As noted, John Cena defeated AJ Styles to become the new WWE Champion at last night’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view and Randy Orton won the 30-man main event to earn a title shot at WrestleMania 33.
Orton vs. Cena at WrestleMania isn’t locked in as Cena will be forced to defend the WWE Title inside the Elimination Chamber next month. WWE has announced the second entrant for the Chamber – Styles.
They announced the following on Cena and Orton after last night’s pay-per-view:
Randy Orton to compete in the main event of WrestleMania 33
It’s a rivalry without parallel in modern-day WWE, and at WrestleMania 33, career-long foes John Cena and Randy Orton could very well lock horns again — provided Cena makes it to April 2 with his newly won WWE Championship.
The Viper punched his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania by overcoming an all-star field of 29 other competitors to claim the 2017 Royal Rumble Match. Mere hours earlier, The Cenation Leader defeated AJ Styles to win his 16th World Title, a historic feat only accomplished by one other competitor in history: WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair.
While Orton’s opportunity at The Showcase of the Immortals is secure, Cena’s is not, yet. The Champ first must retain the title on Sunday, Feb. 12, in a WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match announced weeks ago by SmackDown LIVE Commissioner Shane McMahon. As of now, the only other competitor confirmed for that six-Superstar battle is Styles. If Cena is successful at WWE Elimination Chamber, only then will his WrestleMania match against Orton be set in stone.
Putting Elimination Chamber aside for a moment, a WrestleMania main event between Cena and Orton would be a fitting, if not poetic, way to celebrate both Superstars’ 15-year anniversaries in WWE. The Champ and The Viper have been peers throughout their remarkable careers, beginning with their training in former WWE developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling, and they have waged war in many a WWE pay-per-view main event over the years.
Will the WWE Universe witness the next chapter at WrestleMania 33?
