Good not great - Is Randy Orton finally exposed?

[Rayne]

Seems about one or two people in this thread actually get it, and the rest are being led by their noses. This is for the larger portion here- surely it's occurred to some of you that Randy Orton's star started to fall right about at the time when he picked up his second Wellness Policy violation?

He's too big of a star to release and risk having him go to TNA, so you'll never hear about a third WP violation. But he's no longer a prospective 'face of the company', because the last thing the WWE needs to be hearing about is how their big star is connected to some "anti-aging" clinic.

[kdb1612]

Although Orton came second in the chamber, I really don't think he would have been second choice winner for the WWE. In fact, I think most guys in the chamber would have ranked higher in likely winners.

He'll get his heel turn, he'll be in some solid feuds, put on some great matches...but I think that's about it. He'll still be important for WWE in terms of putting people over and making others look good. In my opinion he's now become the 'nearly' guy, most viewers will see him as a legit threat being in the final few of the rumble, chamber, MITB, whatever, but WWE's confidence in him is gone.

Saying that, I hope I'm wrong, there's few better in the ring.

[The Crock]

Orton's in a bit of a transitionary period right now, but I don't think his career is floundering just quite yet. Orton has always been surrounded by problems -- anger/attitude issues, injuries, wellness policy suspensions -- and I'm sure that his most recent suspension has something to do with why he isn't being pushed as aggressively as he once was. Still, he is a bonafide top level draw for the WWE, and he can hang with anybody they toss his way. Yeah, he might not be in the title picture now, but I don't think he's that far away -- after WrestleMania, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Orton get a World Heavyweight Championship reign, or even turn heel and maybe jump ship to Raw and get back in the WWE Championship ranks.

WWE knows how good Orton is and they'd be stupid not to capitalize on his ability. Pushing Orton doesn't come without risks, but I can't see him slipping up again. Orton's a legitimate star, those don't just grow on trees. His time will come again.

[mace87]

I have to say that I think the injuries he's had lately and the fact that he is a face on Smackdown not Raw have made his character stale and slip down out of the WWE/WHC title pictures.
08/09 during his legacy phase he was on fire with his feuds with Triple H/Mcmahon's, Cena & Batista but since they split Legacy up he hasn't really had a big feud or story line except for Barrett which was unfortunatley cut shot due to Barrett's injury.
WWE need to breathe life into him again by giving him a heel turn and a big feud as he is one of the best in ring competitors on roster.

[CrucifiedRaven]

WWE does this a lot with guys, giving them no direction or feud and just let them hang around. Orton has nothing going on right now. Neither does Dolph Ziggler or Wade Barrett or The Miz or Kofi Kingston. They have a lot of upper-midcard/potential main event talent just sitting there with no story, direction or feuds. They need a program to get over. I fear the same thing will happen to Bryan once his Kane feud finally has the payoff.

[flawd101]

no matter what. when orton hits the ddt from the ropes and the crowd rises to their feet cheering. then he drops and bangs his arms on the mat. It is simply magic. if its raw, smackdown, or a PPV. I get excited everytime. i have no explanation for it. other than it is one of the moments that makes me realize randy orton will always be one of my favorites.

i expect him to beat mark henry at wrestlemania. mark henry ended Super Orton. orton has been pinned clean plenty of times since. Sheamus took his spot during his injury and violations as the 2nd face, who never gets a clean loss. it's only a matter of time before he gets another push. i think they are saving him for a fued with sheamus. they have had tension for a while. i expect orton vs sheamus for WM30

[cubuff37]

Randy Orton is one of my favorite wrestlers but I don't think he makes a very good face. His theme alone totally contradicts what a good guy is supposed to be. Just listen to the lyrics and tell me that he sounds like a hero figure. But as a heel, he might be one of the best heels in the game. Ever.

[S2B]

With the amount of comers and goers at the moment, I think it's time to bring back 'The Legend Killer'

Triple H
Chris Jericho
The Rock
Brock Lesnar
The Undertaker

These five are all in and out of the ring... I wouldn't be holding out too much for Orton-Jericho as there '08 feud was nothing to write home about at all.

But the others... for the big PPVs... they would all be suitable draws, you could probably get another 1-2 year run out of The Legend Killer as a heel. Re-hashing, I know isn't great... but I love the idea of an Orton heel turn at Mania building towards a Legend Killer match vs. The Rock at Summerslam... then potentially Brock at Survivor Series... would that be the perfect way to build believably towards Orton breaking the streak at WrestleMania 30? Or at least, if not breaking the streak... having defeated a series of legends in high stakes matches over the last year... coupled with a title run and feuds against the likes of Sheamus, Ryback etc... would make him seem like he could actually do it.

Plus their previous Mania meet was great.

[jacdnwarrior]

Orton is good and has had his share of good if not great matches.

Imo, I find him more hype than anything else. He isn't great on the mike, he isn't as good as a face as he is as a heel. He isn't the most well rounded entertainers they've ever had in the top spot. Cena isn't stellar in the ring all the time, or as consistently as Orton, but he is a great entertainer. Problem is he like Cena, Triple H, Batista, they are (or were) relied on so much to do the heavy lifting, they ran out of ideas to keep it interesting. The roster has some interesting matchups but not good enough to bring in the revenue or if they work with him and screw up or piss him off they'll find themselves back down the roster faster than they got up there. His clout with WWE management makes working with him a nerve racking experience for younger talent.

Add to that Orton's violations make it difficult to really have him at the top of the roster with the belt for fear that media will blast them for not doing enough to deal with drug use, and at a time they are trying to appeal to a child friendly audience ... that baggage isn't a good thing.

He's not going anywhere, and he'll make his money, will a few runs with the title if needed but he won't be as big as he was in the past.