His most important match: Randy Orton

[D-Will316]

In your opinion what is the match that propelled him into the superstar that he is? The match that made him a legit main event guy and kick started his legacy.

My vote goes to Randy Orton vs The Undertaker at WM21 although I feel there Hell in a Cell match is a close second. The first time the streak has been used in a storyline and at that time nobody has come closer to defeating The Undertaker at 'Mania. Although he lost he went toe to toe with the deadman.

What are your thoughts?

 

[NEW YORK 1989]

randy orton vs shawn michaels at unforgiven was the first sign of main eventin, then you have randy orton as face vs triple h and chris benoit

 

[a member of wwe universe]

Foley vs Orton Backlash 2004. This match to me solidified orton his upper midcard status and was ready to move into the mainevent scene (it is debatable if orton was too early win the title though).

 

[boozinjedi]

I hate to say it..the name that shall not be mentioned..

SummerSlam 04 against Benoit.
His first world/wwe title win

A great match,loved the handshake at the end
Signaled the arrival of a new star on the upper tier.
The swerve the next night solidified it even more.

 

[No Count Pup]

Orton's most important match was at No Mercy 2007. It was the same year as the Benoit murders. WWE was still trying to stabilize and return to the status quo after a hellish media blitz. Having the strap on John Cena was a calming and normal presence for the WWE and its "universe." Cena was the poster boy, ratings draw, and the glue that kept the WWE together. But then, he got injured...

WWE was forced to find a true blue draw. They had Triple H in the holster, but they also decided that they needed to give Orton a shot at the bright lights. On the night Orton was awarded the title, the fans were livid. Triple H would go on to win the title that night, defeat Umaga in a brutal fight, and then face Orton in a Last Man Standing Match to close the show. Orton regained the title at the end of the show, drew some out of bounds heel heat, and carried the title until April 2008.

Orton helped to get WWE through a difficult post-Benoit era, stole the show with HBK at Survivor Series 2007, and would retain the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 24 in a triple threat match.

Orton was a big name player before No Mercy 2007. But on that night he became a true main eventer. He also proved to the WWE brass that he could help the company move on from the dark days of mid 2007.

 

[DetectiveZelix]

Silly D-Will you know Chris Benoit isn't real. He`a a figment of all our imagination. Speaking of, I voted Orton vs. he who must not be named at SummerSlam 2004 for the World Heavyweight Championship. It was the match of Ortons young career and his first World Championship. I loved how he literature Chris Benoit at certain points in the match. it was pretty cool seeing him hit the RKO out of nowhere on Benoit and rising above his mentor Triple H and beginning one of the most incredible storylines in WWE history.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I voted "other". My pick is Randy Orton vs. Triple H vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 24. NOBODY expected Orton to win, and to see him not only defeat two of WWE's biggest babyfaces, as a heel, but to do it CLEAN, was an incredible boost for Orton's career. He went from being a top guy to a legitimate, permanent main event Superstar in an instant.

 

[HBsam31]

To me this one is easy. Orton vs Foley. Foley did the same thing for Orton as he did Edge. He brought out the dark side in him, and showed us he was ready to be a main star. Orton's title win was early imo, and that face run flopped big time. It wasn't until he went at it with Foley that he was truly taken seriously as a top star.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

Ok there's actually no way that the Benoit match should be winning this poll, it was a mediocre main event at one of the most lackluster SummerSlams of all time. Yes, it was Orton's first title win, but it was a flop run that lasted a month. The whole angle that followed with Orton as champion was handled horribly, which is a shame because it had so much potential as an angle.

The match with Foley is what put Orton on the map in the WWE, it legitimized him and earned him the respect of the fans. That was Orton's true breakout match and in the end it did way more for his career than that first World Title win.

Also, this thread was the first time I've heard the Evolution break-up angle be described as "incredible" and "one of the best storylines in WWE history". It was actually pretty awful, and with even just a little bit of thought and effort it could have been much more compelling.

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

To me it has to be Foley at Vengeance. Foley was doing back then what Jericho is doing today and elevating young talent. If it wasn't for that match, then Orton may have never won the world title (let alone multiple reigns), probably wouldn't have the MITB briefcase , and likely wouldn't be in the WWE at all due to all of his indiscretions in years past.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

I simply don't agree with the notion that the most important match in Randy Orton's career happened in 2004, whether it be the classics with Foley and Benoit or his WrestleMania debut alongside Evolution. I can't agree because Orton's career sky-rocketed so much from that point, that it would almost seem asinine to suggest his most important match was at a time where he was a midcarder.

From 2008-2010, Randy was the top heel on RAW, and arguably the WWE (Edge was brilliant during this same time). He was basically a jobber to the stars from 2005-2007 until finally obtaining the WWE Championship (twice) at No Mercy 2007. This title reign gave him the respect from the fans he needed to seamlessly return from injury to the main event in late 2008 and completely dominate 2009 as RAW's top heel and multi-time champion. Therefore, I'd say his most important match was the match that started it all, the Last Man Standing Match with Triple H at No Mercy 2007. A clean win over Triple H in the main event (even though they kept saying how tired Hunter was from wrestling 3 matches) was the perfect way to start his run, he ended up putting on great matches throughout this reign but it was this match that started it all and set the precedent that this guy is a top heel who can win clean.