WWE Superstar Study: Analyzing the State of Randy Orton'S Character

Randy Orton continues to be one of the WWE’s most popular stars and one of its most reliable performers. 

One could argue that he’s the second-most popular star in the company and one of its top five in-ring talents as well. 

Yet the creative team hasn’t exactly been Orton’s friend as of late, and he’s sort of been stuck in no-man’s land between the main event and the midcard since last fall. 

Today, we’ll take a look at what’s been going on with Orton and what might happen with him in the future. 

Where He’s Been 

After a phenomenal series of matches with Christian that ended in August 2011, Orton transitioned into his next World Heavyweight Championship feud with Mark Henry, who was on a devastating role at the time. 

Henry surprisingly beat Orton clean for the title at Night of Champions and then retained it, clean once again, at Hell in a Cell two weeks later. Orton would earn another title shot on SmackDown, but he lost that as well after interference from Cody Rhodes. 

This would lead to a short rivalry with Rhodes, who Orton defeated at Vengeance and in a Street Fight on the Nov. 4 SmackDown. Shorty after Orton’s rivalry with Rhodes concluded, he was named the captain of his Survivor Series team, igniting a rivalry with the other team’s captain, Wade Barrett. 

Barrett would beat Orton using dirty tactics on SmackDown on the Nov. 11 edition of SmackDown, but Orton would beat Barrett on the following Raw via DQ. However, Barrett’s team wound up beating Orton’s at Survivor Series, as Rhodes and Barrett were the last two men standing for the heel side. 

Ultimately, this would lead to Orton defeating Barrett in a Tables Match at WWE TLC in December. The feud continued, and on the Dec. 30 SmackDown, Orton was injured during a Falls Count Anywhere match when he was launched down a set of stairs by Barrett. This was to cover up for a legitimate back injury for Orton. 

“The Viper” would return less than a month later and attack Barrett, and at the Royal Rumble, he would eliminate Barrett from the Royal Rumble match near the end. The feud between the two would end when Orton defeated Barrett In a No DQ match on the following SmackDown. 

On Raw just 11 days later, Orton suffered a legitimate concussion after an attack by Daniel Bryan (though the attack didn’t cause it), and as a result, Orton was removed from SmackDown’s Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship. 

Orton returned less than a month later, but his match with Bryan was interrupted by Kane, which caused Orton to return the favor and attack Kane on the following Raw. 

Where He Is Now 

The out-of-the-blue rivalry between Kane and Orton resulted in a match at WrestleMania 28, which Kane surprisingly won. 

The feud between these two would get pretty terrible and feature some very cheesy moments, such as Kane’s epic “I’m a sucker for family reunions” line or the two exchanging attacks on each other’s fathers. 

Although the feud wasn’t doing much for me, it continued after 'Mania (Orton beat Kane in a No DQ match on the post-Mania SmackDown) and through Extreme Rules, where Orton beat Kane in a good Falls Count Anywhere match. 

The last we would see between these two came on the SmackDown episode after Extreme Rules, when Orton and Big Show teamed up to beat Kane and Rhodes in tag team action. 

Kane hasn’t been seen on TV since then, and after failing to become the No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship in a Beat the Clock Challenge, Orton teamed up with Sheamus on this week’s Raw in a losing effort to Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio. 

Orton and Sheamus lost the match after Sheamus inadvertently hit Orton with a Brogue Kick, and following the match, Orton returned the favor with an RKO to The Great White. 

The beef between all the competitors in this match resulted in Orton being added to the World Heavyweight Championship Match at Over the Limit to make it a Fatal 4-Way. 

This will be Orton’s first World title match since last fall, and it appears as if he is finally working his way back into the main event scene after a run of upper-midcard feuds that were hit or miss. 

Where I Think He’s Headed

What transpired with Orton and Sheamus on Monday’s Raw was interesting because Orton’s RKO on the World Heavyweight Champ has some (including me) thinking that this was a tease of a possible heel turn. 

But to be honest, it was probably just a Stone Cold-like moment, where Orton RKO’d someone, well, because he could. 

I think the main reason that Orton was actually added to the World Heavyweight title match at Over the Limit is to set up for an upcoming feud with either Jericho or Del Rio. 

Remember: Jericho’s last appearance during his previous WWE run that ended in 2010 came when he was punted in the skull by Orton, so there’s a definite story there to build upon, with Y2J wanting revenge on Orton for almost ending his career. 

Jericho could be leaving to tour with Fozzy soon, but if the WWE wants to get one more big feud out of him, then a rivalry with Orton makes a ton of sense. 

On the flip side, I could also see Orton’s involvement at Fatal 4-Way ultimately leading to a feud with Del Rio. 

ADR has feuded with CM Punk, John Cena and now Sheamus, but he’s yet to have an extended rivalry with “The Viper.” I think an Orton/ADR feud is something that the WWE creative team wants to see happen, and I think it could happen as soon as after Over the Limit. 

While a potential heel turn for Orton and rivalry with Sheamus seems like a possibility now, we’ve seen those two feud before, and I think the WWE is actually too heel-heavy for an Orton heel turn to even be considered a possibility at the moment. 

I’d bank on either an Orton/Y2J or Orton/ADR feud after Over the Limit, and it will probably be set up at the pay-per-view, perhaps with one of those heels screwing Orton out of the World Heavyweight title. 

Where I Think He Should Be Headed

I’ve been begging for a feud between Orton and Dolph Ziggler for months now, but given Ziggler’s current position on the card, I’ve pretty much lost all hope of that happening. 

If not a feud with Ziggler, though, then who? Here’s a hint: Yes. 

Yes, I’m talking about Daniel Bryan. 

An Orton/Bryan rivalry was teased before WrestleMania 28, and I think that—dating back to January—many of us thought that we’d see Orton vs. Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. 

We didn’t see those two feud then. But I want to see it now. 

Much like the great series of matches between Orton and Christian in 2011, I think we could get an absolutely fantastic series between Orton and Bryan, perhaps one that also culminates at SummerSlam. 

I don’t expect either Orton or Bryan to walk away from Over the Limit as World champion, so they should start off with a fresh slate after the pay-per-view, unless Orton starts a rivalry with either Jericho or Del Rio. 

Either way, though, I think that Orton vs. Bryan is a rivalry that has to happen because it would be a battle between the blue brand’s top heel and its top baby face. 

How we get there doesn’t matter as much to me as just making this feud happen. If it involves a World title, that’s even better. But it isn’t completely necessary. 

Orton and Bryan could make this feud work in terms of what goes on both in and out of the ring, and it’s a rivalry that the WWE should capitalize on while Bryan is so hot. 

If this doesn’t happen, though, I’ll settle for an Orton vs. Jericho feud. That could be fun. 

Final Thoughts

Orton has undoubtedly developed into one of the WWE’s top overall talents and has proven to be as reliable of a performer as just about anyone in the company. 

He’s still only 31 years old and has been around for 10 years, which is absolutely crazy to think about, but he probably has another decade as a top guy. 

The problem for him at the moment, though, seems to be that he’s feuded with just about every top heel, and as a result, he’s teetered on the borderline of the main event for a while now. 

No worries, though—Orton is just biding his time until he makes it back to the top of the WWE.

Drake Oz is the WWE Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter and ask him any wrestling-related questions (to be answered in the B/R Mailbag) on Formspring.