The Age of Orton

[Ferbian]

[YOUTUBE]74rE8E_CcGQ[/YOUTUBE]​

I'm sure a lot of you remember this promo. Randy Orton announcing that the Age of Orton has begun. The idea was pretty good, and it was definitely something that could've given Randy a long, and successful run as heel. He had successfully retained at Wrestlemania against the two biggest faces of the company at that given moment, and he was on a roll of momentum.

Unfortunately, Triple H and Randy Orton faced each other in at Last Man Standing match, which ended with Triple H walking out champion once again, and Randy Orton being put on the bench with a collarbone injury, putting him out for about 3-4 months.

Sure it's not a critical amount of length, but it was more than enough to Orton to lose some momentum. It was more than enough to have him return as something else. The Age of Orton storyline seemingly was dropped and Legacy was on the road to being formed.

Surely it's a decent substitute. Randy Orton and Legacy did well in both getting heat, as well as getting Orton over with huge momentum in a big storyline with Triple H in 2009. However, there were definitely a lot of potential behind the Age of Orton storyline if you ask me.

Randy went on to become champion again, and he became dominant once again in the main event scene with Legacy. Surely the presence of Cody and Ted caused the potential to relaunch the Age of Orton to be a little damaged, which I find to be a shame.

Anyway, I guess the question at hand should be presented.

Did Randy Orton's collarbone injury end what could've possibly been one of the biggest storyline / angle of Randy's career? Or was it a good thing that send Randy towards the viper gimmick?

Do you feel WWE should have continued the Age of Orton upon Randy's return from injury, and therefore would ignore the Legacy faction?

Do you think an Age of Orton could be relaunched now? As a tweener?

 

[Bullseye]

Good question.

Firstly, I agree with you, I think that the Age of Orton speech could have sparked off a long and successful title reign for Orton. I can't see why the writers wouldnt have run with it - I seem to remember that the main event scene on Raw was pretty stale at the time, so keeping your title on your top heel for a while doesn't hurt. What WAS pretty clear was that Orton was top heel, and a new gimmick befitting top heel was needed - the 'Legend Killer' was to be shelved. 'Age of Orton' was apparently the replacement gimmick, but I think The Viper has proven to be pretty successful in lieu of the original idea, wouldn't you agree?

There was a few months when reviving the Age of Orton gimmick would have been a good idea upon Orton's return. I'm thinking of the mess that was the early days of Legacy, what with Manu, DiBiase (I think it was him) leaving the group and returning. Eventually they got the members of legacy spot on and it really helped to mould Orton into his new gimmick pretty seamlessly. Look at Orton's promos from around WM 24, and then at his push from around WM 25. Same guy, new character.

In answer to your final question, I would love to see how the Age of Orton could be integrated with the Viper gimmick. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, I'm just saying that I don't know how it would work. Certainly, introducing the Age of Orton and phasing out the Viper, the hottest gimmick in wrestling at the moment, would be a bad idea.

If Orton is soon to have a run as top face, as many feel he should, then I question how The Viper would work as the title holder. 'The Rattlesnake' worked in part because he rebelled against the evil boss who couldn't stand him as champion. How does The Viper behave as WWE Champion? Maybe the Age of Orton gimmick could be integrated into that?

 

[RKO2rule]

Yea i Believe the Injury caused him to lose one of the biggest angles of his career at that time we dont know what could have become of the Age of Orton would it have gone for a lengthier run , maybe even a long title reign that could compete with super reigns yea Definitely.

The Age of Orton should Definitely be re-launched no Doubt !! but the question is when , I think they should do it from WM27 and have Orton lose the title like at maybe RR 2011 Untill WM27 comes though I wish he wins the title once but not for long so thta the Mania win is that much more meaningful.

 

[WWEFreak]

[YOUTUBE]74rE8E_CcGQ[/YOUTUBE]​

Did Randy Orton's collarbone injury end what could've possibly been one of the biggest storyline / angle of Randy's career? Or was it a good thing that send Randy towards the viper gimmick?

Do you feel WWE should have continued the Age of Orton upon Randy's return from injury, and therefore would ignore the Legacy faction?

Do you think an Age of Orton could be relaunched now? As a tweener?

I think the collarbone injury ended RO's biggest storyline, I mean i like the viper gimmick to, but they could of transitioned his viper gimmick into his Age of Orton therefore giving us both and it would still be good.

Well, yes and no. No because Legacy was suppose to be build on 2-3 generation superstars and give Ted and Cod a push. The AoO was mainly surrounding Orton himself. Yes because the way Legacy was pushed it was mainly Orton in the title hunt....

No, i think the AoO could be relaunched but it wouldnt have the same amount of steam. When Orton first started it, he defeated everyone, he was on top of the world... Now there's been too much time in between where the age first started for it to come back and still have the same effect... it would be dimmed down and wouldnt be that exciting IMO

 

[Miss Flawless]

Well, I thought that "storyline" could have become huge, but since Orton had the collarbone injury, it never really got started.

As a possible great thing ended, a new one began. Orton couldn't be any bigger in the company right now. He's getting louder pops than Cena sometimes. Orton was The Legend Killer, at the time of the promo, but I think the Viper gimmick is a lot better. Some say, Orton's Legend Killer gimmick was better, because this one is a lot more like Stone Cold's gimmick, first of all, it's not, cause Austin was not syco, and Orton is.

I think, Orton lost A LOT of momentum when he broke he collarbone, so the Age of Orton wouldn't have been as...believable? I guess...

Legacy was really good. It was like Evolution, but it was to show that Orton thought he was good enough to raise his own stars.

Orton is coming off as a face, but doing tweener things. To me, being a tweener is like what Edge and Jericho did. Edge and Jericho were getting cheered when they were facing off against Nexus, but then Edge and Jericho beat up Cena and got boo'ed. That's what tweener means. Orton still gets cheered when he RKO's Cena. I think Orton is on a roll right now, and he doesn't need the Age of Orton to be launched, just because, I don't think it would make sense. Or, maybe this is the Age of Orton.

Maybe you should ask yourself, "Would the Age of Orton worked, if Randy didn't lose to HHH and break his collarbone?".

 

[NWannabe]

Looking at things now I would say the Age of Orton is revving up in it's own right. Stabless atm, but that can heasily be changed and Legacy would reform stronger than ever. Doubly so, given the appearance of Henning and Harris. Couple that with the evolving of Rhodes and maybe Dibiase and Orton's current momentum and you can easily use the machine to shove it down throats of naysayers. It's totally viable, despite how much I don't want it.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Did Randy Orton's collarbone injury end what could've possibly been one of the biggest storyline / angle of Randy's career? Or was it a good thing that send Randy towards the viper gimmick?

I think it was more of a gradual process of moving Orton away from being the Legend Killer into the Viper persona. The Age of Orton was essentially an extension of the Legend Killer angle, in that Orton had beaten everyone there was to beat whether it be the current crop of main eventers at the time or legends.

The Age of Orton was supposed to be the beginning of Randy's One Man Dynasty at the top. Orton wasn't regaining the WWE Title anytime soon after his collarbone injury, it was in the early months of Triple H's 08' reign so if anything, the injury just extended the waiting period between the change of personas.

Do you feel WWE should have continued the Age of Orton upon Randy's return from injury, and therefore would ignore the Legacy faction?

No. Orton lost to Triple H on 3 back to back PPV's. The Age of Orton was dead even if he didn't get the injury. The Age of Orton was all about Randy holding the WWE Championship and if he failed to do so, then the Age of Orton was nothing. Orton was leaving the Age of Orton behind him and moving towards the Viper persona anyway.

I believe there was talk of the Legacy being formed shortly after Orton lost his title to Triple H at the Backlash PPV. Legacy was coming one way or another, and seeing as The Age of Orton was about a One Man Dynasty, the faction would have meant the end of Orton's Age.

Do you think an Age of Orton could be relaunched now? As a tweener?

Possibly yes. Orton needs a little something extra in his character at the moment, and this may well be the missing ingredient. Orton could well hype up the Age of Orton, promising to usher it in when he wins the WWE Championship again, leading to a quest to reclaim the championship.

 

[CyDeez]

Did Randy Orton's collarbone injury end what could've possibly been one of the biggest storyline / angle of Randy's career? Or was it a good thing that send Randy towards the viper gimmick?

That's hard to say because I think he is on a roll right now that only a few guys have ever truly got on. IMO he is on that Rock/Austin kind of roll that he can do no wrong. Right now is BY FAR the BEST Orton we have ever seen! I think this promo or storyline in general, has nothing to do with the Viper thing. It feels like that would have come around anyway. It's how he slides around and strikes with The RKO and what not. But I do get what you are saying.

Do you feel WWE should have continued the Age of Orton upon Randy's return from injury, and therefore would ignore the Legacy faction?

I say yes! I think they could have done both. He should have still been involved with The Legacy stuff and still have fit in The Age Of Orton. I always thought that was an awesome name for his run or his time on top.

Do you think an Age of Orton could be relaunched now? As a tweener?

Yeah. I like it. Orton doesn't really have catch phrases and all that. So adding this one to what he says when he refers to himself would be cool.

Bottom line is I loved when he called it, "The Age Of Orton"... I think they should have continued using it when he came back from his injury, with Legacy or without Legacy!

 

[darbare]

I think the Age of Orton was used only when he was heel....last year he stated we were in the age of Orton when he won the title from Triple H.....i dont think it was a gimmick necessarily like many keep stating.....him being the Viper is his gimmick....the age of orton only applies to when he wins the title.....

 

[The Crock]

The injury definitely shortened this angle, I don't think it was gonna be that great though. Look, I'm enjoying his current stretch, and I hope he gets the belt sometime soon so that he can continue his "dominance" over the division again. He'll probably look much stronger as a tweener, but this was a good time for him too. Randy was looking really good at this point, but I honestly don't think he would have held the belt much longer anyway. I think that the WWE wanted Triple H to carry the belt, but the injury certainly helped it along.

 

[Sean Valjean]

Did Randy Orton's collarbone injury end what could've possibly been one of the biggest storyline / angle of Randy's career? Or was it a good thing that send Randy towards the viper gimmick?

Hard to say. I mean, I'm not even sure if the Age of Orton was going to become a storyline/angle. In fact, as soon as Orton announced it, I remember thinking "yeah, he's definitely going to lose the belt really soon". I just took it as a heel playing up his title reign to piss off the fans and nothing more. Considering the success of the Viper gimmick, it's probably better it went that way.

Do you feel WWE should have continued the Age of Orton upon Randy's return from injury, and therefore would ignore the Legacy faction?

I think the Legacy faction was the better idea. Orton had his run as a dominant heel champ and having his own group was something fresh and exciting for him to do. Overall the group was successful: It helped get over two of WWE's breakout stars and was the catalyst for his tweener/face turn.

Do you think an Age of Orton could be relaunched now? As a tweener?

You could argue that we're living in the Age of Orton now, or at least close to it. The guy is the only face on the show that rivals John Cena in popularity. Actually, maybe more so. Where Cena still gets a mixed reaction, Orton seems to be universally loved.

Everyone is on his bandwagon right now; all he needs is a world title and we'll be in an Age of Orton that I believe will be bigger than anything that could've happened previously

 

[shanners_03]

Did Randy Orton's collarbone injury end what could've possibly been one of the biggest storyline / angle of Randy's career? Or was it a good thing that send Randy towards the viper gimmick?
yeah it certainly did kill that storyline and when i watched that promo i believed he was gunna be champ for a LONG time and i loved it! i loved orton as a heel but i also love the viper gimmick.


Do you feel WWE should have continued the Age of Orton upon Randy's return from injury, and therefore would ignore the Legacy faction?
Now correct me if im wrong but when a guy gets injured in a match but they are in the books to win the match they find a way, hhh would have gotten out of the ring and low blowed and orton gets up and the count gets to 10 and hhh is down, but that didnt happen, yes the collarbone injury was pretty big, look at what happened between austin and owen hart when austin broke his fricken neck, he managed a roll up! so this story line could have continued, if orton won even with the injury he then could have vacated the title and vowed that the age of orton wasnt over yet and then when he comes back he had full momentum going back for his title.
i liked legacy, alot of talent in a small group but i think orton would have been better off and more credible on his own.

Do you think an Age of Orton could be relaunched now? As a tweener?
and in all honestly...no it really couldnt, its been too long since he said it started and he would look like a fool as people would go "hey didnt he say this last time he was champ or something?" so yeah it wouldnt work, but he deserves a LONG title run! get him to beat sheamus at HIAC and keep the title til mania! for the unification match

 

[King Blitzkonic]

Ferb, ya make a rather interesting case. Should be interesting to see more opinions.

Did Randy Orton's collarbone injury end what could've possibly been one of the biggest storyline / angle of Randy's career? Or was it a good thing that send Randy towards the viper gimmick? The Age of Orton was already a big storyline in Randy's career and I'd have to say that without the injury a face turn could possibly have come sooner.

Do you feel WWE should have continued the Age of Orton upon Randy's return from injury, and therefore would ignore the Legacy faction?
Yes, definitely. Legacy was a great idea on paper but it reeked of awfulness once it was put into action. Keep in mind though it's very hard for a wrestler to come back from injury as a heel. Orton managed it with his first injury but that was a rare case.

Do you think an Age of Orton could be relaunched now? As a tweener?
I'd love to say yes to this as a fan. But I'd have to say no it wouldn't work in the manner that it did as a full-blown heel. If it were revamped in a way then maybe. I wouldn't mind seeing him slip into the ring after matches and just start dropping people with RKOs (especially on SD! to set up an interbrand challenge).

 

[The Viper Orton]

I feel this wouldve happend. Orton Wouldve had much more title reigns but less popularity. Its like comparing Triple H and SCSA, who had more reigns? Trips by far. Who is more popular, SCSA no doubt.

Let me tell you why.
The age of orton, would make him run as a long reign for the first run. Then he wouldve exchanged titles. OFC, for me he was better on the mic that day. He had the usual arrogant character. But he never brought to the table the punishing orton with the punt and DDT from the side of the rope and did the crossbody which was never suited for main event which fans love (especially the PG fans).

Never forget, Cody Rhodes was very very very stale before randy, and we most probably wouldn't see "dashing" cody rhodes

Do you think an Age of Orton could be relaunched now? As a tweener?
fans will accpet him, cause most of kids and adults will be happy with orton as their champ, but there is one guy that would disagree with the age of Orton. Vince Mcmahon, cause Cena sells big time while all what can orton cell is a t-shirt and a jacket.
The only way to make such transaction if and when Vince agrees, is to change the spinner title to something that fits orton (when champ was rated R it was very good), then all can say Orton might be the face of the company. Cause as heyman said, Orton is the best wrestler since Brock, but normal people dont realize him.

Out of topic, I really miss JBL promos

 

[LigerBomb]

Did Randy Orton's collarbone injury end what could've possibly been one of the biggest storyline / angle of Randy's career? Or was it a good thing that send Randy towards the viper gimmick?

Nah, the guy was/is young. He's not even in his prime yet (or perhaps just entering it). The break didn't end anything that was too monumental.

The shtick he's doing now seems to be well received. But I doubt one has much to do with the other; that is, I doubt the bone break was that critical in leading Randy to the Viper bit.

Do you feel WWE should have continued the Age of Orton upon Randy's return from injury, and therefore would ignore the Legacy faction?

Either would've worked. What actually happened was fine and furthered his career nicely. The Legacy bit was a nice evolution (no pun intended) of the character so I'm fine with it.

Do you think an Age of Orton could be relaunched now? As a tweener?

Age of Orton? More like Age of BOREton… or Age of SNOREton. Get it? Cause he's boring… and puts people to sleep (where they then proceed to snore). Amirite? Nah'whamean?

Yea, no. We should let him run this Viper thing into the ground first. Then we can decide whether or not him going back to earlier bits and reliving a gimmick should be his next plan of action –cause that's always a great idea (see DX, NWO, etc., etc., etc).

 

[LongLiveTheStreak]

Did Randy Orton's collarbone injury end what could've possibly been one of the biggest storyline / angle of Randy's career? Or was it a good thing that send Randy towards the viper gimmick?
I don't think it was his collarbone injury that brought the Age of Orton to an end. I thindk it was the losses to HHH at Judgement Day and One Night Stand. But is was and still is one of the best times of Ortons career. Because that was a really good title reign; it lasted from No Mercy `07 to Backlash `08. And an injury is never a good thing. The Legend Killer gimmick had run it's course over the years, so I think that is why Randy adopted the Viper gimmick.

Do you feel WWE should have continued the Age of Orton upon Randy's return from injury, and therefore would ignore the Legacy faction?
Hard to say because Randy Orton did win the Royal Rumble following his return. And won the WWE title at Backlash. Remember Randy Orton had a motorcycle accident while rehabing his collarbone, an accident which could have cost him his life. And he didn't return to active wrestling until a few months after his return to Raw. That being said, I think Orton's return from injury was handled very well.

Do you think an Age of Orton could be relaunched now? As a tweener?[/QUOTE]
No, I think that type of story line is best suited for a heel.

 

[RIPRKO1005]

the way i kinda see it that collarbone injury ended the age of Orton on one level. It was the last time we ever saw the cocky and brash side of Orton or Legend Killer type of persona. And when Orton came back they kicked of the legacy storyline and Orton evolved into a more serious and intense gimmick now known as the viper. So to answer your question i think The Age of Orton would have been huge but i feel like the Tweener Viper gimmick he has goin is great and just as good as the age of Orton would have been.

A random side note: As a huge Orton fan i wouldnt mind seeing him do some more Legend Killer storyline stuff.

 

[Drago43]

I loved the Age of Orton storyline but I do think that the Viper gimmick is better. The one thing that I miss the most with WWE is the attitude years. Randy reminds me a lot of Austin. He is pretty much out for himself but at times will go Face for a genneral cause. See what he did this past Monday just reminded me even more.

When was the last time you saw a superstar hit his move on 5 different people not in a match. I havent seen that since Austin. Randy is on such a high right now that its only fitting that they give him the championship. The best thing now with Orton is at any time he can go from heal to face depending on who he is facing and the crowd still loves him. But honestly I feel that he gets better pops as a face then a heal and I think he likes it better. But now he still has to hold that bad guy role mentality and hit Darren Young even though he helped get the victory.

 

[Porter1989]

it is randy ortons time. my reason why is the man is showing that hes (and alot of people will agree) superior to john cena and hasnt lost lately besides to wade barret in the elemination match. completely the age of orton is coming soon.




your thoughts?

 

[The Encore]

I would like to think that you Sir are correct, but there has been talks of keeping the belt off of Orton for a while. Think of this, they keep Orton in the High Card scene, but keep the title off of him. Wrestlemania comes around and he wins the WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship, it would truly be his Wrestlemania Moment that the fans have been talking about. I think the main idea is to build him as a strong face/tweener character first for a couple more months. Then have him win the title which would make us all go nuts.

 

[Shay]

Yes he is by far the hottest thing right now but why change that he is more interesting when he is chasing for a title and yes i believe AIRVANDAM has got it right let him build his tweener chacacter for a few months and create his own wrestlemania moment by winning a title

 

[KKKKwe]

I agree with AirVanDam as much as I want Orton to be champ right now let keep the belt off of him to make fans say come on orton deserves to be champ this is kind of reminiscent to Stone Cold in late 97 early 98. So keep the belt off him let orton rise more because he is better then Cena as Ive been saying for years and when Wrestlemania comes around make him the Undispted WWE champ.

 

[Dwayne_Jason]

No. In 2008 Cena and HHH lost clean by Orton on WM 24. Did that mean he was the new face. No. In 2009, he beat Cena numerous times. Did that mean he was a new face? No. Orton's job is to be indestructible, thus predictable. On a PPV Orton will be a favorite Cena won't. And the kids? Why they'll eat their vitamins and say their prayers and beg thier mommy and daddy to order the PPV in hopes that Cena wins. That is how one makes money. Economics 101: Create demand. Orton is not in demand. You think he can pull this off for 10 years? No. People will be bored of his gimmick come WM 26. He'll be winning all the damn time. Cena on the other hand remains in high demand because kids care about him and want him to win the PPV and that is why they buy shirts and tickets. You see an Orton shirt in the audience? No. Unless Orton's merch surpasses Cena's merch Orton will win against light target but when it's real show time, he's a jobber for Cena. Like the Rock and like Andre the Giant

 

[Hazardous]

I agree, Except that I like Orton (as well as many other superstars) better when they are chasing the title, rather then when they have it. Once they have it, really what else is there to prove? There are certan people I like better when they are chasing the title (Orton, Angle, HHH) then when they have it.

 

[greg_74]

Orton is beyond awesome but..this is getting soooooo old! they did it with Cena now they're doin it with Orton. I hate when they make someone is so unstopable to any type of threat. He always ends up RKO-ing everyone, its alot better when the top guy kinda struggles.

I agree. I'm a huge Orton fan and I'm glad he beat Cena tonight but I don't like when one guy wins what seems like every match.

However, as far as the guy a couple posts up talking about Orton merchandise... Orton may not sell as much as Cena but there are a big number of Orton fans out there that are buying his shirts. Sure he doesn't have all the sweatbands and everything but it's not like he doesn't sell anything. Also last time I checked Sheamus isn't the biggest merch seller and he's still champ. I see this thread more about Orton being champ now vs. later not whether or not he is the "top guy" in WWE.