Is Randy on the way out?

[Broski_of_the_week]

I really hope this isn't the case but considering these last 2 PPV bookings, are we seeing a 'greatest hits' tour of Randy Orton? We keep hearing rumours of Cena going to Hollywood, yet the man being phased out of the main event and being booked in showcase matches is Randy.

I have no evidence to back this up and I hope it isn't true because although his character has been stale for a while, he is still one of the best in the business, but last month he had a PPV match with Chris Jericho with no build, this last monday he had a showcase style match with Dolph Ziggler, and at HIAC he's facing Cena in the Cell, all of which are matches that he he has had time and time again, are clearly the type of guys he enjoys working with, and have no real rhyme or reason to them other than to just be good matches. With rumours of him taking a lighter, no house show, style contract, is this the farewell tour of Randy Orton?

I'm sure this post will annoy some because they see Orton as an integral part of WWE, but it cant be doubted that over the past year or so his run has been underwhelming and I've seen no rumours whatsoever of any potential future feuds, so where does he go from here if this isnt the end?

In order to actually create some debate and not have smarks just whine about how I'm wrong, heres some questions to answer

1) do you think this could be the winding down of the career of Orton?
2) If so, who else should he face before he finishes up his run?
3) If not, where does he go from here?

 

[CyberPunk]

I don't think Randy's going anywhere. Yes, seemingly he's signed a deal which allows him a lighter schedule. However, he still does all the TV shows and PPVs. Also, Randy's character has been stale for a while that you've already pointed out. His character needs a break. While he continued main eventing through the last year, the story actually never involved him. He was the third wheel, authority's puppet with no spine whatsoever. He didn't garner much heat through this year and while he's a fantastic wrestler, he had nothing interesting going on.

I'd much rather have him go away for a while, rejuvenate himself and come back than have him do the same schtick over and over again.

To answer your particular questions:

1) Do you think this could be the winding down of the career of Orton?

No, he's only 34 but every now and then a person needs a break. And what we've seen of Orton in the past, an unhappy Orton is a liability. So I think he's just heading for a break.

2) If so, who else should he face before he finishes up his run?

While I don't think he's winding down, if he actually exists now, I'd like him to have a feud with Cesaro. I really believe that these two can deliver some fantastic matches, story or not.

3) If not, where does he go from here?

Rumored face turn is there. He can be beaten up by Authority for not being that face that they though he can be and goes away for a while. When he comes back, he can go after the authority. Moreover, a loner, slithering Randy is way better than a whiny, can't win a match on his own Randy.

 

[Mudlup50]

I think you're over-reading this. He fought Jericho because he hadn't won on PPV since Elimination Chamber, those are facts. He needed someone who could help him look good. Him long match with Ziggler was more to help make Dolph look good in his loss. At least that's how I took it. And his match with Cena, I think is just to keep Vince at ease. If the PPV doesn't sell well now, it's not Seth and Dean's fault.

1. No I don't think so at all, he has another good 3-7 years in him, depending
2. Brock Lesnar no doubt, why this hasn't happened yet bothers me
3. To face the authority.

Also, he confirmed on Twitter that he isn't take a lighter schedule

 

[shafe_41]

Orton on the way out? I'll have some of whatever you're smoking. Actually I won't because that sounds absolutely ridiculous. There aren't "smarks" whining how you're wrong either.

Fact: Orton reportedly signed a 10-year deal in 2010. That's really all that needs to be said seeing as how he's not even halfway through it yet. So on the way out? Not even close.

Who will he face on his way out? Assuming he's done in 2020, he'll probably face everybody. He'll face people that aren't even in the NXT system yet. Quit trying to read too much into a situation. People read into every little thing the WWE does and assume there's a reason behind it and not just taking it at face value.

 

[Navi]

Nah he's not on his way out, but he's been cruising along the same lateral line for quite some time now and has become stale. All he needs is a new feud to liven him up at bit. Could be turning him face taking on the Authority who he feels have been holding him back, especially Rollins who he's been very vocal about.

The thing with Orton is that he's reliable when he's not phoning it in. He can still put on a great match, and the fans really want to cheer him. Also part of the problem is that with the main event picture lacking so much as it is right now with injuries, there really hasn't been anything for him to do. It's kind of 6 of one, half dozen of the other. Now is not the time for him to take a break however. They need main event players and he is one, having him take a month or two off wouldn't benefit the fans or the WWE. Maybe after Mania, but not now.

What happens with Orton depends on his own attitude and what the WWE do with Bryan, Reigns and in a way Barrett, after they all return. I see him being around for quite some time to come, but in what capacity I have no idea.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

Randy Orton has 10 years, good years, left in the tank. he is in incredible shape. I think he needs to step away for a year or two - he has never had a hiatus for that long even when injured.

When you look at the other guys; Edge had year off with his neck but it kept him fresh. HHH moved from singles to tags then slowed it down as part of DX. He now does part time. Part timers now include wrestlers like RVD and Y2J. Tends to keep them fresh.

And look at HBK; he would take regular breaks from the age of 39 after a 4 year retirement rest. It keeps them fresh.

Orton will be around for a long time. He has one big huge run left in him, but he needs some less exposure and a rest up. He then needs to run his own heel faction; he doesn't work as HHH's sidekick after 11 years in the business.

 

[WarroBODFan]

I think the total opposite to be honest. Sure, he could do with a refresh, but the foundation is being put down for that with his current heat building against Rollins. I'm sure everyone heard the reaction he got in Atlanta. Many of us WANT to cheer for him. I know it's pretty unrelated, but this current RKO out of nowhere vine phenomenon on social media is helping him get over, as strange as that might sound.

I know he's put it on record that he much prefers being a heel, but there could be some really awesome things lined up for him if he has a face turn and goes against the Authority. The last couple of weeks I've been really enjoying his matches, moreso than before. He's not necessarily doing any better than he was before, but he hasn't missed a beat. Loved his match against Ziggler the other day on Raw. He's still in great shape, hasn't lost a beat in the ring. He just needs the right booking and many of us will love him again.

 

[Broski_of_the_week]

Thanks everyone for the interesting points (except the angry fella shafe??, didnt realise Randy was your dad and i'd said mean things about him?), wasnt aware of the 10 year contract thing and I was really just playing a bit of devils advocate with this. I would be surprised if he did leave but I just noticed this trend of him having 'matches for the hell of it' at the moment. Personally I think they need to completely rip apart the Authority because both Orton and Kane are suffering for it. It would be good to see Orton make this face turn thats been hinted at, and although people keep referring to him being a tweener or hoping for that, we all know WWE doesn't know how to book that way and hasn't had an effective tweener character in years.

I also would like to see as Jonnyboyuk said, him step away for a year or two, but I think all or at least most stars should do this so that we get some actual rotation of the roster and the opportunity to get everyone over with enough screen time and storylines. It would also help prolong the careers of these 'superstars' and although the breaks would mean they wouldn't have exposure for a little while, the returns would help boost their popularity if done right and I also don't believe it would affect the merchandise sales. For instance, you go to a Smackdown house show, John Cena isnt there, but every kid still buys the tshirt. Same if he or Orton were off tv for 3 to 6 months at a time. but I digress!

I thought I'd throw another question in the mix from here though because yes, every one of you clever sons-of-guns have stated he's gonna be feuding with rollins next but where does he go as a character from here? He can be anti-authority and the same randy as always or do you see a complete overhaul? maybe a ballroom dancing gimmick? wait... its been done... how about if he became a MISSILE ASSAULT ANT!... wait.... done again.... In all seriousness, could he even make a complete gimmick change now or will he forever be the guy whos like a snake who does RKO's 'from out of nowhere'!?

 

[Mustang Sally]

If not, where does he go from here?

That's the big question, isn't it? When you've reached....and remained at.....the pinnacle of your chosen profession for a long time, what do you do next?

Yes, if you're too old or physically broken down to do it anymore, you quit.....but Randy Orton isn't in that boat or anywhere near it. If you've lost the passion and want to explore new horizons, that's a reason to leave....and we don't know what other interests Randy Orton might have. I doubt he could earn as much money as he makes now in another line of work, but if he has already enough stashed away, maybe that wouldn't be a deterrent to quitting. (see: Punk, CM)

But to answer the question: No, I don't think he's on the way out. His character needs tweaking, and I would think no one knows it better than him; perhaps that's why the rumored face turn is imminent, even though Randy has in the past expressed a desire to play only a heel. In fact, switching up and hearing different reactions from the audience might remind him of what he likes about the business.

But at this stage of his career, he's seen and done it all, so maybe he can take suggestions in a mature manner and be made to understand that longevity in a business depends on the willingness to change with the times.

I don't know Randy Orton, but I would think he'll be around for a long time to come.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Too much too soon, and it was always going to bite him in the rear. The guy headlined WrestleMania and became a multi-time world champion while in his 20s, so what's left? He's also starting to look really old and his tenure as WWE's resident pretty boy ended with the arrival of Roman Reigns.

"Stale" doesn't cover it. The guy is beyond saturated and desperately needs a reinvention.

 

[wigmeister14]

I personally wouldn't blame Randy Orton if he were to step back a bit. Though I'm not willing to believe the rumors about him not taking house shows anymore, it wouldn't be unheard of to be less involved than he once was.

Orton has achieved all that a wrestler would hope to achieve and more. He is a guaranteed future Hall of Famer and has paid his dues from his debut in 2002 to this very day. I can still remember the brutal Hardcore match against Cactus Jack at Backlash 2004 really affirming him as a star of the future, but he has superseded many people's expectations with his consistency at the top.

Personally, I would be sad if he were to step back more, even though his character can be seen as a little stale and boring. He has found a character and has evolved it to suit the situation he finds himself in, whether as a face or heel, and it has kept Orton in tune with the thinking of the fans. His deliberate and methodical promo-work has been an inspired way to overcome his difficulties in that aspect of the business.

And, above all else, when he is on form, Orton can run rings around most in the ring. If he were to fall back a bit, it would likely be a result of injuries he has previously suffered, chiefly the broken collarbone in a match against Triple H. But he still looks as crisp and impressive as ever when he looks like he has something to prove.

So, I personally don't feel that Orton will be stepping back any time soon, and still has at least half a decade left at the top. That will undoubtedly include another face turn somewhere down the line, and at least two more world title reigns before becoming a veteran who boosts the profile of growing stars.

 

[TheICChampion]

I personally wouldn't mind seeing Orton take off for a little while. Give a young guy a rub for putting him "on the shelf", if you will. They've had people do that for Orton, why not have him do it for someone else? Gives him a ready-made feud too. Anyone ever hear the old saying that too much of a good thing isn't a good thing? That's what we have with Orton. Give us a chance to miss him a little. Besides, with him gone, we may not have the constant Orton/Cena cycle of PPV main events. Anyway, after 12 years of almost constantly seeing him (Like Cena) except for injuries, I think enough is enough. As soon as Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns come back, that is WWE's best opportunity to send him off for 6 months or so. Maybe bring Bray Wyatt back to be the one that takes out Orton. It just might be enough to get him back to where he was before Cena buried him.

 

[WorldChampionJustin]

1) No.
2) He will have eventually beaten or faced everyone there is to face.
3) He will fight the Authority and turn face, which will result in this Wrestlemania match: Batista VS. Randy Orton VS. Triple H, and Randy Orton will most likely win.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

As a heel his run is over. He is nothing more than a lackey on Kane's level at the moment. The afterthought booking of his last two PPV's is proof that this run is dead in the water.

So what's left? Face turn... sure. He gets fed to Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble. And a feud with Rollins, which would be great. But then what? I think it would be best for him to take some extended time off. As a face they already have Cena, Reigns, Ambrose, Bryan. The problem is, who are other heels right now? Lesnar is missing. Batista is gone. And Randy is stale and has already feuded with all of those faces I mentioned.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to start phasing him out. Or put him in a tag team for a while.

 

[thebarber]

1) Do you think this could be the winding down of the career of Orton?

No, absolutely not. I am not sure how to even approach this. He is still featured in the main event of Raw, has a main event match against Cena at HIAC. Orton is the MVP of the roster, his character is clearly turning ever so slowly back to a face. The schtick with Kane not caring much for Rollins is more to get Rollins over as the cocky chicken shit heel they are so grooming him to be.
Orton is over enough his recent series and losses to Roman Reigns didnt hurt him in the slightest. He just came off holding the WWE title pretty much for the eight months of Summerslam 2013 through Mania XXX.
2) If so, who else should he face before he finishes up his run?

The most glaringly obvious match Randy Orton needs to have is with Brock Lesnar. These guys came through developmental together and to my memory they havent really clashed at all since both hit the main roster in 2002. Orton slowly returning to the Viper, but a face Viper with his cold demeanour and no fear would be a great foil for Lesnar's current beast gimmick. John Cena is cartoonish and nobody cares about the feud he just had with Lesnar, the way NOC was booked was shit for Lesnar and made him look weak, dumb dumb booking. Orton, on the other hand, would be a credible opponent for Lesnar at any A Level ppv like Mania ir Royal Rumble. This match will happen before Lesnar returns to UFC or Orton decides to go to Hollywood more permanently. With WWE odd booking of the Lesnar/Cena NOC match, how does Lesnar return and whom does he return against? He is the champion sio he doesnt need to call anybody out, and WWE wont have him destroy Cena again this clsoe to Mania season. So Orton is going to have to call out Lesnar, which wont happen until the current arc leading through Survivor Series plays out. There are no real other options at this point, though a face Orton vs heel Wyatt could make for sensational story telling, if they were to go in depth with their second and third generatiopn heritage. Some miles could be made. Orton doesnt need gold anymore to be a top player and he is still relevant enough to be used to go over in fueds as well as to build stars up also.

3) If not, where does he go from here?

Clearly he turns face but a cold blooded, calculated tweener face who after realising HHH using him to get Rollins over instead of being the number one guy in the Authority, he needs to attack. Putting HHH on the shelf for the short term leaving Rollinsd vulnerable could be one way but Orton needs a fresh run as a face before any thought of winding down occurs.

It has been reported he has signed on for a lower schedul;e, that just means he wont be on the road as much,. The common fan wont notice the difference, and it will help in keeping injuries down and his enthusiasm up,.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

I appear to be in the minority here, but I hope Orton remains as a heel for the foreseeable future. His whole character is built around him being a heel, and, quite frankly, he never really clicked as a baby face.

The way the story is going, there is still scope for him to feud with the likes of Lesnar and Rollins whilst staying a heel - Lesnar is largely cheered anyway, and I see him as an über heel, who hates everyone and happily dominates both heels and faces. It still makes sense for Orton to have his shot at Rollins - perhaps he saves Rollins from Lesnar's wrath around Christmas, so gets his chance at the Royal Rumble? It is only after the inevitable Lesnar demolition that Orton and Rollins begin their feud - perhaps after the beating he takes from Lesnar, Orton is sick of being Rollins' 'babysitter'? Especially IF (big if) Rollins cashes in Money in the Bank afterwards, and leaves the Rumble as champion.

Until then, Orton is a good fit for the Authority team - I'm still hopeful that we see a traditional Survivor Series elimination match of the Authority (Orton, Kane, Rollins and Helmsley) against the Usos, Cena and Ambrose - this also gives scope to Kane and Orton having a short tag team run, which kinda makes sense too.

In short, there's still a lot of mileage left in Randy Orton - and that's not counting any future NXT standouts. He may be appearing less on the road, but he'll stay ok tv and ppv for a while yet.

 

[FromGlasgow]

When Randy Orton first came in to the WWE then started the legend killer gimmick as well as his match with Mick Foley then beating Chris Benoit for his first world title he did look really promising as the next rising star but to be honest everything else afterwards has just been stale and boring not to mention the same old interviews and same moves in the ring with nothing improving, Maybe its just me but his matches are so dull now as I watch all my wrestling now from record I always fast forward his matches no matter who he's wrestling.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I was a bit surprised last night (10/17) that Randy didn't appear on Smackdown .....then it occurred that this might be part of the new deal we've heard about in which he doesn't work as much ("Hey man, if Cena doesn't have to work Smackdown, I shouldn't have to, either.")

It left the thrust of the program in the hands of the new guard: Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose......which is kind of consistent with what the company wants to do lately. Yet, did Smackdown have a lack of veteran star power last night? Yes it did, unless you want to count Big Show and Mark Henry.....which I don't, not anymore.

Still, if one of the problems with keeping creativity alive & kicking in WWE is that there's too much damn programming time to fill, maybe Randy and his employer will benefit by not putting him in front of our faces as much as before.

Y'know, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Since we knew Cena wouldn't be on the show, I honestly found myself hoping Randy would show up......and when he didn't, it seemed to be less of a show than I wanted.

So, if Randy appearing less benefits his mind & body, it might also provide some good in how fans perceive him, too......over the long run.

Just a thought.

 

[DCLXVI]

I think he should go back to being a dangerous lone wolf type character and being kind of a tweener. Full on face with Randy Orton doesn't work for me and it is not benefiting him at all having to work matches alongside Kane makes no sense and it isn't helping a young guy with plenty of gas still in the tank to be saddled with a partner who is one of the oldest guys on the roster who's character is pretty much a joke at this point (mask or no mask? Make up your fucking mind). The other night's match with Dolph Ziggler proved Orton is still one of the top few wrestlers in the company, and a lot of wrestlers talk about how smooth and great of a worker he is. So no, I foresee at least 5 more years.

 

[#hamler]

Randy Orton is beyond one of the single best talents within the WWE's currently active roster; top three at least. He possesses the ability to make just about every other guy on the roster look good in any match type involving any stipulation. He's over and has remained consistently over for the last three years. When there's someone within the WWE who you want to get over, you pair them up in a feud with Randy Orton in hoping to get that Superstar over. Randy Orton for that period of time, gets that superstar over. There are very few others who are capable of doing that. And he'll soon show you that when he puts Rollins over in what I'm sure will be a great feud.

1) Do you think this could be the winding down of the career of Orton?
There is no reason Orton should hang up his boots; especially given that there are still a substantial amount of talent that could use him as a stepping stone currently down in NXT or even on the current WWE roster. Ask any active wrestler. Ask them what top star they would love to feud with; someone who'll make them look great in the process. If their answer isn't John Cena, it'll likely be Randy Orton. Why, because he's consistent in everything he does and probably the most well rounded athlete the WWE has to offer. Orton has shown no signs of slowing down. Right now, with all signs pointing to an eventual face turn, Orton's not going anywhere.

2) If so, who else should he face before he finishes up his run?
Not that he's retiring any time soon, but there's a whole line of crops that need tending to down in NXT. With so many looking for a potential call up, Orton is your guy to make them shine on the bigger stage. The Sami Zayns, the Adrian Nevilles and the Tyler Breezes would all benefit from a program with one of the company's best in Randy Orton. Not only does that give some of the younger NXT stars a rub, it'll give Orton some fresh opponents that will undoubtedly culminate in excellent clashes.

3) If not, where does he go from here?
Like above, I don't see Orton going anywhere anytime soon. On Raw Monday, I absolutely could not wait for Orton to RKO the hell out that annoying twat Seth Rollins and punt his head into the next dimension. That undoubtedly shows Orton is capable of turning face within the coming months to set up a potential feud with the soon to be established star in Seth Rollins. Randy Orton is the guy to use in that specific role and as good as he is in that specific role, he will be doing it for the next decade.

Given his long list of abilities, Randy Orton will always be welcomed on my television screen.