John Cena won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41. (Credit: Andrew Timms/WWE via Getty Images)
John Cena walked out of WWE Backlash 2025 still the Undisputed WWE Champion. But barely, just barely.
In a match that included not one or two but three ref bumps, RKOs and Attitude Adjustments galore and even interference from R-Truth, the 17-time world champion defeated Randy Orton in The Viper’s hometown of St. Louis after a low blow and a shot with the championship. It was Cena’s second straight tainted singles win following his controversial victory over Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41, a bout that was met with widespread criticism for its flat ending involving rapper Travis Scott.
Cena got a chance at WWE Backlash to make up for that disastrous WrestleMania main event in a match with his longtime nemesis in Orton. With a tag line of “One Last Time,” Orton and Cena, arguably the two most pushed stars of WWE’s PG era, battled it out in a heated affair at Backlash that featured all of their greatest hits, including multiple RKOs out of nowhere.
The difference? This time, the roles were reversed, with Cena playing the cowardly heel and Orton in the position of beloved fan favorite. Different situation, same result: Cena wins.
WWE CCO Triple H has openly talked about Cena’s desire and willingness to turn heel even though this is Cena’s official retirement tour and he very easily could have played it safe. Of course, turning Cena heel was a risk for WWE but one worth taking at this stage of his career.
When Cena turned heel at Elimination Chamber in March, it was widely praised as one of the best and most shocking moments in WWE history. The follow-up, however, has been woefully underwhelming. Cena has assumed a role as a prototypical “you people” villain, The Rock disappeared from the storyline altogether, and Cena hasn’t truly bought into his villainous role.
But even though Cena’s heel run isn’t quite clicking, WWE wasn’t going to end his championship reign at WWE Backlash 2025 mere weeks after his title win. That was true even though Cena’s opponent was Orton, who’s now more beloved than ever before and continues to perform at an incredibly high level.
At WWE Backlash, Orton and Cena, not known for their in-ring chemistry while feuding in their primes, delivered arguably their greatest singles bout against one another, well, ever. The two legends and future Hall of Famers had the St. Louis crowd in the palms of their hands from bell to bell, and the bout hit its apex when an enraged Orton unleashed a barrage of RKOs on WWE’s backstage officials.
Orton looked like he had the match, and his 15th world title, won on multiple occasions, but R-Truth’s interference and distraction allowed Cena to capitalize with a low blow and belt shot. It was a finish reminiscent of Cena’s tainted win over Rhodes at WrestleMania 41. Only, this time, it worked.
For two stars who never had great chemistry during their prime, their WWE Backlash encounter was surprisingly good, especially given that Cena is nowhere near what he once was as an in-ring performer. That, of course, is to be expected at this stage of his career, but Orton and Cena were propelled to a stellar pay-per-view main event thanks in part to the match taking place in Orton’s hometown of St. Louis.
Cena, however, ultimately emerged victorious, squeaking by Orton via underhanded tactics to continue his heel run.
So, what’s next for Cena? Well, he’s got just seven months left as an in-ring performer before he hangs up his jorts and tennis shoes for good. Given the limited nature of his schedule, Cena likely isn’t going to have a rematch with Orton. Instead, he figures to have a number of brief one-off rivalries and matches with some former rivals and stars from today’s crop of WWE’s main eventers.
Names like CM Punk, Bron Breakker and Gunther stand out as potential future opponents for Cena after his win over Orton at WWE Backlash. But WWE is going to have to do more than just endlessly cycle through opponents for this heel version of Cena.
Up next? Well, Cena could shockingly face R-Truth at the upcoming Saturday Night’s Main Event. That doesn’t sound like a ticket seller but makes sense based on recent storyline happenings and Truth’s long-time obsession with Cena.
That too should be a one-off affair, and though Cena’s heel run still isn’t clicking on all cylinders, he could regain his momentum after a strong showing at WWE Backlash against Orton.
