John Cena vs. Randy Orton WWE title match official for Backlash
John Cena and Randy Orton are going to meet once more.
During SmackDown, the two longtime rivals met face-to-face once more after Orton laid out Cena with an RKO on the Raw immediately following WrestleMania. Orton accused Cena of letting down children who believed in his words growing up as Cena said all he did was raise people’s children on his own. Orton said he wouldn’t allow Cena to ruin wrestling, challenging him to a WWE title match right then and there in Fort Worth, Texas. Cena refused, saying he wouldn’t defend it on SmackDown but would do it in Orton’s hometown of St. Louis at Backlash next month.
The segment ended with Cena cheapshotting Orton, throwing the WWE title at him and attacking him with mounted punches on the ground. He looked to use the WWE title to strike Orton, who instead dodged and laid out Cena with his second RKO of the week.
Cena won the championship from Cody Rhodes during the main event of the second night of WrestleMania. A distraction by Travis Scott allowed Cena to bring in the title to strike Rhodes, who entered into a tug of war with Cena over the title. Rhodes hesitated on striking Cena long enough for Cena to low blow Rhodes and strike him with the title for his record-breaking seventeenth title reign.
WWE Backlash – May 10, 2025 in St. Louis, Missouri
- WWE Championship: John Cena defends against Randy Orton