When he steps into the ring tonight, Randy Orton will set a special feat that may never be broken.
Orton and Riddle (Raw Tag Team Champions) will face The Usos (SmackDown Tag Team Champions) in a champion vs. champion match at tonight's Survivor Series 2021 pay-per-view in Brooklyn, New York. When the match starts, Orton will have wrestled his 177th WWE pay-per-view match, which will break the all time record he currently shares with Hall of Famer Kane.
Ahead of the record-setting event, John Cena took to Twitter and sent out a congratulatory message to the 14-Time World Champion, acknowleding that it's a milestone he'll never reach himself.
The 41-year-old Orton has been with the WWE for 20 years, and he joined the main roster in 2002. Unlike many of the top stars from the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Eras, Orton has continued to wrestle on a full-time basis with no lengthy breaks. That remarkable longevity and commitment to WWE has allowed him to set a record that will be very difficult to break.
According to ProFightDB.com, The Undertaker is a close second behind Orton and Kane with 174. Of course, The Phenom officially announced his in-ring retirement at the end of Survivor Series 2020, and The Undertaker has made it clear that he isn't keen on returning to the ring.
Orton's Record Will Be Safe For A Long Time
Triple H is the next closest on the list with 173, but he has only wrestled a handful of matches over the last few years. Cena, who also only wrestles the odd match these days, is at 163.
Among active WWE superstars who wrestle on a full-time basis, The Miz is the closest to Orton at 121, followed by Kofi Kingston (117) and Rey Mysterio (114). With Orton still wrestling full-time and obviously nowhere close to retirement, he's only going to distance himself even more from the field.