Randy Orton: The DE-Push Is Coming...

June doesn't seem to be shaping up to be a good month for "Ortonites". Rumors are circulating that WWE is planning on a major de-push of The Viper. In wrestling terms, a push is when a wrestler is given the spotlight, an opportunity to shine, and put in main event caliber story arcs. A "de-push" can qualify as just the opposite. When a wrestler's stock has "soured" with the powers that be, creative can just as easy take away a superstar's momentum by using them sparingly, giving them some hard loses and removing them from important matches and stories.

It might be Randy Orton's new injury, which could potentially keep him out of action for a long time if surgery is necessary. For now, WWE is playing it safe by keeping him out of the ring. He has not participated in any house show events since the injury and his role on RAW has clearly been reduced. Last week, he was "taken out" by Edge and as of this report, nothing is planned for him on tonight's special three hour edition of the show. 

It might be the fact that Orton hid his injury (which he sustained not in a ring but playing sports with some friends) from the WWE. The higher ups in the company do not look to fondly on people keeping serious injuries a secret, as it not only hurts the product but can make the company look bad, as though they don't care about the talent.

It might be Orton's general attitude, which as of late as shown again that he might not be mature as some earlier reports claimed. This is of course, pure speculation, so take that with a grain of salt.

It might be the WWE seeing new stars in the likes of Evan Bourne, Kofi Kingston, and John Morrison, who are younger and perhaps easier to market to today's WWE Universe.

Whatever the reason, unless something changes, we could be seeing something that no one predicted. The de-push of one, Randy Orton, as opposed to the "star" and "face" of the company that many were predicting he would become as 2010 rolled on.