An Orton Injury - The Last Thing The WWE Want!

[Dave]

So, as some of might know, Randy Orton was pulled from a WWE house show because he has a shoulder and neck injury. Orton was supposed to compete against Sheamus for the WWE Championship in the main event but the WWE decided to change the main event to a 6-man Tag Team match so that Orton would need to work less. It is expected that Orton will undergo some medical tests before Raw tonight. However, this whole thing got me to thinking, would an injury to Randy Orton be the absolute worst thing that could happen to the in-ring product of the WWE at this point?

See, I think that Randy Orton is absolutely the hottest commodity in wrestling right now and no one is even coming close to getting the reactions from the fans as he is. He is in the Championship match at Night Of Champions and although it is a 6-pack challenge, I still feel as though it would be extremely hard for the WWE to replace Orton with anyone else. That person would have to live with the stigma of being a “replacement” for Orton and I don’t think the fans would take too kindly to that.

Now, with the most recent report that Randy Orton is suffering from some pain, so you think that the worst thing that could happen to Raw right now is the omission of Randy Orton?

I honestly think it is. I mean, along with Cena, Orton is the man who is carrying Raw lately. Losing Cena would be difficult too because of his feud with The Nexus but I honestly feel that Randy Orton is the focal point of Raw right now and by losing him, I suspect the WWE would suffer from it. The fans are tuning in to see him and he is probably looking at his best right now. I think losing him would be horrible for the WWE but I also think that if he needs some work done on a nagging injury, the WWE need to give him the time off. You really don’t want him injured for a long period of time and pain has a knack of turning into injuries in the future.

I wouldn’t like to see it happen but if Randy Orton comes off of WWE television, do you think all of the good work of the WWE over the last couple of months will have been wasted?

 

[Nick Black]

Oh, my god. The injury of Randy Orton would be terrible. But for some reason, I think him leaving television for a 2-3 month period could bring in a new ooberface. As we all know, in the same house show that Orton was Pulled, Y2J "returned". That could be his spot to become a huge face once again. But still, Orton is THE top babyface at the moment. Cena draws a few too many boo's at this stage for me to really call him the top babyface. WWE has worked extremely hard to get Orton to where he is, and their work is going to just disappear. I really think Orton deserves a title reign in his current stage, but if that doesn't end up working out, I don't know what the WWE is going to do to rebuild it. I mean, maybe Orton can get taken out in like, a LMS match, or something of the sort, like HHH, and that be his exit to be worked on. Sheamus would draw even MORE heat by taking Orton out. I don't think he should leave, but if he does, then that would be a rather large setback for the WWE.

 

[Chill]

I agree, losing Randy Orton at this point would be a major blow to WWE, certainly to Raw as they have worked hard to get him over. Aside from John Cena, I think Randy Orton could be WWE biggest and most popular star and so of course, losing him at any point isn't going to do them any favours.

If Orton were to take time off now, he would lose some momentum as anybody would but rest assured he would be pushed upon returning and I don't think he would struggle picking up where he left off because he is at that stage now where the fans want to cheer him. I don't necessarily think WWE's good work in promoting Orton will be wasted though, because they have got him well over and I think that would ultimately continue when he returned, if indeed this latest injury puts him out.

Overall though, Orton certainly isn't someone you would want to lose, especially at this point as he is on fire. If Orton has one weakness, it's that he's fairly injury prone and that isn't something you want of a top star but it is what it is and I don't think it will hold him back that much...

 

[JBK2008]

This is a HUGE HUGE HUGE setback if it's true. If he's just sore, then there are ways to work around the feud without having Orton wrestle much or even at all. As long as it's not a legit injury, we can take a sigh of relief. If Y2J returns, Jericho could take the brunt of it while Orton heals up. Jericho can hold his own with Sheamus and give Orton the time he needs. We won't know more until Raw tonight, but lets hope this isn't serious.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

Randy Orton being injured is worse than John Cena getting injured!! I mean if Cena got injrued, you have Orton who can easily take his place and have his moments og glory and storylines!! Just like Austin had his neck injury in late 99, The Rock took over as ful-time top face for the whole of 2000, and it really gave The Rock that chance to be main eventing every ppv he could get... And I believe this is kind of similar to that...But the case is if Orton gets injured, he gets more pops than Cena and that is no lie...If he was to get injured WWE would really have to do something big, depending on how long the injury is, it will be hard...but lets hope THIS doesn't happen!

 

[Hazardous]

Well do you think this might be why they did the "return of Y2J" thing at the live event this weekend then? Just in case Orton does go down, there's a backup plan of sorts? HHH is still a bit away from returning, and really who else would be able to get the reaction Orton gets other then Jericho. As bad as this could be, and I do agree it's bad, it could also be just the right time to move Jericho to the #2 face spot in his absence. If there is one of course.

 

[Judah's Lion]

this might be the worst news in a while. but then again, the WWE has been getting hammered lately in this regard...

HBK retired at Mania. Triple H got injured the next month. Orton got slightly injured also and lost some momentum in his feud with Edge. Batista retired the next month. Taker got injured the next month.

these are some huge names with some huge reactions that are really hurting things, including ratings and ppv buyrates. and this is no disrespect to the guys that didn't get hurt as i'm a huge fan of Jericho, Edge, Miz, Show, Kane, Swagger and some others.

but man, for Orton to get injured now while Triple H is still out and Taker is still not really cleared to wrestle...? that's pretty huge. HBK and Batista are likely gone for good, so that's a lot of star power missing from the company.

i'm thinking that this might be as good a reason as any to do one of two things now:

1. develop loads of young and new talent. this way, when some of the more established stars and ring vets get injured or take time off to do a movie or whatever, you have some upcoming stars to fill those shoes.

2. go back to having one brand with two shows instead of two brands with one show each. this way, when Triple H and Taker are injured at the same time and Batista and HBK have just retired, you still have guys like Show, Kane, Punk, Christian, Regal, Jericho, Edge, Orton and Cena all on the same show.

this might be a good time too to bring up the work schedule. i was reading just today that Angle said he is feeling better now than he has in the last decade and he attributes most of that to a lighter schedule at TNA, if only because it allows his body some time to rest and heal up. there's something to be said for that.

in summary, yeah, an Orton injury would be bad. but i would think with the right planning and preparation and maybe some pretty drastic changes to the WWE current schedule and branding, this could be avoidable or at least manageable.

 

[Cactus~Clothesline]

I guess it's time Orton goes back on some of his comments about Mr. Kennedy.

IF Orton is out it would sting, but it wouldn't kill anything. They have a 6 man match scheduled which is a lot easier to fix than a one on one title match.

However I think Orton will be fine.

 

[Trill Co$by]

If he is hurt, it's going to suck as I believe they want to put the title on him soon. So if he's hurt, that's a bigger schedule. Meaning that eventually, he'll bet even worse.

Because of such, I think WWE needs to keep him in multiple person matches. Maybe keep him out of the ring and let him gain the hot tags every now and again.

Then again, you have to help but wonder if all those RKOs are the cause. If so, he might be in need of a finisher change.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Hmm, I dunno. Let me think about it as I type. Y'know; like I usually do.

Personally, I don't think the best thing about Raw is Randy Orton right now. The WWE hasn't elevated him as much as they could have, despite him having been in the WWE Championship at the main event.The Nexus/John Cena storyline is the focal point of Raw right now, not the Orton/Sheamus storyline.

Orton's absence could even be an opening for another face to be elevated and - if it comes to it - replace Orton in the Night of Champions match. Evan Bourne, for example.

I don't think it's the WWE's plan to put the strap - and the spotlight - on Orton until WrestleMania so, as long as he's back by then, it doesn't muss up their plans too much.

It's bad, but not the worst thing that could happen - nor the worst time it could happen at. Another question would be; is it safe to have someone so injury prone carrying the company? I mean, that shit is heavy. He could put his back out.

 

[ctln4rko]

i would, if he geot injured, do what wwf did when steve austin got hurt; show orton on tv, have him do an rko every now and then, like when he broke his collarbone, have him there, just not competing. I know that wwe will do something big to bounce back if that happened.

 

[Vintage]

Orton off tv is high on my wish list generally speaking actually. There are better people waiting on the sidelines for opportunity and having him off tv would force wwe to try and entertain me instead of making me care about Slow Stone Dallas Orton Then again I'd have to watch the Jiz take the main spot which isn't awesome at all so yes, Orton getting injured is the last thing I want right now unless they both leave tv together.

 

[I_Am_Electro_Boy]

I think Orton should be on tv just not competing, all he has to do is hit the RKO on the others. But if he is seriously injured then it will be a big blow for WWE, but it's just one of those things. I think Jericho could take his place by becoming a face again but who should take his place in the 6 pack challenge?

 

[Oppurtunist]

To all you saying 'who should take his place in 6 pack challenge'... they could make it a championship scramble match. And from what we've read, 'Y2J is returning'.

 

[newteenforbb]

Everyone is doing a lot of speculating in here but no one knows what the extent of Orton's "injury" is. In fact, it could be premature to even call it an injury. I have read news reports saying it is nothing serious and was just sore, so WWE wanted to make sure he had a light work load for the house show.

If it is something serious, we would know as soon as tonight because WWE wouldn't risk anything. This might be a similar situation as the one following Over The Limit, where he appeared weekly on RAW in a very limited role and was given time off house shows. Or, it could be nothing and everything remains the same. I am hoping for the latter to be quite honest. Orton is on an amazing run right now, title or no title, and doesn't need an injury to slow him down. The big worry for me is that these shoulder issues seem to be happening so frequently with him.

 

[Miss DFW]

Why not give Randy some time off,,(My thinking its just a house show,,but). We had the troubles with the Raw team going into the last pay-per-view, why not have a face, face off for the next contender?? Ron, J.M. and Bourne, or even Y2J,,,,face vs face, faces vs heels,,make another tweener like Orton..I might just say even bring Christain over and give him back his TNA role.

 

[El Rev sXe]

I don't think that an injured Orton would be something bad for the E. however I think it would kill the momentum for Randy himself. he is on fire right now, I think he is getting at his best, all those sweets RKOs, hating Cena lol... anyway if he is indeed injured, well I think the crowd would not forget him but he wouldn't be a fan fav over mr. Cena. he would be again the second or even the trid in the company in tems of having HUGE pops.

 

[ForeverRKO]

nobody cares about John cena vs nexus , that's been passed now it's the wwe championship with Wade Barrett after it , I think nexus won't mess with cena anymore , all the heats on sheamus now and this is perfect . but orton's possible injury will destroy raw , he's the only reason why I want wrestling still , cena and Edge are boring to me , Jericho might be the only wrestler other than orton that can carry raw on it's back .

 

[Ferbian]

I wouldn't say that Randy Orton being injured would directly hurt anything, or for that sake that it would be the last thing the WWE wants. They could do more than fine without Randy Orton. Especially considering, while he's hugely over, they have managed without hugely over stars for a period of time, if another hugely over star is present.

Sure it would suck for WWE to have Randy injured now. But it wouldn't be the end of the world, nor would I believe that it would ruin much for WWE except for a storyline here and there. RAW wouldn't really show that big of a hurt without Randy Orton I'm sure. But that's primarily because they have many other things to draw the ratings, they have an interesting champion, an interesting storyline in The Nexus, Bryan Danielson's return, and most importantly they still have John Cena.

 

[mister_b1LL]

As much as it would be bad for the WWE to lose Randy Orton for a certain period of time, it would be much worse for Orton himself. His momentum would come to a halt and chances are when he returns, he won't be able to have the same momentum as he did before. Guys like Evan Bourne, Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, and others lost a decent amount of momentum when they were off TV, whether it was due to injury or suspension. And although the latter two won World Championships after their suspensions, it didn't seem as interesting as if they recieved it during their big pushes.

WWE, however could survive a little bit of time without Orton. They still have the Nexus storyline going on and it's still going on strong. And like other people have said, this can leave space open for a new person to enter the main event fray.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't know if Orton would be the drop dead worst thing that could happen to Raw at this point, but it would be a pretty hard blow I think. Overall, Orton may be the most over wrestler on Raw right now and his participation in the six pack challenge will be a selling point for some for NOC. However, Orton's injury wasn't enough to keep him from competing entirely and, if the injury is more serious than it appears at this time, then Orton could easily be protected come NOC. Until then, keep him on promos and out of matches for the most part and things should be fine.

 

[Chardee Macdennis]

"See, I think that Randy Orton is absolutely the hottest commodity in wrestling right now and no one is even coming close to getting the reactions from the fans as he is."

That sentence pretty much answers the question does it not? Orton is easily the hottest thing going right now. Even hotter now that the Nexus has died off some. It will ALWAYS be a blow to lose your best guy no matter who it may be or when it may be. He would eventually be replaced and it wouldn't seem as bad a few weeks/months from now, but for now, yes it would probably be the worst thing for them.

 

[The People's Peep]

I dont think his injury (if there is one) would hurt RAW too much. In fact, its an opportunity in my opinion.

The only drawback I see is that Orton is injured. They just need to hope its not serious enough to effect his work. As long as its not, there isnt much to worry about. The top storyline right now is the Nexus. With Orton not being directly involved with the top story line, I think he can easily be replaced in a secondary storyline, that being the title scene.

His absence would allow for someone else to step up, just like Miz and Sheamus has done in HHH's absence and like how Kane or, in a lesser sense, Swagger did in Taker's absence. Perhaps Jericho or Edge will now be the front runner in the title chase or it might even be someone new.

 

[NWannabe]

The only bad thing about this is when he buries whoever is in the title picture when he comes back. *shrug* What? I never liked Orton, even less when he shaved.

 

[Spaceman Spif]

If it is an actually injury and time off is needed, I think Raw would suffer a little bit, but they'd still be ok. I mean life goes on in the WWE and Vince would find a way to make it work until he got back. Orton is on fire right now and I feel it would hurt him more to be out of action that it would hurt Raw. Orton's momentum would surely be slowed considerably and he'd have to build it back up again upon his return.