Randy Orton Pays Heartwarming Tribute to John Cena After Failing to Attend His Retirement Match at Saturday Night’s Main Event

Randy Orton posted a lengthy yet emotional note for John Cena a day after the latter wrestled his last match for WWE.

Randy Orton Pays Heartwarming Tribute to John Cena After Failing to Attend His Retirement Match at Saturday Night’s Main Event

John Cena and Randy Orton [via- WWE]

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John Cena‘s WWE retirement on Saturday left a huge void in the wrestling space that’ll forever stay as it is. Nearly 20,000 fans descended upon the Capital One Arena in DC to watch their hero ride off into the sunset. Apart from that, several legends were also in attendance to witness a landmark show etched in history.

But there was someone whose glaring absence couldn’t have been more obvious: Randy Orton. ‘The Viper’ had already been off WWE television since early October. However, there was hope among fans that he’d definitely be there to walk his career-long rival into retirement.

It just wasn’t to be. Orton, however, has finally broken the silence in the most heartwarming of ways. Taking to Instagram, the ‘Apex Predator’ penned a special message for Cena. The 14-time world champion mentioned how he and Cena have spent almost 20 years together in this business.

Orton added he has had the distinct honor of partaking in over 100 matches involving Cena, whether they were against him or the ones where they teamed up.

These legends had their last match against each other earlier this year at Backlash. Continuing his post, ‘The Viper’ noted that he would’ve enjoyed attending Cena’s farewell match against Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Randy Orton, who’s currently in Saudi Arabia promoting the Riyadh Season and the Royal Rumble, said if anyone understood his absence, it was Cena.

The St. Louis-born wrestling great revealed he texted ‘Mr. Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect’ on the morning of his last match. Having said that, Orton said he’s looking forward to following Cena’s Hollywood career and also dubbed him an inspiration to not only an entire generation of fans but to him as well.

‘The Legend Killer’ thanked the 17-time world champion for always being kind to his family and also making the WWE locker room a better place with his presence.

‘The Cenation Leader’ tapped out to ‘The Ring General’ in a poetic ending to his illustrious WWE career this past weekend. Even though the arena audience thrashed Triple H for booking that, it helped create a heat magnet in Gunther, who received nuclear boos from the Hershey crowd on Raw.

As time goes on, the notion of Gunther making Cena tap out is expected to grow on even those naysayers who were absolutely devastated about it.

When can the fans expect Randy Orton to make his WWE return?

After seeing his good friend putting his in-ring career in the rearview mirror, Randy Orton would think he doesn’t have a decade left in him either. He’ll turn 46 before next year’s WrestleMania arrives. It’s obvious that Orton has a major chunk of his career behind him, and he doesn’t have a lot left to accomplish in this business except for putting over younger talents.

Randy Orton
Randy Orton [via- BR Wrestling]

Speaking of giving it back to the business, ‘The Apex Predator’ got pinned by Bronson Reed in his previous WWE match. Randy Orton had teamed up with Cody Rhodes on SmackDown, with the former Legacy members taking on Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. The latter picked up the biggest win of his career by pinning ‘The Viper’ after Seth Rollins barged in.

It appeared as if Orton’s beef with The Vision would land him a spot on the side of the babyfaces for their WarGames match. However, Orton hasn’t been seen on WWE programming since then and has yet to return. But he has vowed to be there for SmackDown and the Royal Rumble in Riyadh, basically confirming that he’ll work those events.

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