10 Legendary Pro Wrestling Rivalries

#7 John Cena and Randy Orton

John Cena traps Randy Orton in the dreaded STF submission hold.

Oftentimes, you will find that wrestling superstars have parallel roads to greatness. It happened during the 1980s when Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair both rose to prominence in the NWA territories, and it happened again in the WWE's Attitude Era when Triple H and The Rock became rivals for the coveted top spot.

John Cena and Randy Orton have also enjoyed parallel roads to greatness. Both men started with the WWE around the same time and rose from being mid-card champions to the main event at relatively the same rate. While Cena would become a beloved hero to the fans, Randy Orton became the villainous viper who drew their ire.

The two would meet repeatedly over their nearly two decades in the WWE. Orton was the better technical wrestler, but John Cena had a decided strength advantage. While Cena played the matches straight and went by the rules, Orton had no compunctions about cheating to win if he thought he could get away with it.

Both Cena and Orton can boast of longevity unlike most of the talents that we currently see on television. What made their feud legendary was the fact that they went to any extent to take each other down.

Here's a great championship match between the two rivals at WWE's SummerSlam event in 2007.