What are they doing with Orton?

[Nolan]

Originally Posted by THTRobtaylor

The diva incident in question was Candice, he allegedly shat in her bag and she quit because of it, citing bullying, as this was around the time the Be A Star stuff began, so they suspended him.

The problem Orton has is the same one that Shawn had in 1998 and Hogan had in 93... their auras in the ring had become tarnished by their backstage relationships ,drugs allegations and their conduct out of the ring.

Shawn had to literally quit the biz for 4 years, though at the time it was forever, but to those in the biz he "didn't want to drop the belts"...

Hogan had to totally reinvent himself, it wasn't simply a case of "going heel", he had to run in a pack for the first time and find a cohort in Bischoff who would back him up financially so he could surround himself with his cronies for that initial WCW stint.

Orton doesn't have Hogan's "stroke", knack for attracting sycophants or inventiveness and he hasn't had the time away that allowed people to forget Montreal that Shawn had but most importantly he doesn't have the business environment on his side. It's a different time to the other 2 guys had.

WWE can never go back on it's wellness or anti-bullying campaigns now, and this is a guy with strikes and a bad rep for both, he has made enemies in TNA so going there would be a risky move for him (or them if a lot of talent decided they wanted to leave if he came) and even if Orton took a year or two out, he would miss that next big catchfire moment which is bound to come soon.

When Shawn disappeared and came back religious, people got behind him because of the time involved but also because it was the early days of the IWC, so people knew how messed up he was when he left. We knew Hogan had testified to taking roids, but we didn't know a lot of his other bad traits backstage.

In Orton's case, every mistake is out there for all to see... It's hard to root for the guy because everyone from fans to co-workers have the same story to tell, he's had a career handed to him and his attitude shows this, and most believe he WILL screw up again, it's not if but when.

That is bullshit, specially the last part where "everything was handed to him". If you believe for one second that his career was a mix of luck and politics, than you are delusional. There is no formula to make fans interested, if you suck fans won't care about you, if you do a great job you'll get everything you deserve and Randy Orton had the fans behind him since his stint in Evolution - they saw potential on the guy, and they saw it well because Orton is one of the most talented guys in the roster, both in and outside of the ring and they put him in Evolution because of that. Heidenreich had a feud with Undertaker, he actually dominated him, and fans didn't care so it's not about handing anything to said guy, it's about giving them the ball and see if they can run with it, and Orton did it with his work, not yours nor McMahon's work, he did it by himself, he got over by himself saying otherwise is plain stupid.

Now onto his suspensions, first and foremost Orton was an asshole, he is the first to admit it and he got suspended back in 2006 and 2007 for that. Now, after 5 years clean he got suspended again because he was on some painkillers, not drugs (like Evan Bourne), just something that happened to have something against the Wellness Policy (it's not always for drugs, a lot of medicines are forbidden because they can contain stuff like testosterone). I can't see why you are comparing Orton to Michaels, because you are comparing two different persons and if Michaels for God unknown reasons stayed clean after 4 years absent, you don't believe that Orton can stay clean for the rest of his career? Too much hate and I haven't seen no reason to believe he can't, in fact he alone said more than once that he treated himself for the sake of his daughter, wife and himself. And in his main event run, including a WrestleMania Main Event, he did it with no problem whatsoever, at least for what I've seen, he never hit a fan in live television of some sort and nor he had an attitude problem (that every main guy has if you believe every bullshit the IWC reports) so big that TMZ reported of something.

And if we start to talk about his talents you can't deny that the guy has IT, and let him go and become a free agent is a big hit for the company. Don't you forget that WCW boomed thanks to guys that had less name than Orton. If he shows up at a TNA Show and gets himself in a feud with the likes of Bobby Roode, you may believe that people will tune in to watch it. The guy still has something like 6 years in him at his very best and letting him go is a stupid move.

However I think that he should stay home for more than one or two months, I even think that he should only return near SummerSlam, to create buzz and to have a relevant storyline, not return like he did, by beating Heath Slater in a 4 minute match and leave, that is some serious shitty booking. I don't believe for one second that his fall is only his fault, in fact I believe that WWE's Creative Team is the reason he started to lose interest, and if you have a guy like Orton and use him as poorly, you're gonna have a bad time. In some way he reminds me of Jake Roberts, one of the most talented wrestlers ever, that were victims of a shitty dark past. And almost 30 years since Roberts was in his prime, you may very well believe that now the fact that he didn't hold any WWE Championship is a wrestling "crime".

[Kodo Sawaki]

So what you think that killed Orton's mystique?

Orton himself. If it hasnt been that Wellness violations he would probably be on the top of the world. I believe that he paid his due to that and was on the way for the heel turn and push again but i hear that he is injured so probably nothing for that.

Other than that there is nothing wrong with him. He is somewhat bland on the mic but he is one of the best technical wrestlers in the company. Companu needs him right now, if for nothing just to put midcarders over so they didnt fire him and let him stay because he is needed.

The fact that SmackDown lost relevancy helped his depush?

Smackdown lost relevancy from Raw way before him. Smackdown was always no@ show in every turn and was never no1. One thing is for sure: It didnt help him that WWE thought they could mix things up and leave Cena on Raw(which is very good bussiness decision) and put him as easyly no2 guy in the company then to Smackdown...

Do you think that he will be on top again? If so, how?

He was on his way. Had very good role on Survivor series and was on the way to be somewhat relevant again but I fear that this injury makes things harder for that. Its not that hard to be relevant again, put him away from Del Rio and meaningless guys like that and put him on some high profile match(for example he could walk away from his team on Survivor series and have a match with Mick Foley at TLC but its too late for that) and thats it.

[3drinks]

The problem with Orton is right now, the WWE is in a terrible position. On the one hand, you have a talented individual with a rather lucrative contract, but on the other you have this same man with two wellness violations and could be out the door soon because of that(if he fucks up again, anyway). So you can't push him too hard because if he fucks up then...

But at the same time, you can't let him go because TNA would be foolish to snap him up. Eric Bischoff has already said he would love to get his hands on Orton, and he would be a sure-fire future TNA World Heavyweight Champion...of the World. Maybe even get the "Kurt Angle Treatment". No doubt he'd be a huge draw for them, especially as they don't have a wellness policy to implement, and the lighter schedule would certainly be appealing to one as injury-prone as he can be. One thing is for sure though; if this happens, TNA will have a huge improvement to their roster and may very well be able to finally go toe-to-toe with the WWE. Mark my words, if this happened, he will be the key move; the catalyst that finally brings TNA to this level.

The other problem is, you have a guy getting main event money, but you're afraid to push him past the upper mid-card level because of his baggage. it is just a very difficult position for them to be in with him.

[xavyer]

I think that in a way, Randy Orton has to re invent himself, not in the ring, but as a person, people make mistakes, and people deserve second chances, but in Randy's case, this would be his third chance, if Shawn Michaels could do it, i think he can, let's face it, the guy has talent, there was even one time that it looked like he was going to become as big or even bigger than Cena, but he blew it, so i guess he's back in line for a push, or a good run, like many people said, they pushed him way too early, and now, he's still young and there is basicly not much left for him, so the only thing left for him to do is re invent himself, or help the newbies make a name for themselves, like him and the shield is a step in the right direction, right now the WWE has two top faces in Cena and Ryback, plus the Miz is right behind them, so what the WWE can do at this moment is to turn Orton Heel, because at the moment they only have CM Punbk as the top heel, Ziggler, Barret, Sandow and Cesaro are good heels, but they are not there quite yet, and Brock Lesnar is only part timer, so they need another top heel, and that can only be Orton, and also, like many people said, he's injury prone, what they can do is have him apear in every show, but not wrestle in every show, he can start a feud, get in someone's head, or on his nerves every week, and have him face his rival at the PPV, or if he gets to wrestle before a PPV, let it be in tag team action or multi people matches so he doesn't risk getting injured, and hopefully he doesn't get that third strike.......

[rb286]

Originally Posted by xavyer

people make mistakes, and people deserve second chances, but in Randy's case, this would be his third chance, if Shawn Michaels could do it, i think he can, let's face it, the guy has talent,

I pretty much agree with this. He's far too talented to throw away, there's a reason why Bret Hart has called him one of the best technical wrestlers today. He really needs to buck up his ideas and stop abusing drugs. It doesn't help that the WWE seem to have gone off the boil regarding Randy and have made him rather dull. Some character development is needed, not necessarily a heel turn (although I wouldn't be against the idea). Just some change in his character to make you care about him again. He needs that mean streak in his game again, make him unpredictable. He's a loner, don't team him up with other wrestlers, if someone gets in his way, he should beat them up. Spice him up abit, he seems to be stuck in a routine where Randy himself, isn't happy with.

[Rich the UK WWE Fan]

I've said all along about Randy Orton, that if it wasn't for the fact his Dad and Grandad are Hall of Famers, and the fact HHH is very high on him, he would've been released/fired years ago IMO purely for his drugs problems and backstage behaviour

[Enlightenment]

I'm really disappointed with the year randy has had mostly because randy was always consistent before this year it was hard to find a period of time where he wasn't getting the job done minus when he was injured. I think goin face really through him off his game and he lost interest for awhile. That's why I'm hoping when he returns from this current injury, he will come back as a heel and be the randy we all know and love.

[Heel Randy>Face Randy]

I think you can all tell by my username which Randy I'd prefer, but honestly i don't see any heel turn happening and if it does not for long. Just like the other time when he was frustrated sheamus beat him with the roll up pin, he RKO'D him and instead of being booed it was the exact opposite. I could see that happen, he would attack a face and get cheered and the could only get louder forcing them to turn him back face.