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Brock Lesnar’s F-5 and Randy Orton’s RKO are widely considered to be the two most devastating finishers in WWE.
Nowadays, it is not uncommon for Superstars to kick out of finishers on a regular basis. The Miz, for example, often fails to defeat his opponents with the Skull Crushing Finale, while Bayley’s Bayley-to-Belly and John Cena’s Attitude Adjustment are nowhere near as reliable as they once were.
Other finishers, such as Baron Corbin’s End of Days and Drew McIntyre’s Claymore, have been protected extremely well over the last few years, and the same can be said for Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton’s go-to moves.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at five WWE Superstars who have been able to kick out of both Brock Lesnar’s F-5 and Randy Orton’s RKO.
Disclaimer: Seth Rollins’ name is often mentioned when fans discuss certain Superstars’ ability to kick out of the F-5, but he has never actually kicked out of Brock Lesnar's move. He received an F-5 at SummerSlam 2019 but Brock Lesnar did not try to pin him.
#5 John Cena kicked out of Brock Lesnar’s F-5
Following John Cena’s loss against The Rock at WrestleMania 28, he picked up a statement-making victory over the returning Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules 2012.
The match featured a spot where Brock Lesnar attempted his trusty F-5 on Cena, who collided with referee Charles Robinson before landing awkwardly on the ring canvas.
With Robinson unable to count the pinfall, a whole 10 seconds went by before replacement referee John Cone could begin counting. Cena then kicked out at a two-count, but Brock Lesnar would have won the match if Cone had arrived a few seconds earlier.
At SummerSlam 2014, Cena kicked out of another F-5 at the start of his match against Brock Lesnar (0:30 mark in the video above). The Beast had the last laugh, though, as he hit 16 suplexes before defeating Cena in one of the most dominant performances of his WWE career.
John Cena kicked out of Randy Orton’s RKO
John Cena and Randy Orton have faced each other over 100 times at live events, while they have also gone one-on-one in 22 televised matches throughout their WWE careers.
Given the number of times that they have crossed paths, it is no surprise that Cena has kicked out of the RKO on multiple occasions, including at Hell in a Cell 2009, Royal Rumble 2014 and Hell in a Cell 2014.
#4 Kurt Angle kicked out of Brock Lesnar’s F-5
Brock Lesnar defeated opponents including Hulk Hogan, The Rock and The Undertaker during his destructive first year on WWE’s main roster.
The F-5 was among the most protected finishers in WWE at the time, with nobody kicking out of the move in the first 12 months of Brock Lesnar’s WWE career.
Then, at WrestleMania 19, Kurt Angle just got his shoulder up from an F-5 in his main event against Brock Lesnar, who ended up winning with another F-5 later in the match.
Angle also kicked out of the F-5 at SummerSlam 2003 (19:20 mark in the video above), but it is worth noting that Brock Lesnar had an injured leg and he was unable to slam his opponent to the mat with full force.
Kurt Angle kicked out of Randy Orton’s RKO
Rey Mysterio defeated Randy Orton and World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 22 to win one of WWE's World Championships for the first time in his career.
Mysterio sealed the victory after a 619 on Orton, who had failed to pick up a pinfall win over Angle earlier in the match following an RKO.
#3 Roman Reigns kicked out of Brock Lesnar’s F-5
Roman Reigns’ detractors probably do not need another reminder of the fact that The Big Dog survived five F-5s from Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34 (5:18 mark in the video above) before finally losing to the move at the sixth attempt.
In the year leading up to the event, Superstars including Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe lost Universal Championship matches against Brock Lesnar following a single F-5, and The Beast’s move was unquestionably the most lethal finisher in WWE at the time.
Reigns also kicked out of Brock Lesnar’s go-to finishing move at WrestleMania 31 and at the Greatest Royal Rumble, but the former Shield member was unable to win either of those matches.
Roman Reigns kicked out of Randy Orton’s RKO
Roman Reigns’ first big win of his WWE singles career came when he defeated Randy Orton at SummerSlam 2014. He picked up the victory in traditional style – a spear after avoiding a punt kick – while he also kicked out of an RKO moments earlier.
At Crown Jewel 2019, Reigns kicked out of another RKO in the five-on-five tag team match between Team Hulk Hogan and Team Ric Flair.
#2 The Undertaker kicked out of Brock Lesnar’s F-5
Paul Heyman will never let us forget that his client, Brock Lesnar, conquered The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.
It is worth remembering that, despite having a concussion for the majority of the match, The Undertaker still put up a good fight throughout their WrestleMania 30 encounter, kicking out of two F-5s (5:48 mark in the video above) before ultimately losing his undefeated ‘Mania record after Brock Lesnar hit the move for the third time.
In 2015, The Deadman kicked out of Brock Lesnar’s move again in their matches at SummerSlam and Hell in a Cell.
While ‘Taker won the SummerSlam match in controversial circumstances, Brock Lesnar prevailed inside Hell in a Cell to bring an end to their legendary rivalry.
The Undertaker kicked out of Randy Orton’s RKO
The Undertaker failed to beat Brock Lesnar on two occasions after kicking out of the F-5, but he had a lot more fortune after kicking out of Randy Orton’s RKO.
The Phenom survived RKOs from Orton at WrestleMania 21 and Armageddon 2005 before going on to win both matches.
#1 Triple H kicked out of Brock Lesnar’s F-5
After Brock Lesnar’s defeat against John Cena on his WWE return at Extreme Rules 2012, he became involved in a rivalry with Triple H that lasted almost one year.
The WWE heavyweights battled it out in one-on-one matches at SummerSlam 2012, WrestleMania 29 and Extreme Rules 2013.
Triple H picked up the victory when it mattered most – his career was on the line at WrestleMania – but Brock Lesnar won the feud by winning the matches at SummerSlam and Extreme Rules.
In all three matches, Triple H kicked out of Brock Lesnar’s F-5 (1:30 mark in the video above).
Triple H kicked out of Randy Orton’s RKO
Like John Cena, Triple H has faced Randy Orton dozens of times in WWE, so it is no surprise that he has kicked out of the RKO on multiple occasions.
The Game’s most memorable kick-out from an RKO came at Backlash 2009 when he got his shoulder up just before referee Mike Chioda could count to three. The bell sounded for the end of the match but Chioda insisted that the action continue. Orton then followed up with a punt kick on his opponent to win the WWE Championship.
In more recent years, Triple H also kicked out of an RKO at Super ShowDown 2019 but, once again, Orton emerged with the win.
