John Cena Gives His Thoughts On Randy Orton's Return To The WWE SmackDown Brand

By Ross W Berman IV
John Cena speaking Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

"The Viper" Randy Orton was faced with a choice on Friday, "Raw" or "SmackDown," and the former WWE Champion decided that his quest for vengeance against the entire Anoa'i family, minus Jey Uso, drove him to sign on with the "SmackDown" brand. It wasn't just WWE fans who were watching Randy's decision, but also one of Orton's chief rivals.

"Absolutely incredible to see @RandyOrton continue to excel after such a storied career," former WWE Champion John Cena wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "A massive pickup for #Smackdown and a word to the wise ... watch out for that RKO!"

Orton returned to WWE at Survivor Series: War Games on November 25, after over a year away from competition. Orton was recovering from surgery to repair a back injury, which for a time had worried some as possibly career-ending. Orton made his return as the fifth member of Cody Rhodes's War Games team, which also included Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, and Jey Uso, with Uso earning the respect of his once-rival by saving Orton from an attack during the match. The next night on "Raw," Orton made it clear that he's out for revenge against Uso's family, as it was in the midst of a heated feud with Jey and his brother Jimmy that Orton was hurt. 

While Cena is happy for his colleague, he just missed him by barely a couple of months. Cena made a return to WWE during the SAG-AFTRA strike, also feuding with The Bloodline, even pulling popular superstar LA Knight into the fray. With the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike, Cena has since departed WWE.

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