8 WWE Superstars Who Could Have Surpassed John Cena As “The Guy”
3. Randy Orton
Similar to Batista, Randy Orton came up in WWE at the same time as John Cena and had all the tools to be "the guy". He was probably handpicked for that position ahead of Cena, but well-documented attitude problems prevented him from ever achieving that top spot for a long stretch of time early on in his career.
That doesn't mean he couldn't have replaced Cena in 2010, however, when he reached new heights of popularity as a babyface following WrestleMania XXVI. His promos weren't anything special, but the fans for some reason took to Orton like they never had before. Look no further than the reaction he received in Chicago when he won the WWE Championship at Night of Champions that year. It was mind-blowing.
Cena's "exit" from WWE in November would have been the perfect time to transition Orton into his spot, but officials got cold feet and brought Cena back to TV immediately. Besides, 'The Viper' beating Christian for the World Heavyweight Championship two days after he won it in 2011 was what eventually did Orton in as a fan favorite, and it was downhill from there for him in that role.