John Cena Vs. Randy Orton Announced For Next Week's WWE Smackdown
WrestleMania main event comes early?
As a result of a tag team match that saw Randy Orton score a pinfall victory over WWE Champion John Cena, the main event for next week's Smackdown has been announced.
Longtime rivals Cena and Orton will go one on one in their first televised singles match in more than two years.
What makes the bout even more noteworthy is that, as the Royal Rumble winner, Orton is guaranteed a shot at Cena's WWE Championship at WrestleMania - making a bout between the two men a presumptive 'Mania main event. Of course, nothing is set in stone, as John Cena will be defending his title against AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, The Miz, Dean Ambrose, and Baron Corbin in an Elimination Chamber match in two weeks. The fact that Cena versus Orton is being given away on TV adds strength to the rumors that Cena will be losing his championship at Elimination Chamber.
Cena and Orton have clashed many times before, most notably in a protracted 2009 feud that saw the men trade the WWE Championship several times on Pay-Per-View. In their last bout - a Hell in a Cell match at the eponymous event in 2014 - Cena beat Orton to claim number one contendership to the title.