Is Maryse comparable to Randy Orton?

[Bernkastel]

At first glance this may seem like a stupid question to ask, Maryse, a woman who’s only been in the business for a few years, how she would have any sort of comparison to a 2nd generation, multiple time world champion, Triple Crown winner, and a superstar that has been in the business for years seems impossible. In order to compare these two, one has to define what it means to be comparable. Clearly, Maryse isn’t in Orton’s league when it comes to championships won, or number of classic feuds. And while Mayse’s resume isn’t nearly as impressive as Orton’s, I’d argue that if one were to strip these two down to their bare in ring ability, it would be the same.

I once read an essay by a columnist who elaborated on the sad state of pro wrestling matches and had said that spotty movesets and disorganized spots were ruining the realistic scope of pro wrestling. The columnist wrote that pro matches should be simple in nature and that wrestlers do not need to rely on so many high spots in order to put on a good match. The columnist goes on to commend Randy Orton for his ability to put on an emotional, realistic looking match mostly because he keeps his matches simple. As a heel, he will target a body part of a face and weaken it, usually a body part pertaining to a finisher, such as the leg or back. As I watch Maryse’s matches I can see she does the same thing.

Maryse has become a very consistent worker, and since the divas often don’t have a lot of time to work with, simplicity has its advantages. Much like Orton, I will often see Maryse use basic heel tactics such as baiting her opponent out of the ring and taking advantage of them on the outside. I will often see Marsye use the ring as a weapon, most notably the ring ropes and the ring post, to gain an advantage. Maryse will also pick out a body part of an opponent and consistently work on it throughout the match. If she’s wrestling Michelle, she may work on the back, which lowers Michelle’s change of hitting her finisher. If Maryse is wrestling Maria, she may work on the legs, because it decreases Maria’s speed. And like Orton, Maryse builds her match around one move. Orton builds his matches around the RKO, so every move he does is a buildup to the RKO; likewise, Maryse builds her matches around the DDT, and in similar fashion to Orton, every move she does is a buildup to her DDT.

Maryse has proven that she understands basic heel psychology and storytelling techniques, so considering that she does not get much time to work a match, keeping to the basic’s is the best thing for her. So going back to the original question, is Maryse comparable to Randy Orton? I’d argue that their styles are very similar and the way they deliver a match is also very similar, so much so that if you gave Orton 3 to 5 minutes to work a match, the match he’d put on would practically mirror that of Maryse’s, and that is because both superstars know how to work a realistic looking, simplistic match. That being said, I’d say, yes, Maryse is comparable to Randy Orton.

 

[The Undercover Man]

Pro wrestling would be boring without any table spots or ladder spots, it just would'nt be good entertainment. WWE tries to portry this stuff as reality so i think that they do need weapons and make matches more spottier in order to get the crowd to think "Wow! That guy wants to win" as appose to saying "Meh, he's just doing a fake move". I'm not sure what the writer of that column was talking about when he said "disorganised spots" does he mean when they do spots out of the ordinary or not where we expect them to happen? Anyway, geting back to the question.......

Randy Orton is good guy in the ring, he makes his matches and feud seem realistic and allways applies those headlocks to weaken the body of his opponent, as the columnist said he also targets parts of the body which in my opinion don't really have an effect if the wrestler is just lightly touching the opponents back or leg. So i'd say the headlock or the sleeper hold i think its called, is the main weapon in Orton's short armoury. Due to him being heel. All these locks and grinding down moves all go towards him hitting his finisher

I agree with Echelon on the way Maryse builds up her matches and the way they are similar to the way Orton builds his, around one move. It does seem that Maryse is understanding what moves to hit and whilst in the ring and i think she is comparable to Orton. I also agree on the fact of TV time when it comes to Maryse, her moveset and her willingness to grind a result out is very well achieved during short Diva matches.

I totaly agree with Echelon on the way Maryse and Randy Orton seem similar, in there heel persona's and in the ring. They seem very both seem to have good heel psychology during matches and they also can tell a great storyline. The thing i disagree on is about the realistic match, what constitutes a realistic match? Sleeper holds and angle locks? I allways thought that a realistic match would have tables and chairs to make it more spottier but realistic....

But, yeah i think Randy Orton is comparable to Maryse in alot of ways, the way they both build up to their finisher and how they "weaken" their opponent during short matches.

 

[Bernkastel]

Pro wrestling would be boring without any table spots or ladder spots, it just would'nt be good entertainment. WWE tries to portry this stuff as reality so i think that they do need weapons and make mathes more spottier in order to get the crowd to think "Wow! That guy wants to win" as appose to saying "Meh, he's just doing a fake move". I'm not sure what the writer of that column was talking about when he said "disorganised spots" does he mean when they do spots out of the ordinary or not where we expect them to happen? Anyway, geting back to the question.......

What the writer was talking about was that spotty movesets that are centered around a no disqualification environment or doing a bunch of weird, over elaborate moves suddenly start to become crippling if the match doesn't call for no DQ or if the match is 15 - 20 minutes in length. In other words, the writers complaint was with the over exaggeration of the moves used in some of the matches today, and the lack of the feel of realism in the matches. The writer commented that it was almost as if these wrestlers did not know how to pop the crowd using psychology or storytelling, so they relied on a bunch of disorganized, random spots to do it for them

 

[Miko]

What the writer was talking about was that spotty movesets that are centered around a no disqualification environment or doing a bunch of weird, over elaborate moves suddenly start to become crippling if the match doesn't call for no DQ or if the match is 15 - 20 minutes in length. In other words, the writers complaint was with the over exaggeration of the moves used in some of the matches today, and the lack of the feel of realism in the matches. The writer commented that it was almost as if these wrestlers did not know how to pop the crowd using psychology or storytelling, so they relied on a bunch of disorganized, random spots to do it for them

I think the writer is right. This is what I think makes makes JBL and Matt Hardy such good workers, they dont rely on spot's to get over, Matt does spots but thats only to give us something extra. *Waits for the backlash*

Before I read what you had to say I would never have compared Maryse to Randy Orton but having gone back and watched some of her matches I can see that your right. She does wrestle a similar style to Orton, maybe not as crisp but the psychology is there. If nothing else I would say she has the potential to be one of the top diva's.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Actually they extremely alike. I would go so far as to call Maryse the female Orton. think of it...

Both tall, attractive people, who are VERY heel in their actions, but whom you cant help but be drawn to, becuase both have an undeniable aura about them.

both have intoxicating entrances, through music, movement, and once again, aura.

and as Ech has so systematically pointed out so much better than I have, they have pretty much the same skill set and move set and tendencies in the ring. I know people want to say "oh thats just how heels work" but its not, as Orton and Maryse both put simular emphasis on certain spots, moves, and strategies, such as the mental intimidation aspect, use of ring posts and ropes, and picking apart body parts with rest holds. Ech is 100% spot on. Maryse is the female Orton.

 

[mcflyboy]

I would agree with what the other posters have said. I also would add that in the last few weeks/months, she's really perfected the arrogant, sneering persona. On her strut to the ring, and as she taunts her opponents or right before she does some sort of damaging move, she's got this perfect arrogant sneer look. I'd say she even does that look better than orton.