Ranking John Cena's WWE SummerSlam Matches From Worst To Best
7. vs Randy Orton (2007)
What a difference two years can make. By 2009 this feud was ground into the dirt, about as stale a match as WWE could (and would continue to) present. Here, though, the two stars of the PG era were still a fresh combination, giving a duff SummerSlam a major conclusion.
The opening stages of the match work to present the two men as equals and worthy adversaries, trading traditional moves and waking up a crowd who’ve had to sit through some dull fodder. From there, the two settle into the roles they’d play their whole careers, Orton the methodical old school grappler looking to wear his man down, Cena the superpowered babyface ready to gut out a win over a tricky foe.
The final segment picks up the pace before ending quite abruptly with the Attitude Adjustment for a Cena win. It’s not a match to write home about by any means, but you could show this to an alien and they’d recognise it as two men at the top of their game.