Randy Orton Has No Choice but to Turn Babyface

Randy Orton is one of the top featured performers in WWE. He is currently aligned with The Authority, the company's corporate heel faction led by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Orton's character is one of the most dangerous in WWE and one of the strongest antagonists fans have ever seen.

But even though he is working within the confines of The Authority, the fact is that The Viper does not exist in a vacuum.

He is a key figure in a company that is currently in need of top-level main event Superstars. It could very well be that the WWE faithful will see Orton make a necessary face turn in order to maintain that all-important main event scene.

This is a move that many fans perhaps believed they wouldn't see for quite a while. After all, it was just one year ago that Orton turned heel and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Daniel Bryan to become the new WWE champion.

It was a night many fans had undoubtedly been anticipating for a long time.

For Orton's supporters at that time, it definitely appeared that The Apex Predator was in dire need of a character change. Orton's gimmick does seem to lend itself to more of a villainous role in the company, a role in which he had been very successful in years past.

Credit: WWE.com

For those fans, Orton needed to wear the black hat, and nothing else would do.

So when Orton entered the ring on that fateful SummerSlam night in 2013, fans were surely very happy to see it all go down. Orton finally made the turn, taking advantage of Triple H's Pedigree on Bryan, costing him the newly won WWE Championship.

Orton stood in the ring with Hunter, reveling in the moment and embracing the return to his heel persona.

However, that was just the beginning of Orton's new run. The next night on Raw, the turn was cemented when he was embraced by not only Triple H but Stephanie and Vince McMahon. Orton fit the moment—he was perfect in that spot, and all of the expectations surrounding his character change were fulfilled on that night.

Orton became the centerpiece of The Authority, a group fronted by Hunter and Stephanie. The faction also included a newly unmasked Kane as the Director of Operations and protection provided by The Shield.

The Authority was quite possibly the most corrupt yet most effective corporate faction in WWE history. The heat it generated among fans was intense and made it the most hated heel stable on the roster.

Credit: WWE.com

The Viper was the man in the center of that hate, and he wore it like a glove.

Fast-forward one year later, and many fans are now screaming for Orton to walk into the light once again. The need to see it happen has been quietly brewing for some time now, the volume steadily increasing as the months go by.

Several factors have contributed to that, chief among them the extremely low amount of babyface talent at the top of the company.

John Cena is still riding high as the top guy, of course, and Dean Ambrose is a Superstar who is really catching fire with the crowd. Both men have been connected for a few weeks now thanks to events that transpired as Seth Rollins betrayed The Shield back on June 2 and cost Cena the WWE World Heavyweight Championshipat at Night of Champions on September 21.

Right now, it definitely appears that Cena and Ambrose are becoming the one-two punch of WWE's babyface Superstars.

And this is good for the company, as both Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan are out with injury, Chris Jericho has left once again and CM Punk is long gone.

That amounts to four top protagonists, four guys who could be used on the main event level on any given night in the company. Reigns may be the weakest among them, but he was surely on his way there before being forced out with emergency surgery.

WWE needs another top face in the worst way.

But perhaps the most obvious reason Orton's face turn could be imminent is the fact that Brock Lesnar is the WWE world heavyweight champion and arguably the top heel in the company.

He may not be a permanent presence on WWE programming, but the truth is that he is a very strong heel nonetheless, and if anyone is going to get a legitimate shot against him, it must be an equally effective babyface.

Orton was presented as the face of WWE during his peak with The Authority. He was recognized in storyline terms as being what was best for business and the most despicable Superstar by far. Orton was truly The Viper, and that was his reality.

If that is to ever happen again, then he must make the turn.

Lesnar is seen by many fans as being virtually unstoppable. As such, he needs opponents who can hang with him in the ring. Imagining Orton as a heel filling that role seems highly unlikely and could potentially not be received well by fans.

However, a newly turned Orton could be the difference between a good match and a great match.

The time has come for the company to make the move, because quite frankly there just is no other choice. Orton must turn babyface once again, and it will likely happen sooner rather than later.