'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
WWE Hall of Famer and real-life Bloodline member Rikishi has given his prediction for the John Cena vs. Randy Orton title match at Backlash. He also sent a message to Cody Rhodes, who has been missing on WWE TV since losing at WrestleMania 41.
Cena's first official title defense will be in St. Louis at Backlash against the hometown hero, and his perennial rival, in Orton. For the first time in their history, Cena is the heel and Orton is the babyface. It creates an entirely new dynamic for the match for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
On the latest episode of his Off The Top podcast, Rikishi picked John Cena to win his match against The Viper. He also expressed shock that Randy Orton was challenging for the title and not The American Nightmare.
Trending
"I gotta go with John Cena, 'cause we all didn't see that coming. We all definitely, for sure, we thought Cody Rhodes is the future. Cody Rhodes is the guy, he's a lot younger, he's healthy to run. (...) Right when we think they're going right, they went left. That's the beautiful thing about professional wrestling, so, to see him go up against Randy, man, that's going to be an iconic match," Rikishi said. [30:00 - 30:44]
Cena and Orton have had a lot of matches during their legendary careers, but the face-heel dynamic for their upcoming bout is different. As for Rhodes, it's unclear what the plans are for him heading into Backlash.
WWE Hall of Famer praises John Cena's role throughout his career
On a recent episode of Something Else to Wrestle, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, or JBL, offered his perspective on John Cena's career. He called Cena's reign as 'The face of WWE' the hardest role in the company's history due to the transition to the PG Era.
"Cena had the hardest role of any champion, I believe, in wrestling history, to go from the Attitude Era, where you can flip off your boss, drink beer on television, beautiful women are flashing themselves. You know, you had all kinds of crazy, crazy stuff going on in the show, to a G-rated era. Very few people could have done that," JBL said. [H/T - Inside The Ropes]
Cena carried WWE for more than a decade, with 2025 being the final year of his in-ring career.
Please credit RIKISHI FATU OFF THE TOP and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use the quotes from the first half of this article.
