Is Orton Being Under-Used?

[DirtyD79]

Nope he's being used about right. He's had his now it's somebody else's turn. Other people have storylines going on and need their facetime too. You got Cena and The Rock, CM Punk versus Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes versus Big Show, the macthes to set up team John lauaranaitis versus team Teddy Long, and Shaemus versus Daniel Bryan. In spite of all that going on he's still getting weekly TV time on both raw and smackdown, it ain't like he's beggin' through the palms for TV time.

And you need solid performers all throughout the card. You can't just dump everyone important in the main event and then fill the rest of the card with jobbers and scrubs. Boring the audience for the first hour and 45 minutes of the show is not likely to make them stick around for the main event and with March Madness going on as well as NHL playoffs and NBA playoffs just around the bend WWE better be firing on all 8 cylinders or a few homeboys are gonna be getting called out on the carpet tuesday morning.

 

[Jenna.]

I think Randy's being underused most definitely. I think his time on SD should come to an end with this next draft. SD isn't really doing anything for him anymore. The beef between Barrett was cool, but it didn't go anywhere I guess because of the injury, but still. He really hasn't had a nice feud IMO since Christian last summer.

I don't know if it's because there are a lack of top heel wrestlers or what, but Randy's feuds seem very stale at the moment.

I would of liked to see this match he has against Kane at WM being a gimmick type match like a cage match (obviously not a cage match, just giving an example). Something that fits both of their characters.

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

When you shift the focus of the entire WM28 PPV to the Rock, the Rock vs Cena and Undertaker vs Triple H w/ HBK, someone is bound to get the shaft. Orton, Kane, Everyone in the 10 man tag match, The Miz, the Divas, the tag champions, the US Champion, you know the whole entire fucking roster that's works 27/4/365

Orton vs Punk last year wasn't exactly filler, if it wasn't for the match and that Feud, Punk wouldn't have been taken serious during his feud with Cena. Punk wouldn't be in a position to face someone at Cena's level for the title, and win.

Orton vs Kane this year is two tried and true beasts going at it. Kane would usually be utilized to help out a younger guy by getting him over, so Kane vs Orton is just another test for Orton, sort of? Kane just came off a feud with Cena, ya know the biggest star in the WWE, so going into a feud with Orton, the 2nd biggest star in the WWE isn't a bad move for either. Kane did have a pretty decent run as WHC after he beat Mysterio a few years back at MITB. He's still got some years in him, so why not.

The idea of keeping both Orton and Cena away from the WWE and WHC title is good because it stops them from having a dozens more championship runs. They both have a lot of runs under their belt already and any more title runs really wont benefit either of them.

If Orton was added to the WWE or WHC title match at WM28, most of you would be crying about the knot your panties created and how it cheapens the match between Bryan and Sheamus, and Jericho and Punk.

Orton vs Kane will also keep the two busy for a few months, which will keep them occupied and away from Sheamus and Bryan for the time being.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Orton is second to Cena sorta. Probably third to Punk now. The problem is, he's an injury risk. He's incredibly over and a sure thing to be over, but he's not a sure thing to put together 5 years without getting hurt.

Think of anthing else. In sports, do you want to sign a pitcher with an arm injury history to a long term big money deal? No. Do you want to hold onto a risky stock when you have other stocks that have equal or higher return for less risk? If you do, you definately don't buy as much.

Same thing here.

 

[Theo Mays]

I don't see Randy Orton as underused right now. Sure he could be used better, but you could virtually say that with most stars. Orton is in a nice little feud with Kane at the moment and lets not forget Kane is fresh off a feud with John Cena. Sure it isn't a main event match, but so what. Orton will likely get back into the title picture soon after Mania and be back at the top of the SD pecking order.

Orton is still one of the top 5 guys in the company whether he is being underused or not. I think Orton was likely to have had a match with Wade Barrett at this point as the feud was hot and a Mania blowoff would have been perfect, but due to injuries to both Orton and Barrett that obviously wasn't the case. Seeing as Kane is a bigger name and had nothing, it made sense to pit him and Orton together. No harm, no foul if you ask me.

 

[RKOrob]

I don't think Orton is being underused right now. Wrestlers take turns to be in the spotlight, apart from John Cena (which is one of the reasons he's so disliked, cause he's being constantly shoved down our throats in the main event). Orton, like The Miz, isn't in the main event right now in order for neither of them to suffer from Cena-esque pushing, and become stale. Orton's time in the main event will come again, probably after the Draft, so he'll have some new people to feud with

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

If you are taking into account Randy's feuds since losing his title to Henry, then I would say that yes, he is being used at a level below which he would normally wrestle. Make no mistake, Orton is the biggest name on Smackdown and by virtue of his position he should ideally always be either holding or chasing the World Heavyweight title. But I think that him stepping aside from the title scene has helped other performers develop, most noticeably Sheamus. Sheamus has a similar gimmick to that of Orton, the badass babyface, except that Sheamus is more jovial, and he would not have been able to rise to prominence as a face with Orton dominating the title scene.

Also he has given a rub to quite a few performers in the time he has spent away from the title scene. Both Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett have benefitted from their feuds with Orton despite not winning much. They both look better now as compared to what they were before feuding with Randy. The feud with Kane may not seem like a big deal in front of some of the big matches that have been announced for WrestleMania but I have little doubt that it will be a pretty good feud which may even end in a very good gimmick match at Extreme Rules.

Overall, I do not think Randy is upset with the position that he is in. His finisher still attracts the biggest pop out of any move in the WWE and recently his promos have been very well recieved as well. The "My name is Randy Orton" is a simple but hugely effective line. Orton is at the peak of his career and his popularity does not seem to be waning even a little bit from working at this level just below the main event scene. It could even be that he has suggested this move for the betterment of the company as it has allowed WWE to create new stars like Sheamus, Henry and Daniel Bryan.