Hell in a Cell, where he was successful in regaining the WWE Championship after the special guest referee Shawn Michaels superkicked Bryan for attacking Triple H.
On November 24 at Survivor Series, after successfully defending the title against Big Show, Orton was confronted by World Heavyweight Champion and long-time rival John Cena. The following night on Raw, Cena suggested that there should only be "one champion" in WWE, so Triple H stated there would be a unification match at the TLC pay-per-view. On December 15, Orton defeated Cena at TLC to unify both titles, and becoming the first WWE World Heavyweight Champion as well as officially being recognized as the final World Heavyweight Champion. Orton made his first successful title defense as WWE World Heavyweight Champion on January 26, 2014, at the Royal Rumble, defeating Cena in a rematch after interference by The Wyatt Family. On February 23 at Elimination Chamber, Orton defeated Cesaro, Christian, Daniel Bryan, John Cena, and Sheamus to retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship and secure his position in the title bout at WrestleMania XXX against Royal Rumble winner Batista. On April 6 at Wrestlemania XXX, the main event was changed to a triple threat match after Bryan defeated Triple H, and won the match after submitting Batista to end Orton's reign at 161 days. The following night on Raw, Orton and Batista were each denied a rematch for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and instead were forced by The Authority to team together to face WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos for the title, despite their issues with one another. The title match ended in a double count-out after the two united and delivered a beat-down to the champions. Later that night, Batista and Orton, along with Kane, attacked Bryan before he was set to defend his title against Triple H. Before Triple H could defeat Bryan, The Shield interrupted by spearing Triple H and taking out Batista, Orton and Kane, causing Bryan to retain his title via disqualification. On the April 14 edition of Raw, Batista, Triple H and Randy Orton came down to the ring to attack The Shield after their 11-on-3 handicap match, using the name and the theme of Evolution. At Extreme Rules and Payback, Evolution lost to The Shield. On the June 9 episode of Raw, The Authority automatically granted Orton a spot in the 2014 Money in the Bank ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but he couldn't regain the title. On the July 21st edition of Raw, Roman Reigns attacked Orton, which cost him another shot at the title, causing Orton to retaliate the following week by viciously attacking Reigns and challenging him to a match at SummerSlam. At the pay-per-view, Orton was defeated after Reigns kicked out of an RKO, and delivered a spear shortly afterwards, to pick up the victory. At the Night of Champions pay-per-view, Orton defeated Chris Jericho in a singles match when he executed an RKO.
For Hell in a Cell, Orton asked The Authority to face the loser of John Cena and Dean Ambrose's No Holds Barred Contract on a Pole match. That match was won by Ambrose, setting up a Hell in a Cell match between Orton and Cena. On the Raw before the event, Triple H announced that the winner would face Brock Lesnar for a future World Title match. Later in the night in a 3-on-2 handicap street fight which pitted Orton, Kane, and Seth Rollins against Cena and Ambrose, Orton picked up the win but was immediately Curb Stomped by Rollins. At Hell in a Cell, Orton lost the match after Cena pinned him after sending Orton into a table with an AA from the top turnbuckle. The following night on Raw, Orton RKO'd Rollins thus defying The Authority for not controlling Rollins the previous week beginning a face turn in the process. On the November 3rd Raw, after increasing frustration, Orton attacked Rollins during his Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler, causing Rollins to win by disqualification (but not the title and demanded a match with Rollins to settle their dispute, which Triple H granted in order to keep Orton on their side. Rollins got the win with a backside pin, and Orton cemented his face turn by attacking The Authority before being Curb Stomped by Rollins. He was then carried off on a stretcher after he sustained a scripted injury so he could start filming Condemned 2 Desert Pray.
Other media
In 2004, Orton appeared on the late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, to promote Taboo Tuesday. In March 2007, alongside Edge, John Cena, and Bobby Lashley, Orton appeared on the NBC game show Deal or No Deal. In July 2009, Orton revealed he read for the lead role in The Marine 2 2009 a sequel to the 2006 film The Marine. He was given the part, but after injuring his collarbone, the film's producers decided to go with Ted DiBiase. Orton has a supporting role in the film That's What I Am, a coming-of-age comedy written and directed by Michael Pavone. On March 28 2012 it was reported that Randy Orton would star in Marine: Homefront. On April 3, it was reported that he was dropped from the role due to his past with the USMC. He was replaced by fellow wrestler The Miz. On September 3 2012 it was announced that Orton would star in 12 Rounds 2: Reloaded. In October 2014, Orton became a popular figure on Vine trending clips of superimposed Orton performing his RKO signature maneuver on internet fail victims.
Personal life
In November 2005 Orton announced his engagement to his girlfriend Samantha Speno. They married on September 21, 2007. Their first child Alanna Marie Orton was born on July 12 2008. In June 2013, Orton and Speno divorced, having separated in late 2012.
Orton suffers from hypermobile shoulders. He had a United States Marine Corps tattoo on his left arm, but covered it up after receiving a bad conduct discharge when he went AWOL twice. He was sent home after serving 38 days in a military prison at Camp Pendleton.
On March 19, 2007, Sports Illustrated posted an article on its website as part of its continuing series investigating a steroid and HGH ring used by a number of professional athletes in several sports. That article mentioned several current and former WWE wrestlers, including Orton who was alleged to have obtained clomiphene citrate, anastrozole, and the steroids stanozolol, nandrolone, oxandrolone, and testosterone. WWE has since made a statement on this situation, claiming that the allegations preceded the Talent Wellness program WWE launched in February 2006.
Upon being medically cleared to wrestle after breaking his collarbone in a match against Triple H, Orton re-injured his collarbone in a motorcycle accident. On July 30, 2013, he was attacked by a spectator in Cape Town during a WWE tour of South Africa. WWE stated that the attack was not part of the planned events.