WWE: Is Randy Orton Enough of a Character to Headline Pay Per Views?

Randy Orton is without a doubt one of the most decorated superstars in WWE.  Upon his WWE debut, he immediately became a prominent superstar as a part of Evolution, eventually becoming the youngest WWE Champion in history.  

He became an instant main event superstar, adopting the "Legend Killer" gimmick and fighting many WWE legends and Hall of Famers. Over the years Orton evolved from the "Legend Killer" into "The Viper," a narcissistic superstar who has been seen as both a heel and a face, though really has only had great success with one alignment.

For the past six months, Orton has been portrayed as SmackDown's biggest fan-favorite.  After being drafted to the Friday night show, Orton instantly defeated the World Heavyweight Champion, Christian, to begin his reign atop the blue brand.  But what started as a popular move for who is now one of the most popular superstars in WWE, has since become dull, and has begun to take it's toll on Randy Orton as a character and SmackDown as a show.  

SmackDown attendance is down to record lows, to the point where only half of the arena is filled for tapings.  Orton is being touted as the big star of SmackDown, but he just can't pull it off.  The crowd seems to erupt when his music hits, and again when he wins matches, but there's just something else that the audience is missing from him.

Orton's character has never really gone through any radical changes.  For years he has been playing the egomaniac who's only cared about himself.  Even when working with others, such as Edge in Rated RKO or Rhodes and DiBiase in Legacy, Orton has always prominently shown his egotistical side.  

What has kept Orton so relevant for so many years without any major changes in character, were the relevant storylines that helped to explain his crazy demeanor.  However, each successful storyline was while he was portraying a heel, and now his character just doesn't fit with the fan alignment that WWE is trying to achieve.

Orton was a heel for about five years and had numerous memorable feuds against D-Generation X, Triple H, The Undertaker and John Cena.  His character is the perfect fit for a heel, the same way that John Cena's character is a perfect fit for a face.  

It really doesn't make sense for the top face of SmackDown to "hear voices" or to punt his opponents in the head to purposefully injure them.  Those are characteristics of a heel not a face.  Think about it, would it make sense if Cena turned heel but still saluted the crowd during his entrance?  I don't think so either.

So obviously Orton's gimmick plays a huge part in the lack of success that both he and SmackDown are having, but don't look past his in-ring abilities either.  Now, I'm not saying that Randy Orton isn't athletic, he is, but for all the crap that John Cena gets for performing the same moves night after night, Randy Orton might actually be even worse.  

He has the same exact repertoire of moves that set up the finish of the match, and the only exciting thing he brings to the table is the RKO, which can come out of nowhere, but even that has become predictable.

There's a reason nobody is going to SmackDown events or getting excited about the World Heavyweight Championship matches during pay-per-views, and that is because Randy Orton brings nothing new to the table.  He is exactly the same, night after night.  

Sure, John Cena may seem like that too, but he does things that Orton can not, like talk on the mic and have an actual interaction with the crowd.  No matter where WWE is performing, John Cena can grab a microphone and get the crowd excited to be there.  What can Randy Orton do to get the crowd excited?  Slowly walk to the ring and pose?  Everyone has seen that before.

This is really upsetting for many reasons.  First, I was a huge fan of the heel Orton, back when he was truly locked into his psychotic character, doing things like handcuffing Triple H to the ropes and kissing an unconscious Stephanie McMahon.  Secondly, SmackDown needs a jolt of electricity badly or it is going to keep losing viewers week after week, and damage control isn't going to be enough.

Luckily, Smackdown has a few things going for them.  Sheamus is turning into one of the biggest faces in WWE, which will hopefully take some of the pressure off of Randy Orton for a while.  Also, With Mark Henry vs. Big Show set for Vengeance, hopefully the SmackDown fans will be happy with someone other than Orton headlining night after night.  Sure, it's not the greatest match-up that WWE could give us, but it is something different.

Hopefully things go back to the way they were prior to WrestleMania XXVI, where Randy Orton was feared and not cheered.  John Cena has been a face for nearly eight years now, and he does it well.  

Why can't Orton, who was one of, if not the best heel in WWE for five years, keep going without a change?  We don't need a change of character, we don't need to bring more heels to SmackDown, we just need the old Orton back.