Randy Orton's Rollercoaster Ride from Legend Killer to Superhero

Randal Keith Orton has been in the WWE since 2002.  The WWE Universe has seen him become the youngest World Heavyweight champion, team up with Edge, become a maniacal heel, punting unconscious wrestlers in the head, leading third-generation superstars in Legacy and now he is a superhero, sometimes comparable to John "Super" Cena. 

Orton is the son of Cowboy Bob Orton and that gives him big shoes to fill as far as success stories go.  The IWC is known for liking the underdog and dominant heels that are worth the support.  I, for one was a huge fan of Orton's work from his "Legend Killer" days to his days in Legacy.  Remember Orton as a narcissistic heel?

His mic skills were top notch and he was a reason I tuned in every Monday night.  In late 2011, the annual WWE draft sent Orton over to Smackdown to dominate his own brand, instead of sharing the spotlight with Cena.  Since his move, he has been World Heavyweight champion two times and won it from Christian, IWC heartbreak. 

C-Cool recently wrote an article on the Game, HHH.  I must say it was damn good.  I'm here to document the ride of Randy Orton, once a favorite of mine, to a guy who never loses cleanly.  I realize this is probably the hundredth article on Randy, but he is a hot topic on WWE and I just want to write it. 

Evolution

Orton was HHH's lackey.  He was involved in his championship matches to secure a victory, kind of like Legacy.  For example, at Elimination Chamber, Randy got involved in the six-man tag match and did his job perfectly.  He was eliminated by Goldberg and secured a victory for Hunter. 

During his tenure with Evolution, he garnered the nickname, "Legend Killer" for his matches with HBK and his situation with Harley Race.  He even defeated Foley in a Legend vs. Legend Killer match for the Intercontinental title.  He succeeded and would end up winning a 20-man battle royal to face Chris Benoit (R.I.P) for the World Heavyweight championship. 

Like I stated above, Orton became the youngest World Heavyweight champion at 24 years old.  Shortly thereafter, he was beaten up by HHH, Flair and Batista.  We all know the story and I suggest you watch the turn on Orton on YouTube.  That break-up spelled the end of Evolution and that began the start of a singles career.  Orton became a fan-favorite with his turn on the Evolution members. 

Singles Competition

During his start in singles competition, his first act was to defeat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania 21.  19-0 means Orton did not win.  Orton did enter a feud with Taker and Rey Mysterio that would each last several months. 

It's noted that Orton's father Cowboy Bob, was revealed as a druid for Taker and helped him defeat Orton in a Hell in a Cell match. 

His first run in singles competition ended with another Legend vs. Legend Killer match with Hulk Hogan, which Hogan won.  This lead to the beginning of Rated RKO and the verge of the Age of Orton. 

Rated RKO and the Age of Orton

Starting in 2006, Randy Orton formed a team with Edge, known as Rated-RKO.  These two would feud with mainly DX, later being John Cena and HBK, due to an injury suffered by Hunter.  Cena and HBK continued to defeat Orton and Edge until they grew hatred towards each other and eventually broke up. 

Orton's feud with HBK continued and he started to attack HBK on separate occasions, continuing his Legend Killer persona.  He defeated HBK at Judgment Day and punted him in the skull, leaving him out of action for awhile.  This to an excellent feud with Cena and this, in my opinion was Orton as his absolute best. 

After Orton's double-championship reign at No Mercy, HBK returned to feud with Orton, but he fell short in which Randy defended his belt multiple times.  Feuds with a returning Y2J, Jeff Hardy and HHH for another instance, signified Orton’s title reign. 

Orton's feud with HHH highlighted the end of the PG era.  This included reality, stemming from a fight at Orton's house to punting every member of the McMahon family. 

Legacy and the Viper Era

Orton dropped the Legend Killer gimmick and started a new one, The Viper and Apex Predator.  He debuted new music, "Voices" by Rev Theory, which really fit his new character.  In Legacy, he took Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase under his tutelage and showed him them the ways of the Viper.  Remember Manu, the other third generation superstar?  Not many people do.

Similar to Evolution, Cody and Ted helped Orton in his championship matches with outside interference and insuring victories.  He began programs with CM Punk, another feud with John Cena, which culminated with a 60-minute iron man match at Bragging Rights.  Cena won the title with no help from Rhodes and DiBiase which started the fall of Legacy. 

At the Elimination pay-per view, Orton was in the chamber match and the two Legacy members got him eliminated.  That led to a triple threat match at Wrestlemania 26.  Randy won the match and he again was a fan favorite.  Now we get in to the current-day Randy Orton, or the IWC misfit. 

Randy Orton, the Superhero

Before his draft to Smackdown, Orton did win a WWE championship in the six-pack challenge match at Night of Champions, giving him his sixth title reign.  We started to see the development of the Orton we all know today.  I'll leave the description for your comments below. 

There was no way the two biggest stars in WWE could survive on the same show.  To Smackdown Orton went and the beard came with it.  His first week already brought him a World Heavyweight championship opportunity against new-champion Christian.  With the fans vote, Orton challenged him on the May 6th episode of Smackdown to defeat Christian for the title. 

Outrage set in with the IWC, putting the label as Cena 2.0 on him right away.  He started to become Cena in many ways like never losing cleanly to a face giving boring promos.  I might be crazy, but has Orton became monotone and boring? 

Currently, Orton is still feuding with Christian.  At Money in the Bank, Christian defeated Orton by disqualification to become the new World Heavyweight champion.  The stipulation, set by Teddy Long was if there was a bad decision by the referee or disqualification from Randy, Christian would win the title. 

Randy did just that.  He proceeded to kick Christian in the groin and lost his title.  Again, he lost by DQ.  Orton didn't get pinned clean, but by an illegal kick.  The two have a no holds barred match at SummerSlam for the title, set by the new COO, Triple H. 

Conclusion

I don't want to be another one of those IWC members that bash on Orton and Cena.  They are both talented and are the two of the top stars in WWE.  I just feel he isn't as impactful to the audience as he was during his days in the Age of Orton.  As a heel, he was more dominant on the stick and I believe got over with the fans more. 

I hear all of the cheers from the high voices and the boos from the fans with lower voices (Cena.....).  The Kennedy and Kingston incidents do not to be re-evaluated or visited.  Simply put, if he doesn't like anyone, don't expect anything big from them. 

Now I want to hear what all of you have to say.  From Legend Killer to Superhero, Orton pulled a 180 degree turn and in my opinion, that hurt his credibility with the IWC and many other fans.  I enjoy Orton better as a heel, what about you?

That's right.  I'm a Paul Heyman guy.