John Cena vs. Randy Orton

[10.0] "One of the matches I vividly remember from my childhood. Stuck in my head as one of the most amazing things to ever happen in a WWE ring. Don't know if that's true or not, but, until I check back on this, it's gonna stay that way in my memories. Something good these two should of have done"

[10.0] "I actually never liked this pairing very much, but this match is the lone exception. It not only clicked but it clicked for an entire hour, with lots of memorable and crazy moments, not limited to Orton attempting to explode Cena with pyro."

[9.0] "I've always said that the principal aim of the iron man matches has to be that in no moment gets boring. This one fulfills that point. It is probably top 3 best iron man matches in wwe history, it is incredibly entertaining, and a great match in all sense. For me the best match between Cena and Orton was the one they had in HIAC that same year, but after rewatching this one, probably my opinion changed. Great way to end the rivalry."

[9.0] "This is a very fun match, at times got cartoon absurd but a fitting conclusion to the Cena/Orton main rivlary. They play it pretty even for the most part to start.. I thought the comms were good in relating the way you work an ironman match it helped put everything into context when Orton taps early to save himself. We get Cena blading but its not a great one so the 'med team' can clean it There's a great counter Orton hits on Cena. The match shifts when Cena takes a lead and legacy come out, jumping him before getting run off by Kofi. Its at that point where Orton takes charge and eventually plays with pyro.. A fun, ridiculous idea... Cena keeps fighting back and with 20 mins left, you see the last big shift, where Orton tries to protect a lead but is caught by Cena. I liked how the match was tied with 8 mins left and the finish, the way it ends makes Cena look the best he's been in the feud since the I quit match. Thought it was quite clever to not go to OT and have to set up a different finishing sequence. This match almost makes up for the feud being pretty lackluster."

[9.0] "The best match these two ever had and it's not even close. Everything else they did was uninspired and lifeless. This however, was a near masterpiece of mayhem and it's the last good match they ever had. There was a bit of everything in this. They also did the right thing by having 11 total wins instead of going for only 1 or 2. A very fun match!"

[9.0] "A fantastic main event that these two kept entertaining for the entire hour and was really exciting for the last two minutes until the final fall. Both guys worked their asses off and Cena came off like Superman without it being lame and Orton came off like a psycho doing whatever needed to beat him. There were a lot of cool moments but to me the spot of the night came with Orton hitting the RKO while he was being driven down with the AA, which looked awesome and was pretty innovative. This was definitely the match of the night and might just be the best one between these two in their epic rivalry. Solid 4 stars."

[10.0] "This had everything. Cena going for Super AA, Orton attempting murder, intense back and forths, simply everything. It was their best match together and perhaps top3 matches in their careers. It would have been MOTY imo, if it wasn't for Taker HBK at WM 25."

[9.0] "This was the best Orton vs Cena matchup in my opinion. Some great work between the two, the pyro spot was pretty interesting, I enjoyed seeing them fight up on the stage. The AA-RKO counter is incredible every time I see it. Was pretty slow at times but overall great work from the two."

[7.0] "[3.5*] It was about time I watched a Randy Orton vs. John Cena match and came out with a bitter taste again. The beginning of the match was great. Within 5 minutes, it was already 1-1. Randy Orton dominated, got distracted, took an STF, and tapped out quickly. Then John Cena dominated the match but also lost in a brief moment of distraction. The match flowed well, and a bit further along, we got many references to their "I Quit" match, like the stomp on the head on the steel steps and the microphone shot. We also saw the first AA into RKO spot in history, where both pinned each other, keeping the match tied at 2-2. After that, I didn't quite understand why Cena recovered so quickly, but he managed to score another fall. Then the Legacy came out to attack John Cena. Special shoutout to how awesome Ted DiBiase Jr. was, as he hit a finisher on Cena, paused to think about his next move, lifted Orton, and placed him on top of Cena -- yet there was no kickout. When it seemed like the match was going to turn into a 3-1 lead for Orton, Kofi Kingston, who had had an altercation with Cody Rhodes earlier, came to save Cena, restoring the 1-1 dynamic. With the score tied at 3-3, the match continued with Orton having a certain dominance. One moment caught my attention: when it was 4-4 and with just over 20 minutes left, Randy Orton accidentally bumped into the pyro control button and had a crazy idea to burn John Cena alive. I thought this was amazing because Cena really sold extreme exhaustion to the point where I almost believed it could happen. But due to a delay in the pyro's activation, Cena managed to escape the catastrophe. Unfortunately, from that point on, the match completely lost its meaning for me. While I always praise how they play up Orton's cowardly character, dragging things out by wearing Cena down, with 20 minutes left and the babyface trailing on the scoreboard, it was obvious what was going to happen. This left me disappointed, as the slow and drawn-out minutes dragged until Cena's final comeback. I won't lie; I was so disinterested after Cena tied the match that I just skipped to the end because I couldn't take it anymore and went to bed. Sadly, the match I was most excited to see from both of them ended up being the one that made me decide to go to sleep early, disappointed and frustrated with what I had just watched. Even though the first 40 minutes flew by, the last 20 felt like an hour."

[7.0] "This match had a good beginning and good end but it sadly plodded around the half an hour mark. The first minutes were good with just basic wrestling inside the ring. Orton quickly submitting to the STF and then him catching Cena with an RKO were good surprises and then the Attitude Adjustment-RKO counter was also really awesome. The middle was mostly Orton dominating with Cena not getting much offence in but there were some good hits with the monitor and microphone that made Cena bleed. The interference with Legacy spiced things up and Kofi Kingston chasing them off furthered an intertwining storyline. The action on the stage was great with Orton throwing Cena through the lighting wall and then trying to blow him up with the pyro. Orton played the crazy psycho character really well in this section. Cena's comeback was fun, chasing Orton into the crowd and then nailing him with the AA off the steps through the announce table. Good final sprint with Cena missing the table leg drop and the nearfall after Orton got in another RKO. Intense final minute when Cena had Orton in the STF and Orton finally tapping right as the time expired for a good heroic victory over the villain. I was originally going to give this a higher point but the slower pace in the middle dragged it down to one point lower. Still a fun watch but not 'the greatest match of all time' as the commentators put it."

[9.0] "5 minutes into the match, Randy quickly tapped out, smart. Love the 30 second interval between pinfalls. RKO out of nowhere, it's 1 a piece. Orton picked up a mic, thinking he's gonna cut a promo, only to clobber Cena on his head, lol. Cena was bleeding, don't see that often. That brought out Super Cena for a bit. AA to a RKO combo was sick, the double pinfall on paper might have been good but was kinda weak in reality, 2-2. Followed by a super AA, 3-2 and out came Legacy making it 3-3. Oh boy we're at the pyro equipment area and Orton leads 4-3. Orton out here looking like he's in his fantasy land. From Randy realising what he's gonna do to Cena to him pressing the buttons to see if the pyros are working. The way he pressed it too, like a child playing arcade game. Then leading Cena to position and quickly stumbling back down, only to realise the techie had switched off the mechanism to which Randy went crazy and started smashing all the buttons, lol. That was really funny. The way Randy crawl like some sort of a creature after Cena rolled him up, OMG, this is why I love Randy so much. He is that one bully who thinks he is cool and strong but always gets blindsided and start throwing temper tantrums. 4-4. Drapping DDT on the floor 5-4. Rare finish. Now that Randy realised he only has less than 20 minutes, he stalls and runs away, such a smart heel. 5-5, Cena with a super AA on the commentary desk, very cool visual. Cena won with the STF and tapped out Randy for a 6-5 win. Randy's sell on that submission was so good. People tend to complain or be surprised to see an 60-minute ironman match between these two, as their matches are often boring. Maybe due to that people tend to exclude this match out or go into the match with ready made expectations. While I don't deny there were lagging moments throughout but it made sense here. Such a smartly booked match. This showcased Randy as a smart villain and Cena as a tenacious babyface. I enjoyed it. Everyone involved should be very proud."

[5.0] "They tried SO HARD to learn from the pit falls of previous iron man matches to make this one more engaging, but it solidifies my opinion that matches should not be 60 minutes. I personally don't feel many matches should eclipse 30 minutes. MAYBE if two guys really have a story to tell, I'll give 40-45 minutes, but no match should be this long. The rest period, the no DQ and falls count anywhere stipulations...all of these things were done to keep the match from having 'boring' dips like previous iron man matches. Yet you STILL have roughly half a 'match' of absolutely wasted time. Orton and Cena just chasing each other up and down the ramp. Going into the crowd for the sole purpose of killing time. Extremely long rest segments. And then the middle half of the match where Orton is dominating Cena with no offense from Cena at all. And yet, despite Orton's domination, he doesn't even pick up a commanding lead either. With the amount Orton dominates, you'd think he'd be up 3-4 falls on Cena. But he's really only up one at all times when he takes the lead. And as a few before me have pointed out, Orton tapping at the end is brain dead booking. He looks like an absolute buffoon. All they had to do was have him pass out and have the ref call it. Same result and makes perfect sense. Even gives him a future out that it should have gone into overtime if they ever wanted to revisit the rivalry. Was this a terrible match? No. But it sure as hell isn't worth an hour of your time, either. Credit is due that they really put thought into keeping this match from dipping, but it doesn't work in execution. Neither of them are varied or versatile enough performers to make this good. A passable match, but only barely. Not worth the time it takes."

[9.0] "This was a good match. Pretty well paced throughout with moments all the way through to keep you interested. They went to the different parts of the arena and did something different in each part. Orton trying to blow up Cena was a cool spot in my opinion and showed that he was willing to do anything to hurt Cena. The only thing I didn't like is there were a few parts where it didn't feel like the wrestlers were rushing as much as they probably should have. Then with Orton tapping out seconds before the end of the match is a cool moment in theory but in execution you just think it makes Randy look weak because he couldn't hold on for 5 seconds more. But respect to both guys for keeping people entertained for a full hour which is something not many of the best wrestlers of all time can do."

[10.0] "I'd like to discuss what happened in each match. Interestingly, although this was one contest, it actually broke down into 11 different mini-matches. The first was only about four minutes long, but it was quite interesting. On one hand, they were trying to determine their roles, and on the other, I saw some fascinating ring psychology from Orton. When he was caught in Cena's STF, he didn't want to waste energy and chose to surrender immediately. The second match didn't have much to comment on; I think it was just Orton's way of trying to make up for the first round. The third and fourth matches, for me, were probably the best parts. Here, Cena's determination was used to counteract some of the dominance Orton had established before, which was correct... because in this round, they both lost and won (this created a sense of legitimacy, where neither side completely overpowered the other, and Cena's determination did not directly clash with Orton's oppressive presence). The fifth match might have seemed a bit odd, perhaps to allow both wrestlers to catch their breath, while wiping the blood from Cena's face also served to downplay and shift focus from the previous match's injury. The sixth match let Orton win a round, with a clear intention not to let Cena lose his strength while allowing Orton to secure a victory. The seventh match, for me, showed their balanced abilities, with neither side significantly outperforming the other. However, Orton was here to reclaim what he had "lost" (by "lost, " I mean Orton's victory in the sixth match was not a fair one). The logic of the eighth match was correct because Orton's dominance was once again perfectly displayed with several significant strikes on Cena, successfully leaving him in an injured state. But in the eighth match, Cena had no way to fight back, yet he won, thanks to Orton's overconfidence and mistake (in fact, these two actions did not weaken Orton's oppressive presence but rather enhanced it). The ninth match made Orton even more furious, and this anger was absolutely justified... he needed to atone for his mistakes. With just a DDT, it easily demonstrated their rationality (the brief rest after the eighth match was not enough for Cena to recover, and he remained injured). The tenth match put Orton in a state of madness, which, for me, showed a sense of continuity and experience. Orton was afraid of his mistakes and had to maintain his lead (5:4), which is why he started to run away. This was another superb display of ring psychology. Cena had to relentlessly pursue Orton, knowing that Orton's strategy was to avoid confrontation with Cena... I think this once again resolved Cena's injured state and the balance of the match. I believe it's necessary to discuss why the match remained balanced here. I've mentioned that Orton played the role of an opportunist, afraid of being tied by Cena, so he began to distance himself instead of controlling him, which was a strategic mistake. Why was it still balanced? Because Orton had a significant lead over Cena, and it was completely logical for Cena to make a furious comeback against Orton. Cena, of course, got the victory as he wished. The final match (the eleventh) was perhaps the most exciting. With only 9 minutes left, Orton had no capacity to counterattack as Cena used an AA move along with Orton, smashing through the commentator's table. When Cena made a mistake and buried himself in the debris of the table, there were 5 minutes left, and Orton once again filled the match with contingencies. The referee's authority was lost due to Cena's mistake, and Orton took the opportunity to use an RKO. Unfortunately, there was no one to count! Otherwise, Orton could have been the winner, as the entire match was full of unexpected twists due to contingencies. Perhaps Orton's defenses were broken by contingencies, and he once again behaved like a madman. It's worth noting that Orton was able to use this RKO due to contingencies. Although Orton had a greater chance of winning, he never learned to look for problems within himself but instead blamed others (which is also part of psychology). This led to Cena seizing the opportunity to force him to submit.*****"

[9.0] "This is definitely their best match. The in ring psychology and the two beating the life out of each other was great. The two would go fall for fall until the end where Cena made Orton tap out with only a few seconds left on the clock."

[9.0] "8 STARS leaning toward 9 STARS This was so close to being 9. If Randy was able to hold on in the submission for 20+ seconds, he couldn't stay in it for 4 more seconds? With his own WWE Championship on the line? Everything before that was great. They used the 60-minutes really well. They used the Falls Count Anywhere stipulation very well. It was 60 minutes so of course it got boring sometimes, but every single fall was different, unexpected, and actually made a lot of sense (except for the final fall). Orton tapping out immediately from the STFU to avoid taking damage from it was cool to see. Cena bled. It was a brutal match. The match takes a little bit too pickup but even then the mat wrestling is not terrible."

[7.0] "Its a solid even good at times iron man match. They paced the first 30 minutes well with lots of falls. Really slowed down from around the half hour mark till around the final 10 minutes. What sucks is knowing that super cena is going to win this match no matter what orton did. 3.5/5 solid but if u dont like this super cena era I wouldnt watch"

[8.0] "I like this match mostly for the creativity of the spots but also the AA counter was completely perfect."

[8.0] "Match which managed to remain relevant for an hour despite the high score. 3-3 after twenty minutes and it ends in 6-5 for Cena. A very good match nonetheless with good spots, first time that an AA has been countered in RKO, this will be repeated during their future rivalries in 2014 from memory. An excellent finish. (4*)"

[8.0] "This was a surprisingly really great iron man match between Orton and Cena. It did obviously drag a little at times, but not as much as it could have and I thought pretty much all the falls were handled really well. ****1/4"

[6.0] "I liked this match more when I watched it live as a kid but revisiting it, it doesn't hold up as a noteworthy iron man match. I don't think Cena and Orton had the capability to do a well paced 60 minute match. I know Cena wrestled an hour before but that was with the GOAT Shawn Michaels. Cena and Orton for all the talk about it being a great rivalry, really didn't have good chemistry in the ring. Don't agree? Name one classic match they had. Look at the cagematch scores for the matches between them - very underwhelming. This match itself while I give credit for a number of things, such as Orton tapping straight away to the STF, the AA countered very smoothly into an RKO, the use of pyro which I hadn't seen before this match and Orton's general mannerisms and character work, there was just way too much dead spots just waiting for something to happen. I honestly was waiting for the match to end. I think 30 mins would have suited these two more. Also what the hell was up with the scoreboard being so big and being positioned where it was. I mean for gods sake, move it more to the side."

[10.0] "The best Orton vs Cena ever, classic perfect Face Heel dynamic for these two, Orton's beatdown was one of the most vicious in WWE history. Orton went full psycho and Cena went full Super Cena but it worked. I wouldn't have minded an overtime but the finish is fine since Randy couldn't see the clock. Remember watching it a long time ago and absolutely loving this match and that didn't change today [*****]"

[10.0] "One of the most underrated matches I've ever seen. These two showed us an interesting and entertaining 60-minute iron match."

[4.0] "Massively overrated match, and such a bad finish. Are we really meant to believe that Orton couldn't hold on for another five seconds? Just makes him look like a dope. Another example of Super Cena in action. A really dark time."

[8.0] "A 60 minute Iron Man match between John Cena and Randy Orton, and you can't say that these guys held back. This was definitely not my favourite Iron Man match that I've seen, but I have to say it was still very good. Lots of really cool moments throughout this match, and they packed this with big spots. Orton was in control for a lot of this and his slow methodical pace definitely works for his character (and his character work in this WAS great). However, his pace as a heel rarely thrills me. Cena, on the other hand, was top notch here and explosive, getting the crowd right behind him. A great few final minutes here when Cena got back on top. These two have some good chemistry, that's for sure."

[7.0] "I thought this was a great match overall. Not a classic, though it could've been one had they solve out a few issues and plan the match more carefully. What I liked about this was the way they came up with the result of each fall. Almost every single one of them was done in completely creative and different manners than you wouldn't expect in an Ironman contest, while also making sense to the context at the same time. The pacing was decent, at one point it dragged, at one point it flew by. I didn't mind the finish as some, although I agreed Orton could surely hang in there for an extra few seconds instead of tapping out like that. What I really despise about this though, was the spot where Orton was trying to "murder" Cena (yeah...), by using a freaking pyro set to toast him alive. And then five minutes later, Cena just continued the match like nothing happened after nearly getting killed on live PPV. That was just stupidly absurd to me, minus about a full star for that. [***3/4]"

[8.0] "This match was shockingly good for a Orton Cena iron man match.they basically layer the first 40 minutes or so to Orton beating the shit out of Cena with Cena getting in a little bit of offense because but it helps to build towards the last 15 minutes or so when the crowd goes crazy for everything Cena does. I loved how Cena gave Orton payback for everything he did earlier in the match only complaint is why didn't they just have Orton pass out instead of tapping out'****"

[4.0] "A match where "everything made sense" (even though they tried to do some very stupid, ridiculous and cartoony spots in this match, while trying to milk between spots/falls as much as they can), but it was a total miss with me. For a sixty-minute match and PPV Main Event it wasn't a hit."

[5.0] "After the Hell in a Cell match it took me forever to get motivated to watch this hour. There were no disqualifications or count outs in this match and falls counted anywhere, taking a ton of potential nuance out of the stipulation. Lucha Underground had similar rules for their All Night Long matches, but those were 25 minutes shorter than Iron Man matches. I was zero percent shocked that this match featured a ton of chinlocks. Cena actually did a lot to try to keep things interesting, but Orton was such a snooze here. There was a cute use of the 30-second rest period here, as Orton hit the RKO while getting hit with the Attitude Adjustment leading to a double pin. So both guys got thirty seconds to rest, which made the score going up for both just shy of pointless and allowed doctors to stop Cena from bleeding. After that, everything felt all too sequential and predictable. That is, except for the bit where Orton tried to blow Cena up with pyro, a spot which ultimately came off as pretty damn lame. It wasn't outright dumb, but it got very, very boring in the second half. Orton started the running out the clock gimmick with TWENTY MINUTES remaining. This was so much of the match that people were worried Rock and Triple H would have in 2000, but Orton doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as those two. The finish, which I'm sure was supposed to mirror Orton's quick tap early on, came off like doodoo here. After an hour it makes no sense that Orton would tap with 15 seconds remaining. They should have had him pass out."

[5.0] "Okay, one on hand I see what they were trying to do, but Orton's work is pretty dull and boring. He also veers into a cartoonish territory as the bit where he's pushing the buttons reminded me of DiDi from Dexter's Laboratory. I did enjoy that there were a lot of falls, and Cena toward the last third of match erased a bit of a dull first half. It's not their best match but certainly not their worst."

[4.0] "If I had to rate this on Orton's performance alone I would give this a DUD but Cena's performance keeps it from that. Orton worked on top for all of the contest and it was just boring but Cena got his hope spots in and save it from being utterly atrocious. Cena worked with such intensity and aggression as always but when he applied that STF at the end it was just freaking awesome! I'd say Cena alone made this decent for me. (**)"

[7.0] "A lot of very dull parts mainly when Orton was on offence. But the match itself was good at least the last 15 minutes were anyway. ***1/2"