When the OVW 4—Randy Orton, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Batista—are discussed, it’s often mentioned that they were in Ohio Valley Wrestling.
Only Jim Cornette truly goes into detail about their time there as far as their potential and personalities in the short time they were being polished.
I like to look at the time and trips back down there—or up there given my location—of Ruthless Aggression-period stars. This time, we’re looking at Orton’s “final” match in Ohio Valley Wrestling as he faces career rival John Cena: Prototype.
Randy Orton vs. Prototype (OVW TV 1/16/2002)
Context is key here. Looking at their match history and time in OVW, Randy Orton had actually stopped appearing in OVW during October 2001. He was in dark matches and on house shows in WWE and it appears that he didn’t get back into an OVW ring for action until this match.
It was stated that he was at home for six weeks with a shoulder injury. Cornette tells the crowd he spoke with the senior VP of Talent Relations for the WWE—Jim Ross—and that Randy Orton would be on the road full time with the WWF.
Meanwhile Cena—as Prototype—is a member of Bolin Services, the main and longest-running faction in OVW. Prior to this match, he demanded a shot at the OVW Heavyweight title and Leviathan—Batista.
Cena interrupts all of that and shouts at Corny about not getting a challenge in OVW. He’s annoyed that Orton is back and getting all the attention.
I like that Cena states he doesn’t care what generation Orton is and tells Mr. Sulu to set a course for Davis Arena, OVW’s home arena. Orton delivers a weak retort that Prototype might want to join the Army because he’ll need to be all that he can be for this match. Ugh. Randy, please.
Orton accepts and what we get is a brisk, impromptu match-up. Orton is very quick and nimble—even more so against the pretty quick Cena. He’s packing a perfect dropkick and a very nice flying crossbody that has cobwebs now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVeih_Gqakc
As for the Prototype, he’s so powerful, he doesn’t just whip Orton into the corner, Orton flies over the turnbuckles and hits the top of the ring post! The match is even and has a bit of get-up-and-go to it. Nothing fancy or jaw-dropping, just a short, solid contest.
Cena picks up the win with the Proto-Plex—a Blue Thunder Powerbomb—after Orton misses a crossbody where he goes from one side of the ring to the other. I’m not lying. OVW had a smaller, normal-sized ring and Orton cleared that sh**.
Technically, he overshot that crossbody but Prototype’s not complaining.
Cornette’s Appraisal of Randy Orton and John Cena
In Episode #181 of Cornette’s Drive-Thru—the show where he and Brian Last dive into the mailbag for mainly wrestling-related questions—the duo receives a question about five OVW standouts from that class.
Yes, five. Shelton Benjamin is often left out as he was never world champion in WWE—or any notable promotion, unfortunately. The question is basically a “Who was the standout” of the class.
Cornette noted that wrestling was more natural to Randy Orton but he feared that while WWE wouldn’t fumble with him, Orton’s attitude would fumble it for him. He said that Cena was a hard worker and had all of the tools to be a success.
Corny never got around to giving a definite answer but voiced his nervousness about WWE ruining OVW talents since there was a history of doing so.
Immediate Aftermath
Randy Orton returns to the road and would make his television debut on SmackDown with a win over Hardcore Holly on April 23, 2002. You could say it was an upset. Holly was a grizzled, established veteran and ended up pinned in under three minutes.
In late May, he got his first shot at a world championship being defeated by The Undertaker. While he did a few house shows for the WWF in late 2001, Cena would remain in OVW until November 2002.
He defeated Batista for the OVW Heavyweight title on February 20, 2002, before losing it to Nova in late May with Mick Foley as special guest referee. Cena would never regain the title and was on the road regularly in June. He lost a “Loser Leaves Town” match to former employer Kenny Bolin in September but returned for a one-off six-man tag in November.
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