Where does Randy Orton rank among all-time greats?

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Randy Orton is widely considered as one of the greatest wrestlers of this generation.

He had a lot of great matches, a lot of great rivalries and a lot of great moments in WWE.

He took part in some of the greatest tag teams and stables in WWE history.

He's a 12 time World Champ, a Triple Crown Champion, a Royal Rumble winner and a Money in the bank winner.

He was the first ever WWE Heavyweight Champion and the youngest world champion in WWE history.



Where does Randy Orton rank among WWE all-time greats?







See also:

John Cena
http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=272703

CM Punk
http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=273827

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Not as high as he should. Orton is popular, but he ain't as popular as he should be. Orton should be huge, but he isn't. Orton was primed for Cena's spot but something has held him back. Probably because he's reserved and more than a little bit dull.

 

[laodaron]

If you took all of the pro wrestlers in history, and turned them into a solid line, with Random Jobber #16 in 1983 against Andre in a squash house show match starting the left, and ending with Austin/Rock/Taker/etc. on the right hand side, Orton is at about 85% of the way down that line. He'll never be one of the all time greats. He'll probably be inducted into the HoF at WM45.

 

[The Life Of Pablo Ren]

I partly agree with the posts above me, he will never be remembered as one of the all-time greats. But he's big enough to most likely headline his class of Hall of Famers when the time eventually does come.

Although Edge had more success than Orton, I rank them about the same. I voted for 11-20.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

Call it bias or whatever, but I definitely think that Randy Orton is one of the greatest of his generation and the 21st century so far. He has competed in the main event of two of the more iconic anniversaries of WrestleMania (25, 30), 12-time world champion, important member of the best faction of the 21st century in Evolution, and is one of the longer-reigning Intercontinental Champions of this century as well. He is a Royal Rumble winner, a Money in the Bank winner, and is the only man of his time who can brag that he has faced the very best to ever wrestle in the WWE - honestly the only exceptions are Bret and Austin and those are only cause of injury, he's faced Hulk, Flair, Rock, HBK, Foley, Taker, HHH, Angle, Cena, Jericho, etc.

There shouldn't be any doubt that he is among the 50 top wrestlers ever, but for the purpose of this thread I did vote in 21-30. There were just so many top stars of the 70's 80's and 90's that I think did more for the growth of the industry and as a result has gained more mainstream fame but among his generation I put Orton second only to Cena. I didn't make a list or anything but I'd figure if I did Cena would be around 12-14 and Orton would be 21-23.

The best part about this is that Orton is only 34, Triple H was 34 in 2003 and HBK was 34 in 2000 - would you say they had awesome careers in the years after their 34th birthday? definitely. We honestly might not have seen the best of Randy Orton yet.

 

[beckyh]

He will go to the HOF because he is multi-generational and VKM loves that stuff. I would not say he is a 'great' like some of the other nominees. But who knows?

Edge will be a HOF-er because he left the industry not because he wanted to but because of an injury.

 

[OYDK]

I think A LOT of people forget the first like 8 years of Orton's career and are focused on the last 2 or 3 lacklustre years from Randy. Don't forget Orton was pretty damn awesome as the Legend Killer and the closest thing to a handchosen face of the company since, well... John Cena, I guess.
Orton and Cena ran together for multiple years and were considered basically on par until Orton started to have issues with the Wellness Policy and Cena eventually left him behind. I think somebody said Orton MAY be a headlining HOF act... It would honestly be a travesty if he wasn't imo. As for where he ranks... I'd have to do some hard thinking and I'm pretty lazy so off the bat I'd slot him in that 20-30 range.

Also Edge is already in the HOF guys.

 

[theblasterkid]

Orton is very high up in the ranks in my opinion. People don't give him enough credit for his in-ring abilities. I always like him as one of my top guys whether he is the Legend Killer/The Viper/Apex Predator. Also, I think this movement mechanisms are very cool looking. A lot of people find him to be dull but I think they just aren't drawn to the gimmick.

 

[HBK89Bill]

Why do people get so fixated with Randy Orton's average years despite the numerous good, or great years hes had in the industry. He was a great IC Champion and had a decent feud with HHH in 05. He was always a good competitive threat to the title until 2007 when the feud with him and Cena took off. People forget that he was the biggest heel in the company for almost three years. Especially in 2009 with Triple H.

Orton was on fire for a long time before the people turned him face and then a went on to have a good number of good feuds with a lot of guys. In particular, the Chirstian feud that gets overshadowed by Punk/Cena in 2011.

True, he was just kind of there for almost two years, but if you remember. So much other stuff was going on from 2011-2013 that it really doesn't look that bad when you look back now. He's a the top of the card again and has been since Summerslam. There is nothing wrong with Randy Orton. Some fans just don't see how good he is. He is one of the most natural talents I have ever seen in this industry. Some people are just never satisfied.

 

[MCMG]

11-20 seems fair. Based on in ring ability, mic-skills, drawing power and accomplishments he does rank very highly. Not on par with the obvious top 4. Guys like Taker, HHH and Shawn had such long, illustrious careers meaning I place them higher than Orton.

He probably should be higher and I think he is missing an iconic match/moment. It seems everyone but Orton has had a massive match that is often referenced to. In the ring, he is way more consistent than guys like Cena and Taker but he has never reached their heights in iconic moments.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I've been one of Randy's biggest marks since his debut with that awful hair and boxer brief like shorts, and he's been my favorite superstar the whole time since. As much as I'd like to say he's top five I'm not quite to that point of delusional, I'm a fan but I'm trying to be unbiased in ranking. I'd say he's probably somewhere between 10-15, by the end of his career he might even move up a spot or two but either way I believe he's deserving of that placement.
He's one of the best in ring workers we've ever seen, I'll grant you he can be a little dry in his promos at times but when he's got a good storyline to work with he can be damn good. I think part of why this shouldn't hurt his ranking is because it's part of the true character he is, he's the psychotic badass who doesn't need to say a lot because his actions do the talking. But if you need your fill of promos most any from his Viper days will suffice, if not Legend Killer. His talent and star power are undeniable, you could put him in there with anyone and you'll get a quality match. The day he goes into the HOF I'll almost certainly cry like a baby, he's had a hell of a career and it isn't even close to over yet.

 

[Dirk]

I fucking love Orton, but he has pretty much played second fiddle to Cena. When Triple H (in that sit-down with Cole) mentioned Orton's "untapped potential", I thought it was pretty bizarre, since Orton reached his peak years ago.

What I will say is that the company showed the faith in him to ship him to Smackdown to try to save the brand. Through the wellness-violations, unreliability and his poor attitude, something got lost along the way. Haven't heard any negative rumours about him for a while and that's great.

Edge will be a HOF-er because he left the industry not because he wanted to but because of an injury.

He's one already.

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

he is fringe top 20 but no higher. Randy Orton could of been an all time great but is not simply because he's too boring. He's accomplished Alot but at the end of the day what do those accomplishments mean? those accomplishments could of gone to someone else and they probably would of ran with the ball better than Orton.

 

[OYDK]

He probably should be higher and I think he is missing an iconic match/moment. It seems everyone but Orton has had a massive match that is often referenced to. In the ring, he is way more consistent than guys like Cena and Taker but he has never reached their heights in iconic moments.

Orton-Cena Iron Match match was pretty awesome. Maybe not iconic but I would definitely call that whole program iconic. That was some of the best stuff I saw in YEARS.

 

[darkdays]

Orton still has a chance to be in the Top 10 overall all time if WWE don't screw him up like theyve done since his heel turn last year. His ring work has been praised by everyone from DDP to Prince Devitt. Goldust has said nobody hes seen has better in ring timing than Randy.

If it wasn't for his out of the ring problems its hard telling where he'd be right now. Hes 6'5 and as athletic as any small guy out there today. He can brawl,wrestle,sell you name it. Im putting him in the high 11-20 for now but in a few years it should be way higher.

 

[whoopin' ass]

He got the wwe push and won lots of titles so people will say how great he is but really, I find him average at best. His character is pretty lame at the best of times, his attitude over the years has sucked and he is almost as protected as Cena in terms of wins and losses. Don't call him Orton, don't know his lineage and you wouldn't think him any better than a lot of wrestlers out there.

 

[Pedigree1]

Orton is somewhere 11-20 that seems fair! Orton is the best in the ring when he wants to be. Orton draws,people like him,and is superb in the ring.. Great great technician,and can tell an amazing story in the ring.. Ortons attitude,his smugness,and arrogance keep him out of the top ten..

Orton though,never has had that match,the one match that makes people remember you for eons to come... That iron man match with Cena some years ago,was pretty good but Orton needs that one special match.. Orton sometimes though,gets in his own way,i think its a case of being handed too much too soon,and not appreciating his gifts he has

 

[TheICChampion]

I have to say as far as Orton goes for me it's fluctuated quite a bit between "He's awesome!" and "Will this guy just freakin' leave and retire or take time off already?" No denying, he's earned his spot in history, but I ranked him 31-40. Mainly because I know there's at least 30 guys who are better than him. It'll be interesting to see what happens if he violates the wellness policy for a third time.

 

[LuckyLouie]

Like one of the WWE HOF said. ( Paraphrasing )

AHHH! You know who was champion before that Jabrony John Cena! Thats right! ME! Randy Orton. I supplex him, RKO him and kick his head I am champion!

He is the Iron Sheik to Hulk Hogan.

 

[Sabutage]

How can you judge anything like this until nearer the end of his career? Right now Orton has done a lot in a short space of time and already left a huge impact on the wwe, but Orton could still work 10+ years in wwe and have tons of amazing or important rivalries or matches in that time.

 

[L@RISANO]

To me, Randy was always going to enjoy a successful career in the WWE as shown by his quick move upto Main Event status during the days of Evolution.

Granted he has gotten stale somewhat but his in-ring work has always been great,lMO.

When this type of poll was done for Cena, I placed him in the top10 because he has been the top guy of the company for a long while and has proven why he has been at the top for so long.

Randy Orton has been Cena's most noted rival in the latter's time on top, whether he benefitted somewhat from Brock Lesnar leaving early is another matter altogether.

However, he has also been wayward at times with his Wellness Strikes and a few attitude problems also.

I'd have to put him in the Top30 at most. Judging by how he is going, he might get into the top25 at most by the time he is done, unless he has a huge interesting character change in the next couple of years.

All that said; Randy's Viper character would have been so much more Awesome in the Attitude era, when he could've done some unspeakable stuff,lMO.

 

[3drinks]

"If you build a sports-entertainer from the ground up, he would look like Randy Orton." - John "Bradshaw" Layfield

JBL said it best. Randy is a legend, an icon, and in my honest opinion, he should be the measuring stick everyone else is measured against.