Is It Time For Orton To Step Aside?

[Jack-Hammer]

It's no secret that Randy Orton is a pretty frequent target of fans who're disgruntled with him over any number of reasons.

Some fans flat out dislike Orton because of his, reported, attitude issues that've been documented over the years. These allegations of attitude issues range from general immaturity, his treatment of women on the WWE roster, which reached a point so severe that it resulted in him being suspended years back, failing the WWE Wellness Policy twice, allegations of killing Kofi Kingston's push several years back, and allegations that he was partially responsible for getting Ken Anderson, AKA Mr. Kennedy, fired.

Some fans feel that Orton is flat, doesn't seem particularly motivated in their eyes and is just generally uninteresting as far as his gimmick is concerned. Orton spent the past few years in a tweener role and has generally gone back to being fully heel after SummerSlam, much to the relief of many other fans. This general disinterest that some fans feel, expressed vocally at television & ppv tapings and on internet forums, has been even more apparent during Orton's current run as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. During this time period, Randy Orton has, again, entered into a feud with John Cena and the stage looks to be set for Orton to take on another old rival that he's gone up against numerous times in Batista at WrestleMania XXX.

Do you think Randy Orton's best days as a top guy in WWE are behind him and, if so, is it time that he stepped aside to a lower profile spot on the WWE roster?

Me personally, I'm of two minds on this. I can understand the idea of Randy Orton no longer feeling all that fresh or interesting. Even though Orton's only 33 years old, he turns 34 on April 1st, I think we get the impression that he's a lot older because he's been such a top tier, high profile guy in WWE consistently for the better part of a decade. Orton's a 12 time World Champion and has wrestled against many of the top stars the company has had in the last 20 years including Cena, Batista, HBK, Triple H, Edge, Christian, Mark Henry and The Undertaker. Half of those World Championship reigns began before Orton was even 30 years old. After seeing him for so long in this sort of spot, I can see that some are tired of him.

However, it's not as if Orton hasn't earned his spot. He MIGHT be an immature asshole backstage and in his personal life, but it doesn't mean that he hasn't helped make a lot of money for WWE. Also, in all honesty, Orton's damn good inside the ring and he's able to hold a live audience captivated by making them pop, as a heel or face, with a slight change in facial features. More often than not, Orton's very much delivered interesting feuds and matches. If you're someone who runs any sort of business, you want someone that's able to consistently deliver and Orton has done that.

 

[MCMG]

I'd argue Orton is currently the most entertaining he has been in years. I'm absolutely loving his promos and he has put on some terrific matches as well. Randy Orton as a face and on the mic isn't a great combination. As a heel, I reckon he is one of the best - certainly top three (Punk, HHH).

The guy is still very talented and pretty young. He should have another 4/5 years left and I hope he stays for every minute. There are still plenty of avenues for him. It will become a bit more difficult when he drops the belt to Batista but I really hope he stays part of The Authority. Orton being a cocky, narcissistic prick is one of the best things I have seen on WWE TV in years.

Simply put he is better then everyone else they have except from Cena and Punk. They shouldn't waste an elite talent. Also, when The Shield/Brotherhood/Real Americans all split there will be 2 to 4 faces all with great potential. Orton could work a great program with one of them, putting on awesome matches. Reigns, Rhodes, Cesaro vs Orton - yes please.

There is only one World Title which is an issue as it slightly changes the definition of the top. Orton should, however, always be near the title picture. If I had my wish Orton would be walking out WM as champ and putting over someone other than Dave.

Orton must remain near the top. Of course, he can't be champ forever so he needs to have various feuds. Not with guys like Kofi Kingston or R-Truth but with decent mid-carders with potential.

 

[CyberPunk]

I have to say, the current heel Orton is even more boring than his face/tweener persona. It's like he's just there, going through the motion. The booking hasn't helped him either. He's made to look like a chump with Authority pulling the strings at all time. He can't seem to win matches without outside help and has turned into a whiny little kid.

Orton's case is curious. There's no doubt he has the ingredients to make a genuine main event player. He has been a main event player for a long time. But it just seems like he's already done everything he could. He was the youngest ever to win the World Heavyweight title. He has won 12 world championships overall. He has won the Royal Rumble and Money in the bank. He's done everything one can do in the WWE. So what's left?

May be that's the problem. On top of that, while Orton is not the worst on the mic, he hasn't set the world on fire with his mic work, especially compared to some other people on the current roster. He has held the WWEWHC for well over a month and yet it seems like he's not part of the grand picture, just a transitional champion before someone knocks him off.

I would not comment on what he's done backstage or in his personal life simply because I don't know if any of that is true. He's one of those who has had a great career and may be needs to step aside for a bit. May be take some time off and reinvent his character. To be honest, if he disappears from my TV screen, I'll not miss him (sounds harsh but in my case, it's true), at least for a while. May be a rejuvenated Orton is good for business.

 

[laodaron]

I don't understand what's happening here. Randy Orton is phenomenal. And now he should step aside, why? Because of his current storyline?

Randy Orton is only second to John Cena when it comes down to it. He's in a league above the rest. I don't like him as this current incarnation of hell, but he can be one of the best at the gig. Once this Authority booking ends in 6-8 months, we will see Randy shine at the top again.

 

[Pedigree1]

Orton has earned his spot and my mindset on him is this: He has earned his spot,is athletically gifted,built out of granite! Whether or not,he is a asshole much like batista you can say this about Mr Orton! He has earned everything he has in his life. He was the youngest WWE superstar in history to win the WHC championship against we all know who.

True enough,his freshness to some of us has run its course. He has been in the business since he was what 21 or 22? But to me he has been doing his best work he has ever done in his career. I understand how people feel about him,but to me Ortons work as of late is genius

 

[The Eighties]

For the best part of 2012 and half of 2013 Orton seemed to be phoning it in to me, he was bouncing from one feud to the next with no real traction and he was playing a role he didn't want to play.

Then he got involved in the "weak link" angle with Team Hell No and suddenly seemed rejuvenated, he had excellent TV matches with Bryan, RVD, Christian and Del Rio over this period and had obviously been told the heel turn and title run were on the horizon, he even said on the red carpet event prior to Summerslam that he felt back to his best due to finally being involved in things that actually matter.

I think cashing in at Summerslam was the perfect way to execute the heel turn but it's been the booking since that has hurt him. Losing to Bryan in his first defense, then the title being held up for two months, and when he finally gets it the crowd are genuinely pissed because they thought that HIAC was where Bryan would become champion, not the start of another Orton reign.

His booking as Champion since then has also been weird. Triple H and Steph have not treat him like Vince treat The Rock as the corporate champion, instead Triple H and Steph often scold him like he's a child and while Orton sells his paranoia well on the mic I don't think The Authority continuing this passive aggressive stuff is a good idea, wrestling works best when they paint in broad strokes.

Booking him against Big Show was a disaster and a huge misjudgment by WWE, people wanted to see Show beat the snot out of Triple H, not win the WWE title. Then they quickly jumped to Cena vs Orton which was met with apathy that turned into anger at the Rumble, and now he's gonna wrestle Batista who has more heat than him right now.

Orton will lose the WWE title at Mania, but I don't think he needs to be out of the main event scene, I think he just needs to be booked better and face some fresh opponents.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

To be honest, I don't think the creative team has helped Orton's character since January of 2011. In many ways he is in the same league as Cena in 2014 mostly because he has the tenure, the accolades, and most importantly the elite ability that makes him not only an all-time great but an invaluable full-time asset to the WWE in 2014. I completely blame Creative for taking a lot of steam out of Orton and then randomly putting him back on top of the pedestal, which to many (myself included) seems very forced and inorganic.

After his fantastic feud with Christian and title reign, he loses clean to Mark Henry for seemingly no reason. From October 2011-July 2013 what has he done!? How did his character change? He did nothing. He feuded with random midcard stars like Del Rio, Wade Barrett, and Dolph Ziggler trading clean wins and not even cutting promos about the matches, just having 6 matches in a row. Then all of a sudden in July they have him win Money in the Bank - NO ONE predicted he would win that match (I bet a lot of you will disagree with that now but go back to the thread - it's true). Now he's in the midst of his 3rd title reign in the last 4 months and it just seems like so much so soon and he still hasn't changed much. He's heel - big deal.

I love Orton he has been my favorite wrestler in the business since Evolution, he consistently puts on top quality matches and can give good promos given the right amount of time but they need to help him develop. Cena hasn't changed his character in 7 years but they constantly have him involved in things happening outside the ring to keep his character seemingly fresh. If they had Orton doing these things, I guarantee you no one would be saying he needs to step aside at all - he's 33 he's a baby, his best days may be yet to come.

 

[GeneralKarim]

I'm a bit torn.

In a way I'm kind of bored of this stick.He's basically a John Cena, in the sense that he has had no change in character.I also dont like this "viper" gimmick, which tbh is anything but.I mean what part of his gimmick is a viper?All he does is nothing really, he acts like a inflated version of himself. I mean seriously he does not fucking "slither" away, most superstars do that shit and its called just getting out of the way or something, but with orton its SLITHERING out of the way just cause of "gimmick" sake.

Tho that's just nitpicking on my part.

As a top guy, he delivers in the ring and when push comes to shove he can deliver on the mic as we have seen in his promos with Cena.His promos being bad usually have nothing to do with him but the material that creative\vince gives him.I mean do you really think all he wants to say in some of his promos is "I'm Randy Orton, and I'm gonna give you a R K O", I'm sure Vince has a hard-on everytime he hears that but I doubt Randy really feels that way.

I dont think he should step aside.I mean the dude is still young in good shape and can deliver and ...like step aside.....what does that mean?To the midcard?I have no problem with him feuding with up and coming wrestlers but him stepping aside from the main event spot is pretty stupid.He is in his prime atm and has been for 2-3 and even with my slight boredom, I like the stuff he does more than what he did in the past.

Not to mention, when it comes to true ACTIVE main events, WWE only has Cena and Orton atm.So its not like they are full of guys.CM Punk and DB will never reach their level, I mean if WWE didnt capitalize on the Summer of Punk the way they should have, I doubt they will do justice by DB and make him a REAL star.

So Orton is still filling in a spot that not many can fill.Is that really his fault?No, its WWE's fault for not creating new mega stars the proper way.I mean look at Del Rio, I think he is been shoved down our throats more than Cena has.The dude was pushed to the moon and didnt get over.His moves in the ring are over , but as a character nobody gives a shit about him.

They are doing a good job with The Shield though, giving them space for each of them to show their character.I must say I'm very impressed with all 3 members, on the mic Rollins and Ambrose are killing it and RR is getting there.

Lets see if Wyatt's gimmick can survive for more than 1-2 years and actually culminate in having a main eventer.

In conclusion, writting about this made me actually not be torn anymore and say that, no he should stay.He has the goods still and I think there a lot of feuds with up and comers that can be awesome.
Orton vs Bryan ( a real feud that not shit we just had ), vs Bray, vs RR, vs Ambrose ( mic work will be amazing ) vs Rollins , o and ofc how can I forget Cesaro, I wouldn't give a damn about mic work or Cesaro's perceveid lack of micsikills, the feud would just be way too awesome in the ring.

 

[L@RISANO]

Personally, I have always been a fan of Orton and feel he does have a place on the roster.

That being said, his heel run has been underwhelming, but not because of him at all, but because his character has merely been as mentioned in someone's post above, a Chump of the Authority. He has essentially been the Secondary heel on the company and has been merely a tool of the authority.
Some have said his Viper gimmick is stale. However, this heel run hasn't been the same as any in the past. I have personally enjoyed him much more post-TLC, as he has added an edge to his heel persona, in his promos, that wasn't there before in any aspect of his work.
However, despite those improvements, he has been labelled as boring, mostly because his role in the Authority angle, can lMO, be replaced easily and more effectively by Batista,for instance.
Now, Orton is better than Batista as an overall superstar, but I feel Batista in this "Face of the Company" role would be able to make himself seem more relevant and intimidating than Orton has, even as a Secondary heel.
Seeing Stephanie speak to Orton as though he is a little disobedient child makes the "Voices in my head" wish he would just RKO her a** and make her Shut up at times. Instead we get Orton giving false hopes that something like that would happen. The PG product does affect as well,however.

IMO, If WWE want to make Randy Orton relevant, then have HHH and Stephanie give his "Face of the Company" title to Batista. Make Randy Orton go against the Authority by himself(essentially turning face to the Universe), but keep him as a loner, someone who doesn't care if he attacks faces or heels. With CM Punk gone, it would be perfect.

There are so much ways to use the different superstars available in the Main Event, even with CM Punk gone.

John Cena is reportedly going to be in a programme with the Wyatt family. That will be fresh for him.
Randy Orton needs an edge to his character. He needs a way for the fans to care, but the booking and the portrayal of a "Wuss" character has made that impossible.
Batista hasn't got the desired reaction, and is being treated by the fans as a heel. So just turn him heel, how difficult is that?

It isn't a difficult angle to put together even with the current position,tbh and it would go a long way into making the crowd care for the likes of Orton again, especially with the loss of CM Punk( If he doesn't return). I hope that the WWE Creative that make it happen, because there have been subtle hints of it at times.

 

[L@RISANO]

I have a question based on the responses to JH's question in this thread:

Would Randy Orton vs the Authority work if he was to break away from the at Elimination Chamber or due to being screwed at the Elimination Chamber??
I just don't see a Randy Orton vs Batista match going through with Batista as the Face, it just isn't working and won't work based on the response.
Is it possible that the Authority angle is widened and we get the Shield match, Bryan vs HHH and the WWE WHC match all coming together??
Even Cena vs the Wyatts could be tied in somehow in a Big Babyfaces vs the Authority type feud culminating at WM??

 

[LoudClearVoice]

There are barely any main eventers on the roster. Why would anyone in their right mind want Orton to step aside? It's not like he's 45 years old or something. There's always this push by the IWC to "give other guys a chance." Here's the thing: If other guys were good enough, they'd be getting a chance. They're not. Orton isn't "taking" anyone's spot. He's still a bonafide main eventer on a roster that has very few. I think he's been pretty good in this current championship run. Most fans are bashing Orton because of their love for Daniel Bryan. That's unfair to Orton.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

I've been saying this for quite some time. Orton wont be at WMXXX's Main event. As much as i love Randy (one of the most gifted performers in the last 15 years), he doesnt get the crowd to react the way he needs.

Strange enough...everytime that Randy was sidelined or working as a top mid carder...he got more pop than when he was main eventing. Looks like the spotlight doesnt help Orton at all, as a matter of fact, i think it hurts his character.

 

[closet_fan]

He doesn't need to step down. But if Batista wins the title, where does Orton go from there? He's done his feud with Cena and Bryan. Punk isn't around. Who else is there who is of main event caliber for him to go against? Sheamus? Reigns?

 

[Kris Benwa]

It's hopefully no secret that I hate Randy Orton. I think he's incredibly boring, too good in the ring to not have multiple really great matches, terrible on the mic post 2007 and that's around the time I started to view him in a different way. In 2006 I was a huge Orton fan and thought he should have been given the World title at WM 22 or shortly thereafter but now I just can't wait for him to leave. While I agree he's not taking anyone's spots and has shown to be adequate as a face or heel I think this title reign should have ended a long time ago. Especially because they haven't made Triple H and Stephanie a terrible cruel power couple tyrants with Orton as their chosen guy it's been stupid. The Authority barely has any contact with Orton anymore and it's time he step aside until he can be entertaining again. I think at WM or ER he's going to lose the title and I think that needs to be the end of him being in the main event especially with how the future looks with lots of young guys taking over the top spots Daniel Bryan is a fresh guy, Bray Wyatt, The Shield etc. Orton has been lackadaisical and doesn't get very much heat. It's definitely time for Orton to step aside but if I had my choice he wouldn't even be on the roster.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

This is going to be long as I am a big Randy Orton fan - regardless of his behavior and his flaws as a human being, Randy Orton is one of the most talented wrestlers in the WWE. But I'm not going to be biased here because I truly understand the hate he gets from WWE's audience by what Jack-Hammer already exposed in the original post and mostly the fact that he has been over-exposed for the better part of a decade and still being possible seen as a guy who has more ten years left in him.

So one of the points I'm going to get on board is the Daniel Bryan overness factor being a decisive one for the general hate of Randy Orton. He has been the #1 person who's not letting Daniel Bryan get that top spot and, not even conscientious of that, people started to blaming him or as we call it, started being worked which is great as it shows the power of WWE's booking. But there is no deny of the fact that he's a great talent, one of the best in the whole world and specially, portraying a character. People that find him boring, find the whole character boring and not his delivery because a spoiled little brat, who has some anger issues and is flat out crazy is exactly what Orton delivers.

But like I said I'm a big fan of Randy Orton and as a big fan I don't want to see him go, but I also don't want him to fade away into obscurity and transforming into a Christian or a Kane. So why not repackage him? He's very young still and he loves what he does, he certainly has the backstage support. Getting rid of him is not only a bad decision for the company as it's a very bad decision personally for the guy.

We've seen Orton in two to three different roles in his WWE tenure. The young Chosen One aka the Blue Chipper, very arrogant and anti-WWE legends - which was great for an up and coming star. However by ways of destiny he's now a WWE Legend and going back to it would not only be illogical as it would make him go stale quicker. We've seen him slowly transforming into a vicious guy who goes all the way, even as a babyface. And we've seen him as a leader of a group while being everything he always was - and he made it all work because he's a very talented wrestler - but what should we do, to not make him turn into a Arn Anderson for the better part of his career?

I've put some thought into it and we've a lot of different dynamics for him to go after his main event push, and one of those is getting into a manager. Refresh him as a mentor for one singles wrestler, he doesn't need to wrestle himself for sometime only being a manager and when the time comes and if it works the trigger of mentor vs student would be great, because of two things - first the young star turns against the WWE legend and two, we'll miss Orton in the ring. This is idea number one and can use his promo delivery content to a pulp and people that bash him in that regard should think twice as he constantly seems to be one the best on the shtick.

Second idea - Orton goes corporate. Suited up, full of himself and what he accomplished. Maybe going into a authority figure himself. That would surely be something good. He could use his "power" to put him in situations that he cares about. He could be the best heel one can possible be and he could go all the way with it, because he would be different and people recognize his talent regardless.

There are more things I'm sure people would like to see him do - like go back to the uppercard as a tag team wrestler. Put him with someone who could work with him in a good and entertaining program. This will be a long shot, but I would like to see him and Santino as a tag team. Such polarizing characters would sure as hell put them into some funny and great segments. A type of Rock N' Sock connection here, not that would really be the main program ever but something I can see fans just relate to it. He could also be a badass babyface, going against authority and whatever - he has the charisma and the facial expressions to really seem pissed with the guys in the back so he could make it work.

I know that it's hard to make him relevant for yet another ten years, give it or take it, but one thing we all know is that the guy can deliver when he's doing something fresh. They put him against Christian, he beat him and killed IWC's boner, only to give us one of the best rivalries that nobody (or a few) were expecting. Why was this a success? Because it was something fresh for him and people saw his talent (and Christian's of course). The best thing for him career wise is exactly letting other guys surpass him or reach his point, because he needs fresh competition to be yet again, a fresh wrestler.

In a few years time Randy Orton v. Dean Ambrose will surely give us a boner, or Randy Orton v. Roman Reigns. But it all depends on what WWE makes him do in between. Going against Batista at WrestleMania... It is something I get and I'm not totally against as it's an arc that ends perfectly, but there are a lot of things that people would rather see him do. Am I the only one here who would find Randy Orton v. The Undertaker ten years after their first encounter one of the best things that the WWE could pull off? He's no longer a rookie, he's a WWE legend and he's going after one thing he almost broke - The Streak. There are more - Randy Orton aligning himself with Paul Heyman... How great could that be? Randy Orton feuding with Lesnar... He needs fresh programs and people will see through him. He was once the most over heel, people were so into him that they turned him babyface and I don't believe that he just forgot about how to be entertaining because he didn't.

I for one am interested in Orton's future, because booking a main event star for so long is a great challenge for creative and it's something we've never seen. I don't think he should go away at all, I just think he could either be repackaged or just needs something new and fresh because we have all seen this Orton before. It was great in 2009. In 2014 he's delivering but we've seen it and the fans want something fresh out of him. I don't believe that people turned their back's on Orton's talents. Not by a long shot.

 

[The Butcher]

I don't have anything against Orton. He's as gifted as they come between the ropes. He plays a damn fine heel, and his natural charisma and cool factor brought about some good face runs. I also credit him for overcoming nepotism to forge his own path and make his own name. All that said, anytime I'm asked if it's time for some fresh faces, I'm going to answer in the affirmative. That's just for my own personal enjoyment, though. Randy's drawing money, and the majority of respondents so far are fine with the status quo. That being the case, if I were running things in WWE, I wouldn't push him aside

 

[THTRobtaylor]

We won't need to step down... his history says he will screw up and get his 3rd wellness violation before he needs to step down. Last count his deal has nearly 5 years left. He screwed up constantly and pretty regularly and has been protected a lot more than many other talents from his own mistakes.

I'm not saying I hope he does, even though I don't like him as a man for some of the bullying he has done but his form kinda says somethings gonna happen... perhaps losing the Mania main event might trigger it who knows.

He certainly sholdn't volunteer to step aside. What ever you think of Orton, he's at his peak right now. He isn't someone who can go away for two years and come back hungrier, better or the fans miss him... once he does go, he's gone... he doesn't have the kind of aura that would let him really be a part timer like a Jericho. But I do believe he needs to spend that time putting people over rather than clinging on to the top with Dave... the best match at Mania would be him putting Reigns over... but it won't happen.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

It's not Orton alone that is the issue:

It's Orton versus Cena. It's Orton versus Batista. It's Orton versus Big Show.

These are main events that we were watching 6 to 7 years ago. There are only so many storylines that you can put together in wrestling. In the end, it's the rotation of wrestlers that keeps things fresh. This is why Orton and Cena got booed so hard at Royal Rumble. It's not that it was a bad match, or even that Cena or Orton had done anything wrong. When Cena finally meets up with Wyatt, or Orton faces someone like Reigns or Langston, all of a sudden fans will be eating it up again. People ultimately LIKE Cena and Orton, I believe. Both of them put on excellent matches with guys like Bryan and The Shield. We saw it last year. The WWE just can't go back to relying on these "old-timers" to carry the main event spotlight any longer and get the same reaction.

 

[Staaaang]

Hmmm ... Should Orton step aside?

On one hand you have Randy Orton. He's a third generation wrestler at the top of his game. He's worked for years to get to this level of his career, and is a future hall of famer.

On the other hand you have a handful of armchair critics without the slightest idea of how to take a basic back bump, let alone the finer aspects of how the business works or ring psychlogy.

Should he step aside and lose the millions of dollars awaiting him, all because of some terribly misguided fools post a poll? Of course he should! It makes sense!

 

[Dirty 13]

Unless a 3rd violation of the Wellness Program happens, he isn't going anywhere. Randy's what? 34? That's pretty young for a wrestler to hang up his boots, so Randy probably still has a good 5-6 years ahead of him.

Problem with Randy right now is his gimmick. He stopped being the Viper, the Apex Predator, even though he's still called both those names. When he cashed in Money in the Bank, he pretty much became a generic heel, allying with the authority, whining, complaining and avoiding to fight.

The only way to bring interest back to Randy is to have him being the Viper again. The Viper loved to fight and to inflict pain on others. It was gimmick that worked both as a Face and as a Heel. Tweak it a bit by having Randy easily becoming angered at everything and lashing out on innocent people (like he did to Cena's dad), but do it on a constant basis. Have him being more violent and more willing to get in a fight just to dish out pain. He really wouldn't even need to talk as his violent actions could just cause the crowd to boo him. He showed a mean streak many times in the past, so it shouldn't be hard.

One thing I'm still expecting is for WWE writers to expand on the voices on Randy's head. His songs mention it, he acknowledged a couple of times, Michael Cole mentions them every time Randy does his Snap Powerslam, but it really hasn't been used in a storyline. What about having Bray Wyatt manipulate the voices in his head? It could do a good feud for them.

 

[L@RISANO]

Unless a 3rd violation of the Wellness Program happens, he isn't going anywhere. Randy's what? 34? That's pretty young for a wrestler to hang up his boots, so Randy probably still has a good 5-6 years ahead of him.

Problem with Randy right now is his gimmick. He stopped being the Viper, the Apex Predator, even though he's still called both those names. When he cashed in Money in the Bank, he pretty much became a generic heel, allying with the authority, whining, complaining and avoiding to fight.

The only way to bring interest back to Randy is to have him being the Viper again. The Viper loved to fight and to inflict pain on others. It was gimmick that worked both as a Face and as a Heel. Tweak it a bit by having Randy easily becoming angered at everything and lashing out on innocent people (like he did to Cena's dad), but do it on a constant basis. Have him being more violent and more willing to get in a fight just to dish out pain. He really wouldn't even need to talk as his violent actions could just cause the crowd to boo him. He showed a mean streak many times in the past, so it shouldn't be hard.

One thing I'm still expecting is for WWE writers to expand on the voices on Randy's head. His songs mention it, he acknowledged a couple of times, Michael Cole mentions them every time Randy does his Snap Powerslam, but it really hasn't been used in a storyline. What about having Bray Wyatt manipulate the voices in his head? It could do a good feud for them.

That above is also another wonderful storyline possibility.
Bray Wyatt wanted to take down the machine. Randy Orton has been constantly belittled by the heads of that said machine.
It would have been perfect to have Bray use the belittling as a way to awaken the vicious viper in Orton again. It could have been a good long storyline feud,lMO.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I don't think it's time for Orton to step aside; he seems to have settled into his role as the tortured "face of the company" who's getting it from both sides....being squeezed in by management and other contenders who want his title. He's even been less robotic in his reactions to these things than he used to be. He's growing as a performer, which was his weakness before.

For all the praise, though, it bothers me a bit that he's performing so much better as a heel than he did as a face. In fact, we've read that the guy was constantly lobbying to be a bad guy again, even as he scored (imo) much success as a face, particularly with the "Daniel Bryan as paranoid" program in which Randy and Kane had to constantly mollify Daniel into believing he was good enough. I thought Orton did a fine job with that and looked forward to more of his 'tweener type actions. Instead, they turned him heel, apparently granting him his wish. If he was doing less than his best because he didn't like being a face, that's a strike against him.

But he's been better than I thought he'd be in his present role. Now Randy is the one showing tinges of paranoia as he strikes out blindly against the Authority and other contenders for his title, not knowing who is coming after him next......and not being reluctant to let the audience in on his displeasure.

Orton's ring performance has always been excellent, and continues that way. Now that he seems to be mastering the mic, I see no reason to remove him from the top of the card.