Can't Randy Orton just be a tweener?

[CM Steel]

The Randy Orton heel turn has been put on hold for awhile now and no one has been more ready for the turn than Randy Orton himself. Orton admits to being more of a heel on screen than a babyface. He has that sinister look about himself, and has that heelish attitude. But Randy Orton has been doing well as a babyface for the past few years. Even with his addictions outside the ring. One of the fave five on the WWE roster.

Now with the release of Randy Orton's newest flim "12 Rounds 2: Reloaded". Orton has to remaind a babyface for the sales value of the DVD. But since Randy Orton's character has become more bland over the years. Can't Orton just be a tweener when it comes to his character? Remember back when WWE hall of famer Stone Cold Steve Austin first started to turn face in 1997? He feuded with the heels in the WWF/E at the time but he also butted heads with the faces on RAW from time to time.

Austin gave stunners to HBK, Ken Shamrock, Mankind. And eventully Stone Cold turned babyface. But Stone Cold Steve Austin was always on his own side. He wasn't the happy babyface that John Cena is today, loving just everybody. The same thing can benefit Randy Orton. So can't Randy Orton just be a tweener?

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

If you think Randy Orton is the happy babyface that John Cena is, you're sorely mistaken. Randy Orton, to this day, was the only real tweener going until CM Punk turned "face." While he's not as tweener as he used to be, like when he first turned face against Legacy in '10, he still lays an RKO on any random face that gets in his way. See his current feud with DB.

The best reason I see him to turn heel now is simply because there's no top heel anymore since Punk turned. The Shield is a 3 man team. Ziggler just turned. ADR is not over that much. And I think Ryback is about to hit a lull. Mark Henry has been one of the best heels of the past couple years, but he's still limited and also doesn't have a lot of time left.

Orton turning heel, at this point, would be fine in my book. Too many IWC memebers want everyone heel (just look at some of these dumbass fave fives), but this is an occasion where I see it working. With the recent face turns, especially Punk, someone needs to fill that void.

That, or the WWE could...ya know... build someone up properly...

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Generally speaking, Randy Orton has been a tweener for quite a long time now. Orton has shown some tendencies, at least slightly, that are more in touch with those of a traditional babyface. For instance, playing up to the crowd & rallying them before going for the RKO in his matches or shaking Daniel Bryan's hand after he was forced to tap out as a show of sportsmanship.

However, when you look at Orton's general attitude, his mannerisms, his "strike first & ask questions later" mentality; it's definitely more on the lines of a heel. After all, a babyface is generally supposed to be a "nice guy". Randy Orton calls himself The Viper; vipers are predator and predators aren't generally thought of as "nice". A tweener is someone that walks the line between babyface and heel. Essentially, a tweener is an anti-hero and if there's anyone in wrestling that it can be applied to, it's Randy Orton.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Randy Orton, to this day, was the only real tweener going until CM Punk turned "face."

Hadn't even thought of comparison between those two because when I think of them, what comes to mind is Punk's ability on the mic....and Randy's lack thereof. Punk is (or soon will be) a full-fledged bad guy, but he'll always keep us guessing because while his deeds in the ring indicate one direction, what he tells us might spell another......we never know for sure.

Randy, meanwhile, is best off as a 'tweener because even I can tell by the cadence of his speech that he's uninspiring on the mic.....and the only true way to determine his intentions is to watch what he does in the ring and backstage. Sure, they can depict him as a complete bad guy, laying waste to everything he touches. This is something he's done in the past, and it has a limited shelf life; he appeared barely human as a destruction machine and I kept wishing he would show us something more.

On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised how well he played off Daniel Bryan while Danny was doing his "weak link" rant. Alternately being exasperated and soothing, Randy showed more range of character than we've seen. Then, he goes and RKOs the guy at an unexpected moment.

That's Randy as his best......a 'tweener whom no one can figure out. In that way, he was more like Steve Austin than anyone else has been; SCSA would buddy up to Bill Goldberg.....and then stun Linda McMahon. You never knew what was coming next, which is what was so compelling about Austin.

If Randy Orton is the legacy to that, he's occupying a vital position in the organization. Stay a 'tweener, Randy; don't be so anxious to turn full heel.

 

[Uncle Sam]

The answer to that is that yes, he can and - as the other two chaps have already helpfully pointed out - he's already essentially been a tweener for some time now, albeit one that leans towards the babyface side of things.

I do think people that accuse current Randy Orton of blandness and suggest a heel turn as an antidote to that are dramatically misremembering Randy Orton's days as a heel. Orton as a babyface - or a babyface tweener or a heel tweener or however you want to cut it - has been responsible for much of his best work; with Christian, with CM Punk, with Mark Henry, and now with Daniel Bryan. I won't see that flushed down the toilet.

 

[RedRegan1005]

I agree one hundred percent. Randy Orton doesn't need to be the guy whose walking around smiling and telling stupid jokes. He needs to be RKOing everybody including his grandma if it means getting closer to the WWE title. Make him a lone wolf. He sides with no one and just wants to benefit himself, but the crowd still loves him. He should be a tweener.

 

[CmPunker]

sadly, wwe doesnt know what a tweener is. remember sheamus and del rio? they were tweeners for 1 month, then they turned into a smiling cookie cutter, typica, generic babyface. yeah, the same is going to happen to dolph ziggler. he will start out like a badass for 1 month, then he will be the typical "i love the wwe universe and i love smiling" babyface. why cant babyfaces have an edge to them? randy orton is the only face who is edgy. for now i think he will stay face, because there is no erason for him to turn tweener (not like wwe knows how to do it) or heel.