10 Surprisingly Violent PG Era WWE Matches
2. John Cena vs. Randy Orton (Breaking Point 2009)
Looking up the guide lines for what wrestlers could and couldn't do upon the dawn of the 'PG' Era, and it's likely that 'torture' would be one of the ones marked as one to avoid. Standing out as a anomaly for the time, John Cena's 'I Quit' epic against Randy Orton at the one-off Breaking Point Pay-Per-View in September, 2009 featured exactly that form of punishment.
Handcuffing Cena to the ring post on the outside of the ring, the vicious Orton rained down pain on his opponent, striking him repeatedly in the rib cage with a Kendo Stick, all before choking him relentlessly and looking for all the world like he wanted to murder his sworn enemy. It was powerful stuff, and pretty uncomfortable to watch, so it's surprising the bout was even allowed to air in a kid-friendly environment.
Remarkably, even though there were fans discussing how brutal the match had been, there weren't really any complaints as such for WWE to worry about, because the story called for Cena to rise above the odds, 'Never Give Up' and seize victory. A lot of people were sick to death of seeing Randy Orton and John Cena face off by this point, but the 'I Quit' clash offered something a little different, not to mention violent.