There are several reasons why Randy Orton might be the best option to receive this accolade. The first is that Ric Flair said on Monday Night Raw just a couple of weeks before SummerSlam 2020 that he wanted Randy Orton to break his record of 16 World Heavyweight Championship reigns – not John Cena’s record – because Flair held it first.
The second reason is that John Cena is a part-time WWE superstar now, and he will be remembered for his larger-than-life persona. Cena’s natural sense of charisma will live on forever regardless of how many World Heavyweight Championships he finishes his career with. Randy Orton on the other hand has never been thrust into the spotlight with quite as much mainstream appeal as his counterpart – Orton has always been 1B to Cena’s 1A. This is similar to the dynamic between Anthony Davis and Lebron James with the Los Angeles Lakers currently. It might give Orton a little more mainstream attention and serve to make him into an even bigger star.
A third reason this might be the way to go is that Orton has much more time left in his career. Randy has made it perfectly clear that WWE is still his main priority and he still significantly values being present each week to tell compelling stories for Mr. McMahon’s company. Cena is more of a movie star at this stage of his career who occasionally comes back to WWE; it seems that now the only period John can absolutely be relied upon to come back for is the buildup to WrestleMania each year.
However, given The Viper’s level of commitment, it’s very easy to envision those several years consisting of four more world championships (Orton is already at 13 so he doesn’t need very many more).
Essentially, Cena can only be counted on to be present in WWE once a year for a WrestleMania match each year. On the flip side, Orton has at least 5-8 solid years left in his career of being a very capable and committed top star in WWE. The Viper clearly cares a great deal about ensuring the future of WWE. One can see evidence of this by looking at Orton’s previous feuds with younger superstars like Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt. It can even be seen in his rivalries right now with Drew McIntyre (first WWE Title) and Keith Lee, who is brand-new to the main roster.
A fourth reason Randy Orton could be a better choice to break Ric Flair’s record for world titles is because of his history with Flair (Cena has none by the way, so he might not be able to tell as compelling of a story on account of this. Orton was a member of Evolution with both Flair and Triple H and has a great friendship with both men both personally and professionally. Randy was also made into a star right after his incredible and bloody rivalry with Flair back in 2005.
All of this is great, but I have not yet addressed probably the most important point, and that is Randy Orton’s healthy relationship with Mr. McMahon. Let’s face it, you are not going to go very far in WWE is you are not on the same page as the boss. So long as Vince McMahon is in support of The Viper, his trajectory and stock will continue to trend in the right direction.