Randy Orton Needs the WWE Title to Legitimize His Heel Turn

Randy Orton will be squaring off against Daniel Bryan at WWE Battleground on Sunday, October 6.  The match will be for the WWE Championship, which has been vacant since the Raw after Night of Champions. For many of Daniel's supporters, this match is a must-win.  However for me, Orton is the man who needs this win the most.

Because without it, his recent heel turn could have been for nothing.

To me, this has been one of the most entertaining storylines we have seen from WWE in quite some time. This has been the classic underdog story; the old-fashioned tale of the hard-working Superstar trying to make it big. Bryan represents the blue-collar guy, the one who came up through the ranks to earn the spot that he now enjoys.  

And the whole company is trying to hold him down.

The fact is that Bryan's fans want to see him succeed.  They want to believe that this angle will ultimately end in a real WWE title run for Daniel.  For those fans who cheer him on every week, there would be no greater relief than to see Bryan hoist the belt above his head once more and this time keep it.  Anything less is just not an option.

But while the hook that Bryan's character has is working all across the board, the truth is that it's not the same hook that Randy Orton possesses.  For Randy's character, things are just a little bit different.

Unlike Bryan, Orton has been portrayed as the fortunate son.  He is the man who grew up in the business thanks to his father Cowboy Bob and his grandfather Bob Sr.  Randy is a guy who appears to have had the whole world in front of him, with a prime spot in WWE that was just his for the taking.  

The table had already been set, and all Orton had to do was pull up a chair and enjoy.

Despite the hard work that Randy Orton, the man, has done behind the scenes, the fact is that Randy Orton, the character, basically had everything handed to him.  He is very accustomed to getting his way and usually does not accept no for an answer.

It is that sense of entitlement that has defined his heel turn up to this point.  After being hailed as the new face of WWE by the McMahon family, Randy has fit that description and more than lived up to it.  His smugness, his arrogance, everything about him says that he believes he deserves all the praise he receives.

And if you don't believe it, then you're wrong.

Randy does not need the support of fans to believe in his ability or to succeed in WWE.  He knows he's good, and no amount of cheers or high-fives from fans brought him to that realization.  When he stares into the camera, it's as if he's staring right through you.  And when he stares at Daniel Bryan, it's as if he's staring right past him.  Orton believes he is untouchable, and Bryan does not have a prayer of beating him.

And this attitude stems from SummerSlam.  On that night, Triple H gave the Pedigree to Bryan mere moments after he defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship.  This, of course, gave Orton the opportunity to beat Bryan and become the new champ.

This was the Orton heel turn that fans had been wanting for for a very long time.  This was the return of the Apex Predator, a man who asks for no quarter and gives none in return.  For his fans, Randy Orton is perfect in this role.

And it all centers on the WWE title.  So if he does not regain it at Battleground, then my only question is why did WWE turn him heel in the first place?

The easy answer is the most obvious one, of course.  The fact is that Bryan was a new player on the main event scene, and the company needed a strong heel that he could work with. Randy was the man picked to be that heel.

But the WWE title was the temptation that led Randy to the dark side.  He wanted it so badly that he was willing to deal with the devil that Triple H became in order to get it.  Randy betrayed the fans that supported him and took the easy way out against Bryan, who is viewed as an honorable, respectable Superstar.

Orton as the company's top heel champion facing off against the red-hot Daniel Bryan as the challenger was working.  The fans were responding, the angle was moving right along and everything seemed to be clicking on all cylinders.  But without Orton as WWE champion, the entire storyline suddenly seemed to falter.

It then became more about Daniel Bryan versus Triple H rather than Daniel Bryan versus Randy Orton.

The bottom line here is that if WWE wants fans to believe in Randy Orton and respect his role as the top heel, then he needs that gold strap.  The title will immediately justify his heel turn and give him back the swagger that he seems to have lost since he held it.  

After all, bragging about yourself as the new face of WWE does not make much sense if you don't have the championship itself.  The belt backs up everything that has been said about Orton's greatness by fans, and it totally legitimizes him as the top heel in the company.

But without the WWE title, Randy Orton is just another heel in just another storyline.  He's a great heel, there is no doubting that.  But with the championship, he will carry the trophy that caused him to turn heel in the first place.  And that will definitely mean something.