Best Ways to Book John Cena vs. Randy Orton at Hell in a Cell

As revealed on Monday’s Raw, Randy Orton and John Cena are scheduled to clash at Hell in a Cell later this month—and fans everywhere seem to be sighing in frustration.

Indeed, following the show many people took to their Twitter accounts to voice their displeasure with the news that after facing each other on too many pay-per-view and television matches to count, Orton and Cena were once again squaring off.

While things may not look too good for the match right now, there are several steps the writers can take to ensure the bout doesn’t totally tank at Dallas' American Airlines Center.

For one thing, the company could throw in a stipulation or two. Perhaps a tyrannical Triple H and Stephanie McMahon could inform Orton that if he doesn’t pull out a victory at Hell in a Cell he will be expelled from The Authority.

Not only would such a stipulation bring some much-needed drama to this bout, but it would play into WWE’s recent teases of an Orton babyface turn.

The Viper seems to have as many issues with top heel Seth Rollins right now as both Cena and Dean Ambrose do. It definitely feels like his days in the corporate stable are numbered. If the writers are smart, Cena and Orton’s clash at Hell in a Cell could play a major role in this.

Credit: WWE.com

Look for Rollins and Kane to perhaps get involved in the bout too. Rollins' interference could even backfire and cost his teammate the match, once again furthering the tension between the pair.

But I think the real key to booking the Orton-Cena match at Hell in a Cell is keeping it short.

At January’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, WWE unwisely sent the two stars out there to have a 20-minute singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Inevitably, the fans in Pittsburgh soon grew restless and started to bombard the bout with loud, embarrassing and oddly creative chants like “Randy Savage!” “We Want Pizza!” and “Michael Cole!”

It was a total debacle.

Credit: WWE.com

WWE really can't let Orton vs. Cena at Hell in a Cell go longer than 15 minutes. Ten or 15 minutes is enough time for them to churn out a decent little match, but not too long that it drags and causes the people in attendance to turn on them.

Crucially, Orton-Cena should not go on last—that honor should be reserved for Rollins and Ambrose. Not only would this serve to assuage fan resentment at having to sit through Orton-Cena for the 4,246th time, but it would also indicate WWE’s willingness to show faith in newer stars instead of focusing everything on veteran acts.

Of course, it’s possible that no matter what the booking team does at Hell in a Cell, the crowd in Dallas will still turn on the match. It may have just been done too many times before. Maybe nothing can save it.

But the company has to at least make the effort to imbue Orton vs. Cena with some fresh ideas and vitality. The last thing it needs is another repeat of the Royal Rumble disaster.