10 Modern WWE PPV Matches Allocated Far Too Much Time

3. John Cena Vs. Randy Orton - Hell In A Cell 2014

John Cena Randy Orton Hell in a Hell 2014
WWE.com

Match length: 25:51.

Why it was too long: It had already been done to death.

The Cena Vs. Orton rivalry hadn't just run its course by 2014 - it had already been audibly and summarily rejected in brutal fashion by fans at the Royal Rumble just over half a year earlier.

Their January match was notorious for the manner in which it was rejected - fans chanted for Daniel Bryan, rained down boos, even gave it the 'boring!' treatment - that WWE reprised the rivalry so soon afterwards was tone deaf at best, and arrogant at worst.

They'd wrestled each other so often by this point, too, that they thought simply trading near falls and finishers a la Rock and Austin was a sufficient substitute for an actual, nuanced story. There is however comedy value in Orton's expression after Cena barely waits until two and a half to kick out of an RKO - the Viper looks absolutely livid.

The content in their second Hell In A Cell match wasn't actually too shabby, on the whole - Cena often excels in gimmick matches, and this was no exception - but there's only so many iterations of one pairing we can expect to put up with.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!