Original subtitles

- One of the great rivalries in the history of the WWE,

Cena vs Orton.

- You have two extremely popular superstars,

both travelling their own path, staying out of each other's way

until we get a collision.

- Randy Orton, RKO.

- I knew that it was time for a new champion to be crowned.

I should be WWE Champion.

- The champ is here.

- Man, John Cena rocked, because there's nobody like him.

- He definitely turned up the volume

when he was out there with me

- It's like a great rivalry in sports.

Red Sox, Yankees, Celtics, Laker.

- He doesn't have weaknesses.

He just oozed confidence and he didn't give a --.

- Orton is walking around like a crazed madman.

- It's legit like good versus evil.

- That's John Cena's father.

Look out.

- That rivalry is truly special.

- John Cena, Randy Orton has become the rivalry.

- This rivalry has just escalated into a war.

- When two legends collide, their rivalry stays pinned

in our minds forever.

This is where we break down the legendary stories behind

the greatest rivalries of all time.

I'm Freddie Prinze Jr. and this is WWE Rivals.

- Orton and Cena have established an amazing

rivalry here in the WWE.

- John Cena and Randy Orton the ultimate heel.

- I think those two guys are pretty much cut

from the same cloth.

At the end of the day, both of those guys wanted the exact same

thing and that's to be the biggest superstar in this

business and I give them both credit for going out there

and doing it.

- The things I look for aren't in the moves,

they're in the emotions.

That's what really gets me and that's what separates the men

from the boys, and both Randy and John knew how to do that.

- John Felix.

[indistinct]

- Dad.

I loved this all of my life.

My wife just found a copy of my autobiography

I wrote when I was eight.

It has a picture in the back of me

playing with wrestling figures.

- Every time there was a wrestling show,

I'd bring John and his brother Dan

between the TV and magazines that I had in the house.

That's how John got exposed

to the world of professional wrestling.

- One, two, three.

I told him I got signed to the WWE and it was like I just got

voted the President of the United States.

"Oh, my God, this is great.

This is the greatest moment in my life."

He is completely supporting of what I do and he understands

how much I love it because it was his passion

that drew me towards it.

- There's Randy.

So big.

- Early on, people would always ask me,

"Are you going to be a wrestler like your dad?"

I got asked that question so many times to the point where

I would just lie and say, "Oh, of course, it's in the works."

You could have never been any farther from the truth.

- Please welcome if you would "Cowboy" Bob Orton.

[crowd claps]

- I looked at what my father did as something

I could never do.

- Look at the strength of "Cowboy" Bob Orton.

- There's a long line of Ortons in the wrestling industry.

My grandfather, Bob Orton Sr. or the Big O

as they called him back then.

- Bob Orton.

- My father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton.

My father made a call, and that was to the office in Stamford.

- Pop that wrist baby, pop that wrist.

There you go, there you go.

- They took a look at me, and they just saw a big kid

who just turned 19 and had possible potential.

I got sent to OVW.

The developmental training territory for the WWE.

- OVW was Ohio Valley Wrestling.

It was originally an independent federation that essentially was

absorbed by WWE to become a farm system.

When WWE would sign a talent, they could develop

that talent in OVW.

- Either way everyone looked at me as, "Look at this kid.

He's coming in.

He doesn't know a thing.

He's got a contract."

I knew that I could do what I was meant to do,

what I was born to do, what I was bred to do,

and that's be a professional wrestler.

- On my first recollection of meeting Randy was at practice

Ohio Valley Wrestling, at and then one by one,

I would see people come in for practice.

Like Shelton Benjamin would come in and walk the top rope

with no hands.

Then Brock Lesnar would open the door, and then Dave Bautista at

330 pounds would open the door,

and Randy was one of those guys

who sauntered through the door.

- Randy Orton out there.

Man, what a knee.

Just took the jaw off the prototype.

- I remember working with John "Prototype".

Neither of us really knew what we were doing.

He was nothing like the John Cena that he is now of course,

and he kind of started gaining our respect.

We realized like, "Yes, he's the real deal."

- If you look at that class from OVW and back in 2002,

we knew they had potential, but none of us knew

that we were looking at the future of WWE.

- Well, this is Randy Orton's debut.

I'm going to wish the kid luck.

- Randy Orton top rope.

Look out.

Crossbody, lateral press.

Could have him.

Hook of the leg.

- Cradle.

- There's two, he's got him.

What an upset.

- Whoa.

- Incredible.

- Randy being third generation, his great look.

He's smooth as hell in the ring.

- I wrestled his father, Bob Orton Jr., several times.

There's got to be some type of genetic pass down the torch

of wrestling ability, instinct, because he's got that instinct.

- One of the very first conversations I had with Randy,

I said, "You have every gift imaginable to be the biggest

star this business has ever seen, and the only one

that can stop you is you."

- Randy, I think he felt inside, "I'm doing my job.

I'm ready to go.

I'm ready to be taken into into that next atmosphere."

- The youngest World Champion in WWE history.

- The Randy Orton era has only just begun.

- I think he was ready to be the World Champion in the ring.

I don't think he was ready to be the World Champion

outside of the ring.

You're now the face of the company.

The pressure being on the road, the constant interviews,

you have a schedule, he just wasn't ready for that.

He was just a kid.

[crowd chaning "WWE"]

- Only a month later, he lost the title to Triple H,

and I feel like it really took the wind out of what was going

on with Randy Orton.

- Everyone talks about when I was younger and,

"Oh, he was such an --.

He was hard to work with.

He was that."

It was too much too soon.

I wasn't ready.

I love Australia.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.

Ha-ha.

- Even from a young age, I told him how important he was,

how good he was, but I literally remember crying

on Randy Orton's shoulder, "Why don't you see what you have?

You're the best ever."

- Randy Orton made it to the top, and there was a realization

that he still had a lot to work on,

but as all that was happening, John Cena was figuring out

exactly who John Cena was.

When we first saw John Cena, he had tights that matched

whatever the sports team was to the town that he was in

and just came out there with a big muscle body

and a smart haircut.

It wasn't until he started rapping.

[John Cena's music plays]

Then the character of the Dr. of Thuganomics was born.

- He was able to turn around and connect with our

audience on a more personal level.

And that's where the magic started to happen.

- Hey, John Cena.

- Hey, what's up?

You got my back?

- Yes, John.

- We cool like that?

- I'd held the championship for quite a long time at that point.

They were looking for the person.

It was Cena.

They picked out Cena.

Cena was the chosen one.

- This is the guy right here.

For me with John Cena, he was the ultimate professional.

- Everybody wanted to be like John Cena.

He was on all the bar keys.

He was the one on all the commercials.

- Is that fresh toasted?

The champ loves fresh toasted.

- He was the guy doing all the make a wishes and all the

things, just ultimate good guy.

- John Cena as far as this generation is concerned,

there's the Hogans, the Rocks, the Austins, Triple Hs,

and there's John Cena, you know?

I don't necessarily agree with the way he does everything.

He might be a little cookie cutter for me, but man,

those kids love him.

- That version of John became someone worthy of a heel

that had the potential Randy Orton had.

This is when the rivalry started.

- You have two extremely popular superstars that are introduced

to the world at almost identical times, both traveling their own

paths until you get a collision.

I'm always right here.

If you want some, come get some.

- I think that at first people didn't fully comprehend the

parallel roads that Randy Orton and John Cena were on.

I don't think it was until those roads met.

- John.

- Randy Orton.

Randy Orton, the opportunistic, no-good son of a--.

- To see it unfold in the ring for the first time was

this ah-ha moment.

These are the two superstars that are defining this era.

- The new number one contender and the man who will face John

Cena at SummerSlam for the WWE Championship, Randy Orton.

- We welcome to the biggest party of the summer.

This is SummerSlam.

- This rivalry takes off at SummerSlam in 2007.

The heel, Randy Orton, the baby face, John Cena.

Randy now gets to dip into his pocket of evil.

- John Cena has been WWE Champion 24

of the past 27 months.

- Both of those guys went into that knowing that,

"Man, we're finning to create history here."

That's the beauty of this business.

- A spirited emotional crowd here in New Jersey.

- This is going to be fun, JR. The reality of this is that

Randy Orton could not only end John Cena's title reign,

he could end his career.

Look out.

- Orton's handsome features bouncing off the canvas.

The hook of the leg.

- It's not necessarily what we do, it's what we do between.

Randy is the best.

His faces, his mannerisms.

- Orton's soul dripping with malice.

- Oozes that same confidence he had when he walked into practice

as he does every time he goes out to the ring.

- Oh, no.

- RKO.

- Out of nowhere.

- Orton got the RKO.

- Cena's out.

If he hits another RKO, that's going to be it.

Hey, wait a minute.

- Cena the power.

- He did it.

[bell rings]

- The party is over for Randy Orton at SummerSlam.

- And the right guy wins the match,

our guy, John, our champion.

And veryone's happy and everyone's feeling good

except one guy, and that's Randy Orton.

Only this time, he crosses a line that you cannot uncross.

- John Cena's dad, his family is here tonight,

home to Boston on a victorious note after SummerSlam.

- Cena was special.

Cena was different.

That doesn't come by accident.

That's the work that he's putting in day in, day out.

Crowd was on fire for that dude.

- Here comes Cena.

- Here comes the champ.

Come on.

Hey.

- Hey, wait a minute.

That damn Randy Orton.

[bell rings]

- Randy Orton and King Booker now double-teaming John Cena.

- You know what, JR?

Look at this.

King Booker basically turning John Cena over to Randy Orton.

You know what Randy Orton has in mind.

Randy Orton wants to kick Cena's brains out.

- Come on now.

- Now, it looks like Orton's going to punt John in the head.

He gets that Randy Orton evil look like something else

is going to happen.

- Saw Mr. Cena.

That's when I snapped.

I just went off, pulled him over out of the front row, boom.

- What the hell?

That's John's--

- That's John Cena's father.

Look out.

- Oh, geez.

Oh, my God.

- When I tell you I was kicked in the head,

I was kicked in the head.

I was knocked out.

- John Cena's dad.

- It becomes really personal in a hurry.

He saw stars, he didn't even know where he was.

It's so real, like this is personal on a level that

we're not used to.

- Give me an ace wrap.

- There's a maneuver that Randy Orton was using

in competitive matches.

Then when you do it to an old man, you're an --

because like that's uncalled for.

That's too much.

- I had blood on my shirt, doctor was stitching up

my head over here.

Orton now has done what every fan out there

hopes never happens.

He's involved family into this feud.

- Randy Orton, the worst dastardly person

in the locker room.

I thought it was absolutely brilliant.

- Personal battles tend to have more weight than just

a championship one because everyone knows what it feels

like to be disrespected.

And everyone has imagined what they would do if their father

took a shot from someone else.

- Is this match about rage and retribution or is it about

retaining the WWE title?

- Now, three weeks later, Cena and Orton

have a match at Unforgiven.

This time, John Cena's father is ringside with the Cenas looking

to exact revenge on Randy Orton.

- Cena trembling with rage.

- Oh my gosh.

- Orton was trying to get away, but to no avail.

Cena may be the relentless one.

- That's it.

Come on.

Ring the bell, ring the bell.

[bell rings]

- Disqualification.

- Ladies and gentlemen, the referee has disqualified

John Cena.

Therefore, the winner is Randy Orton.

- But the title does not change hands on a disqualification.

- Hey, wait a minute.

- Hey, hey, come on.

What the hell?

- No, not again.

- You've done enough to that poor man.

- My father's health and well-being was put at stake.

Randy's done all these evil things to put me

at a disadvantage.

The table's turned.

- John Cena stepping in to save his father.

- Oh, my God.

- John Cena told his father, "Kick the son of a bitch."

That's exactly what Mr. Cena did.

Retribution comes in many forms in the WWE.

- When you think of any classic comic with superheroes,

how the Joker does all these crazy things,

and Batman has to conquer all of them, and I think Randy made

these crazy obstacles for John Cena to get over.

- Cena, your father at your behest got involved in your

match and blatantly attacked a WWE Superstar.

I've made a match, Randy Orton one-on-one with your father.

- It's not worth the risk.

- That championship means everything to you.

Like it or not, I'm wrestling tonight.

- Having to watch my dad face Randy.

- Mr. Cena.

- My dad's not young.

We talk about doing bad things.

That's a bad thing.

- Oh, look.

Randy Orton so vile, just so remorseless

is this Viper of a human being.

- You immediately get why he's the Viper, not only will he take

advantage of you for the betterment of himself,

but he'll take advantage of you just because it's his instinct.

That's what a snake does.

That's what a viper does.

- Oh, for God's sakes.

The RKO to the poor defenseless father of--

- Hey, hey, hey.

- Cena's got--

John Cena took the turnbuckle off.

John Cena able to come to his father's aid, but it's too late.

- He was evil.

That's why he's still one of the most evil SOBs.

He's still the Viper.

Initially, I think that was enough to carry us,

but our stories had some interesting turns along the way.

- As beautiful as it is, this rivalry gets halted.

Cena has a match with Mr. Kennedy.

- Cena shows great athleticism.

- Oh, look at this.

- Cena with the power.

Hip lock.

Arm drag takedown.

- He suffers an injury and it's a brutal one.

- I knew something happened.

Something wasn't normal,

and it hurt.

I didn't know what was wrong.

I just knew something major was wrong.

In the moment, I'm like, "All right, I can go."

And ended up finishing the match I think with

pretty much one arm.

- Cena thinking submission,

[bell rings]

and Kennedy taps.

- Hey, look at this.

- Wait a minute.

What the hell?

Orton just RKO'd Cena.

Orton is showing Cena no mercy.

Cena's helpless.

- Look out.

- Oh, for God's sakes.

- Randy Orton was already a pretty hateable guy,

but as if he wasn't hateable enough, that really, really

showed the crowd how vicious Randy Orton could be.

- I didn't do any further damage.

I protected myself, and I thought I tore my bicep.

- You're going to keep that hand there.

- Yes, sir.

I'm going to get up and walk out of here.

- You're going to stand up

and walk the hell out of there, okay?

- Yes, I can get up myself.

I can get up.

- One, two, three.

- I'm fine.

I remember getting field tested by our doctors

who sent me to get MRI's.

"When?" "Now."

Then they told me that it was going to be longer

than average recovery.

I had a complete torn right pectoral.

It was like clean gone, so the surgeon was able

to find a good way to stick it back and sustain it.

- This young guy is stronger than I am.

All this come out.

Thank goodness.

Thank the Lord with that one.

- That was the first time I'd been hurt to the point

of unable to perform, and it was initially

very difficult for me to conceptualize.

- On Monday Raw, WWE Champion, John Cena,

suffered a debilitating injury.

- You wake up from anesthesia and they say,

"It's going to be about six and a half months for you

to be back"

- John Cena is no longer WWE Champion.

[crowd boos]

- That's when immediately my mind shifted.

Try and slow me down.

I just got to get back in there.

Just got to get healthy.

- Preparation is the only luck you're ever going to have.

John going out with that injury, soon as he went out,

he was preparing to get right back in by any means necessary,

and that's what real wrestlers do.

- Right.

- When you're hurt, is the pressure external

or internal to get back as soon as you can?

- I think for me it was within.

- Time off I think is your worst enemy.

- Because you don't want to lose your spot,

and that's one of the biggest things.

- Out of sight, out of mind.

- You don't want to let your fans down,

you don't want to let your family down, you don't want

to let the storyline down, so you don't want to miss a thing.

- Cena ends up unfortunately on the shelf injured, but during

that time Randy Orton is able to grow and get that much bigger.

- It's over.

My God.

Randy Orton has won the title.

Randy Orton is the new WWE Champion.

- It allowed room for Randy Orton to become the man,

and that just added fuel to this already hot fire between

John Cena and Randy Orton.

- Nobody deserves to be WWE Champion as much as me.

- With a win tonight, a championship match

at WrestleMania.

- This match continues until one man is thrown over the top rope

and both their feet touch the floor.

- Who's number 30?

[crowd counting down]

[buzzer]

[John Cena's music plays]

- John Cena-

- Oh, my gosh.

- -is number 30.

- This is unbelievable.

- The whole setting was so perfect.

You think he's out for four more months.

He hasn't been around, and then he shows up

in Madison Square Garden.

- The music hits, the countdown goes to zero

and Madison Square Garden is just surprised and excited,

and you couldn't ignore their emotion.

- Oh, my God.

It's down to Cena and the Game.

Who's going to WrestleMania?

- Cena's in that position because of who he is.

He really is Superman.

When a normal person takes six months,

I can guarantee you what he thought was,

I bet I can get back in two.

I bet I can get back in three.

I'm going to come back quicker than anybody else.

- Look at Cena's strength.

- It's over.

- And Cena does it.

- He wins the Royal Rumble, and the winner of the Royal Rumble

gets their ticket to WrestleMania and he's going

to wrestle in the main event against Randy Orton

who's the champion, but this is a triple threat,

and Triple H is in this match as well.

- WrestleMania to me is so special because you got 80,000

people live, screaming, on their feet.

Just adrenaline like none other.

- We knew each other well and Randy is a good card to draw.

I want to see what happens.

[bell rings]

- The following is a triple threat match for the WWE

Championship.

- This match was special in the sense that it made Randy

a legitimate mountain for John Cena to climb.

As opposed to the mountain he just climbed,

which was the injury.

This gave him a personal one to climb up.

[bell rings]

- The rules of this one are quite simple.

Every man for himself.

No disqualifications, no count out.

First man to score a pin or a submission wins it.

- WrestleMania is one of my favorite events.

It's that one day of the year when anyone in our industry

knows it's the biggest stage of them all.

- I don't know if even these three superstars

can maintain this kind of pace.

- A lot of people felt like Randy would always be a star,

but just seeing the level of stardom that Randy reached.

It's just cool to see how people grow.

- Orton on top.

Sunset flip like maneuver.

- Orton is just waiting to strike.

He's coiled.

- Randy, he is just really good, and he's good on all fronts.

Some people are beautiful in the ring,

some people lean on storytelling.

He was absolutely born to do this.

- Cena locking in that torturous submission.

- I happen to have been at this match.

I had a thousand dollars on John Cena because

of course John Cena's going to win.

Of course he's going to win.

He won the Royal Rumble.

Why would he win the Rumble if he wasn't going to win?

- Cena can't kick out.

Oh, what a kick.

Oh, my God. What a kick.

Orton on top

- Look at this.

- Orton wins.

[bell rings]

- This match fooled damn near everyone

because the bad guy won.

- I came out as the champion.

I retained the title.

I think they did a poll and 8% of our fans thought that

I would actually retain, so that little swerve was nice.

- An amazing opportunistic maneuver for Randy Orton.

- In order to become someone,

you got to be able to beat someone.

Randy and John, those two being so young

in this business, man, they grasped it more so than any.

- On the following Monday Night Raw,

Randy Orton comes out on stage to start the show.

Walks out on stage,

looks the entire crowd in the eyes and says-

- Expecting someone else?

- Yes, I was expecting someone else.

The fact that he was able to win is what enables

this rivalry to continue.

- I guarantee victory at Breaking Point because

I will not quit.

- This leads to the match that I want to talk about,

which is the "I Quit" match.

- Ladies and gentlemen, the scene is set.

One of these superstars is going to leave here

tonight the WWE Champ, and the other is going to have

to face their peers after uttering the two words I quit.

- An "I Quit" match is one

of the most classic stipulation matches in WWE.

Basically, the only way to win an "I Quit" match is to force

your opponent to say the words, "I quit."

- What can you do differently.

We're in an "I Quit" match.

- Watch out here.

Watch out. Look out.

- Cena bouncing right off the announce table right here

in front of us.

- The advantage is we can go anywhere and do anything.

- I think they helped each other.

Their destinies, coming in together.

John's not the technician Randy is, but they were great

because they were really competing with each other.

- Look at Cena.

- The stakes are higher.

It's an emotionally driven, emotionally charged match

that has the audience at your fingertips.

- Ask him again.

Ask him.

- Do you want to quit?

- No.

- You have these two guys in a match that seems to play

to Cena's strengths, but again, you're going to be able to force

the will of Randy's character where he doesn't necessarily

have to submit John.

He has to beat him so thoroughly and severely that John Cena

says those magic words, "I quit."

- We've seen Randy Orton use handcuffs before in his career.

We know the damage Orton can do.

- Cena had the handcuffs on and they were stuck over

the top buckle, so he's just

hanging there with his arms behind his head and his

abdomen's wide open, and Randy's just torturing him

with a kendo stick.

You can just tell by the expression and the movement

of Cena's body how painful that was.

- Cena, do you want to quit?

- No.

- He said no.

- They could still command so much attention and could capture

an audience like they did.

It was just so great to see it. It was like,

"Wow, these guys are just owning it."

- Cena's got the key.

- Stay still, look at his hand shaking.

- Trembling in pain, but Cena has himself unlocked.

Oh, no.

- Look at this.

- John Cena has handcuffed himself to the champion.

- The handcuffs got switched and his ability to go from confident

and authoritative to cowardly in a matter of seconds.

That's all him.

- Now the Viper has nowhere to slither to.

- Cena and Orton had an insane "I Quit" match

where they actually

at one point end up handcuffed to one another.

This is the kind of thing that happens in an "I Quit" match.

- Cena has handcuffed himself to the champion.

John Cena has exploded, and now Cena's possessed.

Cena punishing Orton.

- Instead of fighting to get the handcuffs off, John says,

"No, dude.

I'm handcuffing myself to you, and now you don't get to go

anywhere, and now you're going

to be the one screaming give up."

- There is no escape for Randy Orton now.

He's locked.

He's handcuffed to John Cena.

Cena finally snapped.

- John Cena.

- Oh, my God.

- Using the handcuffs.

- Look at this.

Look at this.

- Do you want to quit?

- I quit, I quit.

- He did it.

Randy Orton has reached his breaking point.

[John Cena's music plays]

- Randy Orton and John Cena are amazing to watch rise together,

because they're two superstars that would clearly stop at

nothing to be the top performer in the WWE,

but they went completely opposite routes.

- For the fifth time, the WWE title will be defended

inside Hell in a Cell.

- You got to find something new, and I think all those different

challenges helped us because it helped us craft a story

within our story, it helped us take our why

and put rules on it.

This match one person has to say "I quit."

This match is in a steel cage.

Those are really advantageous when you have a lot of personal

gravity with someone.

- Every match we had on those pay-per-views was a different

type match, different styles match, and the title went back

and forth a time or two.

- A punt to the skull.

Randy Orton is the new WWE Champion.

- Randy and John brought out the best in one another.

John is sort of just such a straight professional,

and I think that's something that I think Randy

was able to learn.

- To have them both come up, young guys

and learn and grow together.

John Cena would not have reached the heights that he did

without Randy Orton, and Randy Orton would not

have reached the heights that he did without a John Cena.

- Every single time John Cena and Randy Orton

are in the ring together, the result is simply amazing.

I am talking about for a rematch an Iron Man match.

I love a different construct.

This match is going to go 60 minutes.

It doesn't work without somebody as good as he is.

- This match will test both individuals like

they've never been tested before.

This match proves who is the best overall athlete.

A gut check like no other, but the clock

will tick down from 60 minutes.

Of course the scores, keep track of the pinfalls

and submissions in this matchup.

- Watching them in the 60-minute match was intense.

It was so intense.

- Look at this.

Cena goes, but Orton taps out.

Orton taps out.

It's one nothing Cena.

A quick time out by Orton, King.

- Just to see what they were willing to put their bodies

through for the love of entertainment.

That's not only commitment, that is another

level of just wow.

- Shoulders are down.

For the first time tonight, Orton's in the lead.

- Don't do it, Orton.

Don't do it.

[explosion]

- I really admire those imaginative moments in a match.

The holy "s" moments where fans they are so receptive.

- No.

- Oh, my God.

- Attitude Adjustment.

We are tied at five.

- Don't think these kids don't compete.

It is real.

When you're out there in the ring,

you want to be better than me.

You just want to prove that you're better.

If you don't, you don't belong out there.

- Cena's got it locked in.

Every second feels like an hour for Orton.

He taps out.

Orton taps out.

John Cena is champion.

- So these two men go back and forth from an "I Quit" match

to an Iron Man match.

They've done everything under the sun,

building one another up, and now we get to 2013.

- In 2013, you had two separate championships.

You had the World Heavyweight Championship on Raw,

and you had the WWE Championship on SmackDown.

You have the World Heavyweight Championship

and now the WWE Championship both on one show, on Raw.

- There should be only one champion.

[crowd cheers]

- This is a match 11 years in the making.

Hell, I'll leave it up to you.

I challenge you right now in front of this audience,

in front of the world.

Randy Orton versus John Cena for the World Heavyweight

Championship and the WWE Championship.

- We've performed together a lot.

That's where we both put it on our shoulders,

what are the qualities we have as performers

that we can relate to?

By that time, Randy and I were so comfortable with each other.

- A TLC match has rules very similar to a traditional ladder

match in which a prize is going to be hung above the ring,

and the competitors have to climb the ladder to get that

prize to win the match, but you're also adding T and C

to it, on top of the L.

Tables, ladders, and chairs.

[bell rings]

- Orton and Cena to lock it up.

- The WWE was unifying the titles.

There was going to be one top dog grand champion of the WWE,

and it was going to be whoever climbed that ladder

and took down both titles.

- No pinfalls, no submissions.

Climb a ladder, grab the titles.

- You want to talk about stakes.

Those are big stakes.

Those unification matches are huge.

- Cena kick to the midsection, and now Randy Orton

goes to work.

Now he is with a ladder.

Orton through the table.

This is Cena's moment, this is Cena's moment.

- He knows he's got it.

- Climb the ladder, John. Climb the ladder.

- John Cena and Randy Orton.

- Oh, my God.

- Randy Orton with an RKO.

- Me and John came up together.

Like I can see just the way his body's moving,

and I know what he's going to do,

but a lot of it's on feel because that crowd gets

so rowdy when he's out there.

It's easy do a little and let it go a long way because

that crowd just eats it up.

- Just like that, the Viper strikes.

- When I was in the ring with him, it was always fun.

- Well, now Orton's enjoying this.

- Cena, AA through the table, An AA through the table.

- Unifying the titles is one thing, but to have such a

a competitive rivalry and a rivalry that fans enjoy seeing

more than once, all those stories

and all that timeline crashing in on itself, it helped us.

- Randy Orton-

- Whoa, look at this.

- -Cena's hanging on.

Cena's hanging onto the championships high above

the ring and now Randy Orton with a chair in hand.

- Oh, my God.

- Cena a sitting duck.

- It's leveling up and that's when you really discover

who you are, and you feel that greatness.

I think whoever wins or whomever loses, that's just the button

of the story, but that's not the--

It's not what lives on.

- Randy Orton looks to handcuff John Cena to the bottom rope.

Shrewd move by Orton.

Cena just loosened the rope.

He just took the rope off the turnbuckle.

John Cena now.

Cena climbing the ladder.

There goes Cena-

- Oh, no.

- -and headfirst off the table.

- Oh, no.

- John Cena just hit that table head-first.

Cena may be knocked out, may be unconscious.

- I remember that feeling of climbing up the ladder.

- Glances down at his fallen opponent, Cena.

- He wants to enjoy every second of this.

- I'll never forget what was going on in my heart

and my head as I was taking those titles down.

That was just being uber-confident

in what the job at hand was.

- Randy Orton is the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

There is no doubt tonight that Randy Orton is the face of WWE.

- Having the unification match, such a big match in the history

of the WWE, and then to win that match against

none other than John Cena, a huge feather in my cap.

The moment that I was able to create with John, one of many,

and I'll never forget the magic we made out there together.

It was special.

- This was a decade, this was the longest rivalry

between two top stars WWE has probably ever seen.

Both guys could carry the company and both guys

were in their prime for such a long period of time.

I think this makes this unique in WWE history.

- John Cena may be the greatest of all time

like he's in that discussion, but I always felt like Randy

never got the credit he deserved.

The entire career that John had, he needed a bad guy

to play off of.

- By having a rivalry with the number one guy, John Cena,

it elevated Randy Orton to a completely different level.

- One of the great rivalries in the history of the WWE,

Cena versus Orton.

- The rivalry with John Cena and Randy Orton really cemented

both guys as the top names of their era,

but what magic they made when they were in there together

is just incredible to have that string of matches,

that type of quality at the top of cards.

- We have faced each other many times.

I could have a match with him blindfolded.

He and I have a good chemistry.

- Cena and Orton have been through it all in their career,

arguably the two best of this generation.

- I love John.

Of course, we had good matches.

The dude's a genius.

I miss you, John.

- The importance of my rivalry with Randy is

he made me a better performer.

Deeper than professionally, he's a close friend.

I love him to death.

It's so great now being able to look back

on our time in the business, at least from my perspective,

nothing but just

positivity and good memories.

That's a good thing to be able to see.