Randy Orton - Safe To Say... No One Cares Anymore

[BigPoppaPunk]

Love or Hate Orton,

lets all remember that he's headlined WM's
lets then remember that Vince loves Orton's hot body
lets remember that Orton is hands down the best wrestler in the entire WWE (YES BETTER THAN PUNK, CENA, BRYAN!)

Up until you said Orton was a better wrestler than Punk or Bryan I was inclined to agree with you. Orton does carry his side of his fueds, but he isn't as great as Punk or Bryan. More often than not, Punk and Bryan wind up almost single handedly making their opponent's look like a million bucks in the ring(whether they are great or mediocre). Orton is talented, not doubt about it, but he's only very good in the ring, whereas the other two are great in ring workers. I do enjoy Orton in the ring, although again I do think he's overrated. He just doesn't have the kind of charisma to be as effective as he should be at this stage in his career. Orton is the number two guy to Cena, and much like Cena, hasn't improved all that much for the spots they are in. I was glad to see though that at least Orton did put Mark Henry over, as I never expected that to occur.

 

[beckyh]

I do question whether or not Orton can carry SD and I don't think he can do it. I do like him as a wrestler. I have bought his merch. But he does his best work when he has someone he can play off on like Cena or Edge or whomever. He does not stand alone and shine as brightly. That is where having solid promo skills come in handy. Jericho or Edge could come out and play off of the audience. Hell they could play off a steel chair and make it believable.

But I do question whether or not Vince or whomever thought this out.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Randy Orton is the single most over member of the roster when you take into effect the fact that every single demographic likes him. Adult males, children, pensioners, women. White, black, Asian, Hispanic, native American. It doesn't matter, Randy Orton is HUGELY over. Just because ticket sales have dropped along with attendances in a business that is going through one of the biggest down-periods in its existence. Plus there's that whole world economic crisis thing. Let’s see, do I pay for food and bills or do I purchase tickets to see men in their underpants grab each other. Let’s think... You’re jumping to conclusions. Stop it.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I don't know what show the thread starter is watching, Orton is still getting loud face reactions from fans. He is still the top guy of Smackdown and the #2 guy in the federation. So what if the ratings went down when he held the title? Edge had to retire. That's not Orton's fault. He and Christian have done a good job of carrying the show as best they can. House shows having low attendance has nothing to do with Orton. House shows suck compared to tapings or PPV's and many fans know it. People focusing on Raw is nothing new. When people talked more about Orton, he was on Raw. The red brand has always been the flagship show. Nothing has changed other than Orton being on a show that's seen as being less significant and not the flagship. Fans still care because otherwise they would not react to his entrances or finisher like they do. He's as over as ever and is helping keep Smackdown alive.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Orton gets one of the loudest pops on the WWE roster so to say no one cares about the guy is asinine. You might be able to question his drawing power but that's an issue across the board in WWE, not just with Orton with Cena possibly being the only exception.

Good on Mark Henry for doing a great number his first week as champ but I think there is more to it than that like the fact they are slowly breaking the brand extension barriers as you often see CM Punk and HHH on the show but it has nothing to do with Orton in general, you can go deaf from the cheers he gets when he comes out, I don't think even CM Punk gets the reaction from the crowd Orton does. Shawn Michaels was amazing as champ but ratings sucked when he was champ, sometimes its not the wrestlers its the situation in general.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

Like most other people I'm calling bullshit. Orton can boast possibly the most impressive feat of any superstar in recent months. Every show it's a huge positive reaction, John Cena hasn't been able to guarantee that. Mind you that isn't necessarily a bad thing but that's a thought for another time.

I think it comes down to what others have also mentioned which is the idea that Henry is a champ is good for Smackdown and good for Orton. That clean loss for Orton is one of the best things that has happened to him in a long while. Now Henry not only looks a threat but the dominant superstar, people are going to want to tune in to see how Orton overcomes Mark Henry. To borrow the phrase, it's booking 101.

To tell you the truth, in recent times Orton and Cena have been overbooked. I would remember times fairly often where Hulk Hogan would lose clean prior to a title defense. It's more rare these days. The numbers spike is thanks to what we all suspected, that the booking right now is working.#

But a couple more things about the ratings. The number is not firmly based on quality, ratings fluctuate even when the quality of a product is consistent because of other external factors like American Football, other competitive shows or even the weather. Secondly and one of the first things you learn in all of research methods, one event is not a trend, it's a point. You don't take a case study and apply it as a general rule. You need multiple events to demonstrate the effects of given variables. Basically, look at the ratings of the next few weeks before you draw any conclusions.

To re-cap, you can't judge the drawing capacity of current SD events yet. More importantly, don't go spouting that it's all due to Henry. Those who read my piece in the Henry as world champion thread know I give Henry a small amount of credit for the position he's in. Throughout wrestling history it's the faces who have always been the draw. Those who are tuning in (more particularly those who have tuned in because of being captured by the imagination of the Henry and Orton fiasco) are more likely tuning in to see Orton reclaim his title, or just beat Henry. I'm afraid to say it's way too convoluted to tell is MARK HENRY the man is drawing views.

 

[#1HEEL]

In all honesty, this is just a hate thread against Randy Orton. It's typical IWC bullshit.

We hated on Triple H from 2002-2006 because he was always the champ.

We hated on Cena from 2004-present because he was a face and not a heel.

We now hate on Randy Orton because he is a face, he's "stale" he's "generic" he's a "5 moves of doom".. You may as well hate wrestling then. Because anybody who is a huge success in this business, is generic, and corny, and has a certain skillset. Why? Because it's all about the live audience, and they pop for that shit.

Ratings? Your blaming Orton for the ratings? Have a look at the Smackdown roster. Its Orton, and maybe Sheamus and Christian. Then who?? Henry is the flavour of the month at the moment, but Kane is out, Big Show is out, Undertaker is out.

You expect a roster built around Orton/Sheamus and Christian to draw??

In years past Smackdown was loaded with talent, now its just a show where alot of wrestling occurs on the show, and RAW is the spectacle. That's obvious given all WWE talents appear on RAW yet not on smackdown.

Randy Orton still pops huge, regardless of which show he shows up. He does not get booed. Very few people in WWE at the moment can say they don't get a mixed reaction.

He always puts on excellent matches week in, week out. And if not for his level of "over" Mark Henry would not be a success as champion.

 

[IT Factor]

In all honesty, this is just a hate thread against Randy Orton. It's typical IWC bullshit.

Agreed totally. It's the same thing people have been doing since the internet became popular. Hating for no real reason. I'm a different kind of wrestling fan, though. While I do read rumors and keep up, I could care less whether I'm in the majority or not. I don't care if people see things the way I do because every person sees things differently. How boring would WWE and wrestling in general be if people all agreed on everything?

We hated on Triple H from 2002-2006 because he was always the champ.

Another good example of net consensus when it was unwarranted. The moment people found out Trips was married to Stephanie McMahon, they automatically had faulty ammo to a very biased discussion. I've always valued Triple H as a great in-ring performer and entertainer. The fact that he's Stephanie's husband and Vince's son-in-law has always been irrelevant to me. Of course, no one has ever accused the online community of wrestling fans of being balanced.

We hated on Cena from 2004-present because he was a face and not a heel.

I've always respected Cena for his contributions and work ethic. Although he could stand to make some much needed change-ups to an expected routine. I'm not saying he has to go heel, but, changes of any kind are welcomed.

We now hate on Randy Orton because he is a face, he's "stale" he's "generic" he's a "5 moves of doom".. You may as well hate wrestling then. Because anybody who is a huge success in this business, is generic, and corny, and has a certain skillset. Why? Because it's all about the live audience, and they pop for that shit.

Ever since WWE openly started admitting that they were "entertainment" and not "wrestling", the value of technical wrestling went down. No in-ring performer in the WWE[besides maybe Bryan & Punk] are without their own "5 moves of doom". It's just different because people happen to like them and not Orton/Cena. It's funny though, because Cena & Orton are the stars that fans consistently pay to see. Neat contradiction, isn't it?

Ratings? Your blaming Orton for the ratings? Have a look at the Smackdown roster. Its Orton, and maybe Sheamus and Christian. Then who?? Henry is the flavour of the month at the moment, but Kane is out, Big Show is out, Undertaker is out.

The ratings problem lately can be attributed to a stale overall WWE product as much as it could be to one or two individuals. Blaming Orton or Cena is a scapegoat for fans who don't yet wanna admit that WWE needs to start focusing on new stars and innovative storylines. You can't single out Orton for problems that have been building up in the WWE for years now.

You expect a roster built around Orton/Sheamus and Christian to draw??

Yes, I do. Given their talent, they could easily draw heavily in the right roles. Both guys have only recently begun restoring much needed credibility as main eventers. You can't bury those two for months in the mid-card and then turn around and expect people to come to the shows based on their drawing power alone. You can't have it both ways. Fans notice that which is why they can't draw as heavily as Orton or Cena who have been consistently dominant in their runs.

In years past Smackdown was loaded with talent, now its just a show where alot of wrestling occurs on the show, and RAW is the spectacle. That's obvious given all WWE talents appear on RAW yet not on smackdown.

That's WWE's fault entirely. If you book one show as the inferior show, it will be perceived that way. At times, WWE announcers openly claimed Smackdown is the "B-show". You can't then turn around and complain when people believe it and don't watch.

Randy Orton still pops huge, regardless of which show he shows up. He does not get booed. Very few people in WWE at the moment can say they don't get a mixed reaction.

He always puts on excellent matches week in, week out. And if not for his level of "over" Mark Henry would not be a success as champion.

I couldn't agree more. Fans like to complain no matter who is on top. Currently, Cena and Orton are the golden boys who receive alot of online hate while in reality they are being cheered and selling merch. Reality is overwhelmingly for Orton & Cena remaining on top which is why online consensus doesn't change that fact.

WWE fans need to start accepting individuals for who they are and what they bring. Orton & Cena are draws that keep asses in seats whether the online community wants to admit it or not.

 

[mykeymayhem]

agreed to a point, I know they use caned cheers/heat on SD but the majority of the crowd still jizzes in there pants when randy orton comes out.
I myself am not found of him, i HOPE Mark Henry wins that re-match cause if he doesn't his several month push means about nothing.
Now who might take Orton's place as the "Top draw guy" ?
I see sheamus or however you spell his damn name rising to that spot to.
Also Cody is steaping his game up week in and week out so look for him to be a top heel very soon.
I think WWE is smart enough to know Orton is not that guy by now but what do I know i'm just a fan I call it like I see it.
His matches bore me and his personality can be compared to that of a dead fish.
I think Orton can be used to give other guys the rub like he has been to Cody but other than that there is no real reason to keep him near the main event.

 

[Heavens Vibe]

Randy Orton simply put pisses me off...Hes a great guy and great wrestler, but I hate seeing him getting a face pop for foaming at the mouth and orgasming at the center of the ring and pulling grotesque faces when hes in the ring, to me he comes across as a heel and his superman attributes piss me off...He kicks out of a spear against christian and overcomes some crazy odds especially the match against the nexus a while back and manages to win...

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

I think some people actually DON'T realize that the superstars actually DON'T WRITE the parts for their characters most of the time. Translation = If you have an issue with Randy Orton's portrayal of his character and his "monotonal" voice, you more than likely don't have an issue with the superstar themselves. Orton's part is to be cold and calculating, not vibrant and OTT on the mic. Would it make you happy if "The Viper" came out in a jumpsuit, handing balloons to kids and celebrated every match by break-dancing? Orton does what he is supposed to perfectly well which is shown by the massive and consistent reactions he gets.

And I don't think I need to drum the idea that Henry became relevant because of beating Orton himself, and I think some people have done it well enough already.

I will say this: Orton is the second most over face in the whole company. He is second only to John Cena, no shame in that. Randy Orton's face turn wasn't intended. It was designed that Legacy would turn face because of Orton beating on them, but because of Orton's very character it turned out the opposite way. He turned face because people liked the character, it was one of the most organic face turns since Stone Cold turned which is what often makes me see the resemblance.

To top all of that, he is a sensational in-ring competitor. Christian didn't have those matches with himself.

Orton was moved to Smackdown to make people watch it. He instantly became the top-dog, unparalleled as a force until Henry's exquisite run came and rolled right over him. What we have now is not evidence that Randy Orton isn't doing his job well, it's the opposite. People are tuning in to watch Randy Orton overcome Mark Henry, not to watch Mark Henry talk about "the last 15 years" yet again. What we've got here is the best Smackdown feud of this year already. That is because people care. The booking has been thoughtful and has worked because more people are watching, and the over-ness of Randy Orton is as much needed a part of this as any other.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

People keep on talking their bullshit about the IWC is to blame for this and for that and the truth is if you're on this site talking in this forum, you're a part of the IWC.

Let's get some things straight. Orton is a solid worker but he isn't as great as people are portraying him. He's been put in the ring with some of the better performers and pushed to the moon like he's the second coming. Punk and Christian are far better on the mike and just as good as he is in the ring and haven't gotten nearly the amount of opportunities that Orton has. Orton was put on SD to bring in numbers. Has he done that or not ? If he had explain why at one point (while he was Orton was champion) the ratings were the lowest since 2000 or early 2000. You can't blame IWC for the results of the show or reporting those results.

Here's the other thing Triple H, Orton and Cena (more so Triple H and Orton than any one else) aren't shy when they criticize any one and that's ok, God forbid any one criticize them, we're part of some bullshit IWC conspiracy to spread lies about them. We aren't their former co-workers going on the net, talking about them and their behaviour behind the scenes.

 

[RicoLen]

(A). The ratings for Smackdown have decreased substantially since he was drafted and then won the World Heavyweight Championship. But now the rating has risen to record numbers? And the only thing that changed is that he lost the World Heavyweight Championship. Coincidence?

I think the rise was more as a result of HHH ending the brand extensions and creating the smackdown supershows. Sure Henry probably had some to do with it, but Smackdown and Raw combine to tell a more fluent story than it ever has before. That means a lot.

(B). Smackdown house shows and tapings have seen a drop in ticket sales, to the point where arenas are not even at 50% capacity for shows. You can't call someone a draw if the seats are empty.

That's because it's the B show. Everything good about Smackdown is now on Raw. Unlike TV, house shows are not free.

(C). The buzz surrounding him has completely died. Everyone now talks about the RAW storylines, especially that of CM Punk and the Smackdown storylines involving Henry and the likes of Sin Cara. I don't even hear the name Orton mentioned when people discuss what they are enjoying about the WWE these days.

This is your first valid point.

(D). I can't really speak on merchandise sales because WWE doesn't release those numbers but if people are not going to the shows, I can't imagine the Apex Predator shirts are flying off of the stands. And last I checked, Randy's DVD (only out about 3 weeks) has fallen pretty hard on amazon's list of most wanted/purchased DVD and Blu Ray titles.

Seeing as I'm a Randy Orton critic myself, and really don't care for him at all. I know I certainly wouldn't get his DVD or buy his shirts.

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

Up until you said Orton was a better wrestler than Punk or Bryan I was inclined to agree with you. Orton does carry his side of his fueds, but he isn't as great as Punk or Bryan. More often than not, Punk and Bryan wind up almost single handedly making their opponent's look like a million bucks in the ring(whether they are great or mediocre). Orton is talented, not doubt about it, but he's only very good in the ring, whereas the other two are great in ring workers. I do enjoy Orton in the ring, although again I do think he's overrated. He just doesn't have the kind of charisma to be as effective as he should be at this stage in his career. Orton is the number two guy to Cena, and much like Cena, hasn't improved all that much for the spots they are in. I was glad to see though that at least Orton did put Mark Henry over, as I never expected that to occur.

Are you huffing paint and smoking crack at the same time?

Orton made Mark Henry look like gold at NOC. MARK HENRY. GOLD!!!

Orton had a great match with Kane before Kane got added to Henry's House of Pain.

Orton had a good match with Khali, its almost humanly impossible to have a good match with Khali, but somehow Orton pulled one out of him.

Orton and Rhodes have had some great battles these past few weeks, so did Orton and Christian, and these are just matches that have happened in the 4-6 months.

Orton made Punk look like a million fucking dollars at WM27, Orton can go with just about anyone he's in the ring against.

Punk is great. Punk has had some equally great matches in the past year. Hes great on the mic and great in ring, but when it comes down to wrestling, no one on the entire roster is better than Orton in the ring.

As for Bryan, I just watched Smackdown and this so called great wrestler you speak of, wasn't on the fucking show whatsoever. Heath Slater made the show, and Bryan didn't. I get that people are in love with his Indy work, but since hes been in the WWE he hasn't done anything. And let me again point out that Unless it has happened in the WWE, it does not fucking matter. He may have Money in the Bank, but it hasn't done him any good at all, at this point I expect him to lose his briefcase to Zack Ryder because Ryder is 100x more over than Bryan.

 

[C.J.]

He's one of those guys you wanna see get his ass kicked. That's the vibe that he gives off. Great heel, but as a babyface he just doesn't feel right
Other than the occasional happy smile, he still feels like a heel and there's really no reason to get behind him. Why exactly should we cheer Randy Orton?

 

[IT Factor]

As for Bryan, I just watched Smackdown and this so called great wrestler you speak of, wasn't on the fucking show whatsoever. Heath Slater made the show, and Bryan didn't. I get that people are in love with his Indy work, but since hes been in the WWE he hasn't done anything. And let me again point out that Unless it has happened in the WWE, it does not fucking matter. He may have Money in the Bank, but it hasn't done him any good at all, at this point I expect him to lose his briefcase to Zack Ryder because Ryder is 100x more over than Bryan.

Umm, dude, you're wrong. Bryan was on Smackdown against Sin Cara. You must be watching something else at the same time or not watching certain parts of the show. Daniel Bryan has been consistently featured on Smackdown every week since winning the Smackdown MITB. I do agree that Ryder is more over than Bryan but he shouldn't lose the briefcase to Ryder. Ryder is doing just fine in the US Title picture and Bryan is doing just fine remaining as the MITB winner. I hated Mr. Kennedy losing his MITB briefcase to Edge and thought it was a weak note to end a great storyline on. Especially when Kennedy deserved it at the time and was WAY over. Bryan does need to improve in the character area & on the mic, but, he deserves everything WWE gives him.

As for the "if it didn't happen in WWE, it doesn't fucking matter" line . Guys like Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, CM Punk, and Daniel Bryan have all built reputations elsewhere that brought them to the WWE to begin with. Dismissing that work as not mattering is insulting to those companies and people that saw something in these guys long before WWE considered them stars. And in the next couple of years the people who made reputations elsewhere like Bryan & Punk will become the golden boys for WWE when the vets like Orton and Cena are retiring or becoming less relevant.

 

[BigPoppaPunk]

Are you huffing paint and smoking crack at the same time?

That's a good question, are you smoking crack and huffing paint? B/c anyone with two eyes could clearly see Daniel Bryan on SD vs. Sin Cara(which btw he has been doing consistently since being drafted to SD). So, either you weren't watching SD closely, or you were too impaired to notice. An ironic statement by you in any context. Taking shots at me doesn't make your argument any more valid or correct.

Orton made Mark Henry look like gold at NOC. MARK HENRY. GOLD!!!

I never once said Orton sucked in the ring. But he could improve a little bit(as most wrestlers have room for improvement), though overall he's impressive for a guy his size. Orton has made Mark Henry look great in their fued, no doubt about it. You seem to be dismissing Mark Henry's work in the fued, as he is on a major role and has earned his push. It's not like Mark Henry had to be carried by Orton in order to have a great match. Sheamus and Christian could've done it as well, so Orton isn't single handedly making this fued interesting. Plenty of ppl here would disagree with that logic and rightfully so IMO.

Orton had a great match with Kane before Kane got added to Henry's House of Pain.

I'm again not disputing that Orton can have great matches, but you seem to place Orton on a pedestal. While he is a talented in ring worker, I'd hardly say he's the best in ring worker in the WWE currently. Punk and Bryan both have more solid in ring work, yet haven't been recognized as much. You marking out for Orton and not acknowledging talent objectively means any logic I provide will be shrugged off with flaming and ignorance.

Orton had a good match with Khali, its almost humanly impossible to have a good match with Khali, but somehow Orton pulled one out of him.

Really??? Cause I thought both Sheamus and Mark Henry both have had damn good matches with Khali. Thus proving your logic here is heavily biased and not viewing this subject fairly. Next to humanly impossible? Maybe so, but other guys have made Khali look decent in the ring and have had good matches. Hell, even guys like Batista have managed to pull good matches off with Khali, so IMO your statements don't hold much merit at all.

Orton and Rhodes have had some great battles these past few weeks, so did Orton and Christian, and these are just matches that have happened in the 4-6 months.

Again, I'm not saying Orton can't have good or even great matches from time to time. However, what I am saying is Orton is hardly the best or most talented in ring worker on the WWE payroll.

Orton made Punk look like a million fucking dollars at WM27, Orton can go with just about anyone he's in the ring against.

At the risk of repeating myself, yeah the match at WM this year was awesome. One misconception you seem to have though is that Orton carried Punk to a great match. Probably one of the most ridiculous statements I've seen here. Punk has had awesome matches with even the most mediocre wrestlers during his time in WWE. He's probably the best in ring worker in WWE right now. So, to claim he was carried by Orton and needed him as an opponent to look great is a laughable claim.

Punk is great. Punk has had some equally great matches in the past year. Hes great on the mic and great in ring, but when it comes down to wrestling, no one on the entire roster is better than Orton in the ring.

Wow, once again you state Orton is the best current worker in the WWE. I can certainly respect your opinion, but saying it's a fact is far from making it so. Guys like Punk and Bryan have the ability to work circles around Orton, but rarely have the opportunity to prove it. If given length in their matches, both can outshine and outperform Orton or anyone else currently on the roster. I don't doubt that Orton can either have great matches or carry his side of his fueds, but that doesn't automatically make him the best in WWE. Spouting it a hundred times here hardly legitimizes your claims. All it does is show how you feel, and doesn't necessarily represent facts. Neither does my views, but I'm not claiming something to be fact when it isn't.

As for Bryan, I just watched Smackdown and this so called great wrestler you speak of, wasn't on the fucking show whatsoever. Heath Slater made the show, and Bryan didn't. I get that people are in love with his Indy work, but since hes been in the WWE he hasn't done anything. And let me again point out that Unless it has happened in the WWE, it does not fucking matter. He may have Money in the Bank, but it hasn't done him any good at all, at this point I expect him to lose his briefcase to Zack Ryder because Ryder is 100x more over than Bryan.

You really must not be a fan of actual talent. Instead, it's apparent you buy into WWE's propaganda that both Orton and Cena are the best in WWE now. While arguments can certainly be made for that, I'd say guys like Punk and Bryan also show signs of being even better than Orton or Cena. Once again, I gotta re-iterate that Bryan WAS ON SD THIS WEEK, HIS OPPONENT WAS SIN CARA. So, you obviously weren't paying attention to his role in the show. And you say I'm smoking crack or huffing paint? If anything, you're the one who's high if you didn't see him on the show.

As for his accomplishments not mattering outside of WWE, that is a very ignorant statement. How do you think WWE scouts talent for their future? You guessed it, by watching a guy's work not WWE related. Though you aren't a DB fan, clearly someone higher up and more important than you disagrees and sees potential in him. Hell HBK trained him and lobbied for him to be rehired when he was fired last year. You think he does that for any run of the mill, untalented wrestler?

Yeah, WWE could allow Ryder to win the MITB briefcase as he is way more over. I doubt it though, since Ryder has been pushed as a fluke that is lucky to even have a job. Plus, that would totally kill any momentum WWE had in making him the MITB winner for SD. Someone higher up thought he'd be a future champion in WWE, and I'm inclined to agree.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

So, if you put Albert Pujols on a minor league team, and they don't compete, it's his fault?

Orton is really fuckin good and is very over. You can't blame attendance for SHOWS and ratings for SHOWS on one guy. It's a team effort. Any live show I've been to and most shows he's on that you see on TV, you see a TON of Orton shirts and signs and he's over.

stupid to cherry pick statistics that are barely correlated with Orton. That's like saying "well Pitcher X only allows 1 run per game but the team is 0-10 in those starts so he's the reason they're losing and he sucks". Instead you should say "he's one of the few bright spots and they need to build more around him".

A lot of the decrease also has to do with Smackdown being on a worse channel at a worse time, thus Raw knows that it's potential for ad revenue is lower than Raws, so they dedicate more to Raw. It's logical business sense. If you have 2 ventures, one's ceiling is 100M, the other is 65M, you're going to dedicate more resources to make sure the venture with higher earning potential actually earns more.

To say "No one cares" you really mean "I don't care and I think it's all about me". Fact is, he sells a fuckton of shirts, you see a lot of Orton signs, and he's typically one of the most over guys on a show. You are wrong, most people DO care. Just not you, get over it, your opinion just sucks. The internet hates any successful handsome well-built wrestler. It's the contrarian nature of it.

O, and don't even start on the ratings numbers vs numbers 5 years ago. Times change, it's the POSITION, Smackdown is still close to the top every week.

Not only that, but Orton is still in the main feud, so not much has changed, he's still THE top babyface on Smackdown. The only thing that has really changed is, Mark Henry is in the main event picture instead of Christian, so maybe Christian just isn't that good. O I know, he does "smooth moves" and is "arrogant and smarmy on the mic" but he's not that fucking over. Bottom line.

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

@Storm and @PigPoppaPunk

This is the entire match list from Smackdown on Friday September 30th.

World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry def. The Great Khali
Jack Swagger def. WWE Tag Team Champion Evan Bourne
Sin Cara def. Heath Slater
Divas Champion Kelly Kelly def. Natalya
Sheamus def. Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes by (Disqualification) (Intercontinental Title Match)
Zack Ryder def. JTG
Randy Orton vs. Christian (Double Count-out)

I will again point out that Daniel Bryant was NOT ON SMACKDOWN THIS WEEK.

As for MITB and Daniel Bryan, someone felt Ken Anderson/Kennedy was going to be a future main event champion as well, but he dropped his Money In the Bank Briefcase to Edge. So do not think for a second that the brass can't strip him of his MITB and put it on someone they believe is more over, that will make them more money because its happened before.

The WWE does scout talent from other companies to find new talent, but when those wrestlers get to the WWE its rarely mentioned that they have done anything anywhere else. Someone said Rhyno was the last true ECW Champion, but the last ECW Champion crowned in the WWE was Big Zeke, but they don't mention that Big Zeke won the ECW Title, ever. Its buried because Vince wants it to be forgotten about.

You bring up names like of guys like Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, these guys all established themselves as stars in WCW before jumping to the WWE, then the WWE BOUGHT WCW thats why their history from the WCW matters, and is mentioned. Same with Booker T. The WWE doesn't mention things that didn't happen within the WWE, and since the old WCW its open territory. They wont mention Daniel Bryan vs whatever indy wrestler he faced for whatever title in whatever high school gym in backwater Indiana because it doesn't mean anything in the WWE, because it didn't happen there.

Plenty of other wrestlers have accomplished great things in other places outside of the WWE, but what happens in the WWE and what the WWE can make money off of is all that matters to the WWE. Is that a hard concept to grasp?

As for Orton, he's still better in the ring that Bryan and Punk. Punk gets just as much time to work a match in the ring as Orton does these days, and I will again state that Punk is good, but Orton is hands down better. Orton is THE BEST. Period.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

(A). The ratings for Smackdown have decreased substantially since he was drafted and then won the World Heavyweight Championship. But now the rating has risen to record numbers? And the only thing that changed is that he lost the World Heavyweight Championship. Coincidence?

This is daft! Since Smackdown moves to SyFy, the ratings have been good anyway, around 1.7-2.0 I believe, when Randy moved to Smackdown, it was a good move, he along with Christian put on great matches and that is what I think helped the rating, since he moved, he has been the World champion for the majority of that time and the ratings have been good, I can't remember when the rating hit 2.0 but Orton was the World champion!

(B). Smackdown house shows and tapings have seen a drop in ticket sales, to the point where arenas are not even at 50% capacity for shows. You can't call someone a draw if the seats are empty.

And this is because of one man?? Have you not noticed that USA isn't in a good financial position, some people just can't afford to pay and watch shows anymore. There might not be many people in attendance, but there are over 2 million people watching on tv.

(C). The buzz surrounding him has completely died. Everyone now talks about the RAW storylines, especially that of CM Punk and the Smackdown storylines involving Henry and the likes of Sin Cara. I don't even hear the name Orton mentioned when people discuss what they are enjoying about the WWE these days.

There is no main storyline on Smackdown at the moment, for months now, it hass been about CM Punk/Triple H/Cena.. What do you expect? Raw is the number 1 show!

So, on top of all of that, we have the individual who lacks promo skills and has gone out to the ring to do the same routine and same basic match for over a year now. The only difference now is that I think WWE might be getting the hint.

Over the past months, Orton has shown us he is the best story-teller in the ring today! He CAN wrestle a good match, he CAN get the crowd popping and he is the best Smackdown have got!

What do you guys think? Will WWE finally realize that Randy Orton is hardly the top guy on the blue brand, let alone one of the top guys in the company?

He IS the top guy on the brand!

 

[Rated sj]

I don't get it what is the IWC's beef with Orton, all I ever hear is “his been handed everything because his father was in the industry” I feel Randy's far surpassed the legacy of his father who didn't accomplish as much but Randy on the other hand has. People say that he was forced down their throats as a face, fact is he wasn't he was turned face because he was becoming popular with the fans and plus the guy is crisp clean in the ring. People complain about his mic skills being bland, what do you expect him to do scream into the mic its his freaking gimmick to be cold and slow in terms of talking. I think the WWE universe sure as hell cares about what Ortons up to and the proof is any crowd he performs in front of. Bottom line is the IWC has a general disease called “hate the FACES and love the HEELS”