2. WWE Championship - Summerslam (2007)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpiABSXZBqo Back at Summerslam 2004, just a short time before Randy Orton beat John Cena in their figurative race to the World Heavyweight Championship, they found themselves quarreling in a backstage segment in one of those great foreshadowing moments. Three years later, Orton was challenging Cena at Summerslam 2007 in the main-event for the WWE Championship. When you consider that they were in the same rookie class and that they debuted just a couple of months apart, they seemed destined to eventually clash in a manner similar to Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart in the New Generation and The Rock and Triple H from the Attitude Era. Orton had once seemed on the fast track to being "The Man" for this current generation. One of the worst babyface turns in wrestling history (on the day after his World title victory) doomed Orton and forced him to overcome a roadblock named "main-event failure." Cena swooped right in and took the throne, emerging as the Hulk Hogan of his era. Orton went from youngest World Champion in history to starting a three year climb back to the main-event. Waiting for him when he got there was a new face of the franchise in Cena, who had been passed the torch by Orton's mentor, Triple H. The whole thing provided a fascinating backdrop to the on-screen story, giving the Summerslam '07 match already of historical importance due to it being the first match in the multi-year Orton-Cena saga an added bit of intrigue. At the time, Orton was transitioning to his more unpredictable Viper persona. His experiences had humbled him, personally, and revitalized him, professionally. Cena, meanwhile, needed a foil. He had emerged as the #1 star in the industry, but had nobody on the other half of "versus John Cena" that made the fanbase feel as though he had a heel counterpart to his heroic babyface character. Orton seemed poised to fill that void, dominating their Summerslam match. In what became a theme for their story, Cena overcame in the end to pin Orton and retain the title. It was a great match.
Chad Matthews
Contributor
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
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