Randy Orton Is Not the Face WWE SmackDown Live Needs to Establish Brand Identity

When Randy Orton dropped Roman Reigns with an RKO and clotheslined him over the top rope to win the 2017 Royal Rumble, he cashed his ticket to WrestleMania 33 and ensured that he would become the face of SmackDown Live on the road to that monumental event.

While it is understandable that WWE would want to position one of its marquee stars at the forefront of its most anticipated and financially successful events, Orton is not the face the blue brand needs to establish brand identity and to separate itself from Raw.

Whereas the Monday night staple has been the playground of established stars and part-time attractions, SmackDown has consistently played to youth and fresh faces. AJ Styles may be known to fans around the world, but to the WWE Universe, he was new and exciting. Even Dean Ambrose, who has been as prominent on the brand as anyone, carried a freshness with him as a main event attraction.

Orton does not.

He has been a tried and true headliner since 2004. He has been pushed to the top of the mountain numerous times, including 12 reigns as either WWE or world heavyweight champion. He has been a revelation at times, but he has also been overexposed at other times. He has headlined WrestleManias, battled the most iconic stars the industry has ever seen and earned himself an eventual spot in the Hall of Fame. 

If there is anything Orton is not, it is young and fresh.

At a time when SmackDown must continue to build momentum for itself as a true alternative to Raw, something it achieved in the first seven months of the brand extension, The Viper is not the guy to lead it.

An Unusual Dichotomy

More than anything, SmackDown Live has established itself as a destination for youthful energy.

There are 21 stars on the Tuesday night roster who began their journey to WWE in NXT. They were developed and molded, and they achieved their first taste of success under Triple H in Orlando. From former WWE champion Ambrose to backstage interviewer Dasha Fuentes, the brand is full of fresh faces looking for the opportunity to make SmackDown Live their show.

Aiden English	Alexa Bliss	Apollo Crews
Baron Corbin	Becky Lynch	Bray Wyatt
Carmella	Chad Gable	Dasha Fuentes
Dean Ambrose	Erick Rowan	Eva Marie
Jason Jordan	Kalisto	Konnor
Luke Harper	Mojo Rawley	Renee Young
Simon Gotch	Tyler Breeze	Viktor

The minute someone like Orton comes along and reigns over the proceedings as champion, some of that energy and aura goes away. 

A veteran of WWE, who has been heated up and cooled down, pushed and overexposed more over the last 12 years than The Ascension has been beaten down and humiliated in squash matches, Orton has done everything there is to do.

He had settled in nicely as a complementary character to Bray Wyatt, the grizzled former champion no longer sure of what it takes to succeed in today's WWE. As a result, Orton was forced to join up with the man he once called enemy.

It worked for Orton and allowed him to work with younger stars in a less-expansive role. His work with American Alpha, in particular, was outstanding and helped the duo of Jason Jordan and Chad Gable achieve credibility as tag team champions.

Sacrificing that use to make him the face of the company not only sets back the effort to push fresh faces, but it also serves as a reminder to fans that no matter how many cool new stars are brought into the mix, they will never be as good as the guys who have dominated storylines and the title picture for the last decade.

It is detrimental to the brand and the Superstars it should serve, not to mention this grand vision the creative staff has implemented since last July.

Raw is the brand where stars like Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins compete for screen time with Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker and Triple H. It is bolstered by established competitors, the likes of which the WWE Universe has been exposed to over the last five to 10 years.

SmackDown has risen in popularity because of the overall freshness of the product, a freshness Orton does not represent at this point in his extraordinary career.

Rebirth

In the interest of fairness, there is an argument to be made for Orton as the champion and face of SmackDown.

Beyond just a breeding ground of fresh faces, young talent and future Superstars, SmackDown has offered stale characters the chance to be reborn.

Dolph Ziggler was a struggling babyface, stale after years of creative inconsistencies and high-profile losses. A recent heel turn, necessitated by the frustration he felt after repeated defeats in championship clashes, has reinvigorated The Showoff ahead of a make-or-break 2017.

Then there was The Miz, arguably the biggest benefactor of the brand extension to this point.

The Hollywood A-lister seized the opportunity presented to him and has become one of the premier stars on Tuesday nights. As intercontinental champion, he brought legitimacy back to the midcard and delivered some of his finest work. He has captured the attention of fans and may even work with John Cena in a significant WrestleMania 33 match, if recent reports by Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Live (h/t Wrestling Inc) are accurate.

Orton was in a similar situation at one point.

He was boring, stale and in desperate need of reinvention. While he is essentially the same methodical, calculating character he has been since 2009, the involvement with the Wyatt Family as a follower rather than a leader has helped re-energize Orton.

The strength of the story, more than anything, has given fans a reason to invest in the former Legend Killer again.

If WWE Creative is to convince fans that Orton does, in fact, belong at the forefront of SmackDown, his rise will have to come with a full-fledged rebirth of his character. Otherwise, it contradicts everything it has accomplished with the Tuesday night show to this point.