*MERGED* Randy Orton Face Turn Discussion

[boozinjedi]

This guy is on fire right now. The only problem I see him facing is the current atmosphere of the WWE "Universe" (God, I hate that term). It is more family oriented right now than in the past 10-12 years, and I am not sure the WWE WANTS this guy to be as big or bigger than Cena. He is more talented than Cena in every way, but he isn't "PG" enough. But he's only 29 years old.

Sometimes it isn't always what the WWE wants,It's what the "universe" wants,Two of the WWE's biggest stars ever are proof,

Stone Cold Steve Austin...the crowd came to him,not the other way around!
The Rock...after his "heel" turn,the crowd cheered him on even more!!

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Sometimes it isn't always what the WWE wants,It's what the "universe" wants,Two of the WWE's biggest stars ever are proof,

Stone Cold Steve Austin...the crowd came to him,not the other way around!
The Rock...after his "heel" turn,the crowd cheered him on even more!!

That was my entire point! They didn't push Orton into this role, the fans did. But will creative accept it? Will Vince really let this happen? I hope I am not sounding too overdramatic here, but he is on his way to becoming their biggest superstar. I haven't heard that much raw emotion in an ovation coming from the crowd in years!

Vince will do what the crowd asks...especially when they are screaming it at the top of their lungs! But will Orton be allowed to do the things a heel would do? Or is Vince going to try and make him into an "edgier" Cena? Let's sure hope not. This guy is a big reason I still watch Raw. He is the most interesting and exciting thing they have, and for that to change would really, really bother me.

 

[MozRKO]

I have been feeling they were probably going to give him the face turn soon...and when he looked at Cena and let him walk out of the ring after the match, I knew then that this was the start of it....

change might be nice.....this could be the year he blasts to the tip-top..... with hbk retiring, and undertaker soon...and maybe even hhh a few years down the line, it's inevitable that Orton takes over and IS wwe....

 

[v unit 14]

Orton's a special guy if u look at it. weather or not hes a heel he's always gonn a have a fanbase. idk about u guys but it kinda feels like austin/rock all over again, a heel who doesnt care at all for the fans but who slowly starts to get a huge pop whenever his music sounds. i got goosebumps when i heard his music go on during his tag match with cena, and lets not talk about when he gave swagger and batista the rko. we all know hes one of if the not the best worker in the wwe today and he's just reached his prime. this could be start of something special guys. lemme know what u guys think

 

[whatalife1683]

I think it feels like austin and rock in only one instance. I think the fans are cheering more and more for Orton, and then you have those fans who despise the face of Cena. It could be a total reversal if everything goes right. Orton could be the face of the company, and Cena could be the mega heel down the road. This would be great for the company because you ALWAYS need at least 2 big people to run the company. Austin had the Rock. WCW had NWO and Goldberg and Sting. In the 80s, Hogan had Andre and the Warrior in the 90s.One character never ever carries the company. A big big swerve would be Cena getting help down the road from Vince against Orton. This would implement the seeds of a huge feud. We have seen them fight a million times, but not with Cena as a mega heel and Orton as a mega face. This will not happen for awhile though. You have to remember Orton has gotten in trouble so many times, so WWE will not make him the star until he is clean for even longer period of time.

 

[MozRKO]

He definitely is one of the best if not THE best worker and all around wrestler in the WWE right now. Also, if you look at it, though he's had some injuries, it seems he's not injury prone like some of the other wrestlers around. If he can stay healthy and get over the problems he has backstage with other wrestlers, he can undoubtedly carry the WWE for a long time.

Face or heel, he can get over either way. He's got that uncanny knack about him that even if you don't like him you still can't wait for him to step through the ropes.

 

[v unit 14]

i couldnt agree wit u more. these two guys are young and i feel like these two are made for each other just like austin and rock just bc these two guys contrast each other so much from physical appearance to in ring style. id love to see cena turn heel and orton face and have these two guys go at it. these two need to headline a wrestlemania SOON

I think it feels like austin and rock in only one instance. I think the fans are cheering more and more for Orton, and then you have those fans who despise the face of Cena. It could be a total reversal if everything goes right. Orton could be the face of the company, and Cena could be the mega heel down the road. This would be great for the company because you ALWAYS need at least 2 big people to run the company. Austin had the Rock. WCW had NWO and Goldberg and Sting. In the 80s, Hogan had Andre and the Warrior in the 90s.One character never ever carries the company.

 

[Барбоса]

Orton should remain a tweener for the forseeable future. It fits in with his borderline psychotic character. Also his Intermittent Explosive Disorder, which I assume he has yet to go to psychiatric counseling to have treated, is perfect for such an inbetween gimmick.

One minute he could be helping Cena fight a common enemy such as Batista and then at the drop of a hat he could be punting/RKOing Cena and act shocked but gradually start to like being out of control much like Bruce Banner talks about on occasion after turning into the Hulk or Dr Jekyll liking being Mr Hyde.

It would almost give Orton a split personality gimmick. One that the crowd could like or hate

 

[ApexPredator767]

Personally I think Randy's journey to either face or tweener is very vague at the moment. He needs to feud with someone(after the Legacy storyline) to see his full transformation. I'm hoping he'll go to SD! and feud with Swagger for the WHC (if he retains the title). That might give Swagger the push he needed. And no matter heel or face, Randy is perfect the way he is. The badass, sadistic gimmick fits him and he might use it for many years to come.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

I've never seen so many Orton marks in one place in all my time here. Awesome.

And yes.. this is what the WWE needed to do for quite a while now. Glad they've decided to let Orton embrace the role as the tortured soul. He's got the finisher to get way over with fans and the feuds he could create would be awesome as well. There's Batista, HHH, and maybe even the Miz or something. It's great. And I'm actually swayed back to watching Raw for the time being.

 

[wwerulesrkolover23]

The WWE doesn't need to do a damn thing with Randy Orton. They should just leave him be, and let the crowd react the way they want to. I don't want the WWE creative team messing this guy up. He is on a serious roll right now, and I don't see a ceiling in sight for him.

I think they just need to put him into some fresh feuds, and let the crowd decide. His gimmick doesn't need to change at all. Let him be the "bad guy" and if the crowd likes that, good. We don't need Vince, or whoever is in charge of characters over there now-a-days, screwing this up. If they turn him "face" like Cena or Mysterio, it won't work. He needs to have an edge.

I didn't think so at first, but he shares a lot of similiarities with Steve Austin, and what I mean by that is how the crowd reacts to the things he does. Orton is a bit more on the evil, sadistic side than Austin was, but the crowd (mostly the 15 and over crowd) seems to be into it. Just let him roll with it. Put him in feuds with whoever, I don't think it really matters. I mean, if you put him in a feud with Cena, of course the kids are going to hate him, but adults are going to love him.

So, I really hope they don't turn him into a "face" character. Don't mess with his character, just leave it alone, he's perfect where he is.

Agreed! He's good being a heel... In fact, some fans does not like Randy's character anymore! Why are the best heels in the WWE are turning into faces? RAW will get boring if this will keep up!

((Sorry if it's short or something, First time posting here at the forums. ))

Peace!

 

[RKO4ever]

@Dav323

People Are cheering orton since his return in late 2008
even when he punted vince u can hear RKO chants
also his feud with cena last year?
i dont remember a single moment when he was booed
he got an almost equal pop as hhh in their match at raw

if hhh could be a face y cant orton?

 

[ApexPredator767]

I don't think many people dislike Orton's character. He is still in his Viper gimmick which isn't so different when he was with Legacy. He's even cheered on when he was a heel and ever since Legacy's "betrayal" he hasn't been like a pure face by appealing to the crowd all the time (recently, I've only seen him posing after he won his match). He merely takes up into the offensive and does the snake-like stalking thing before kicking in the RKO.

 

[Ferbian]

I must admit from RAW yesterday I couldn't help but mark out as Randy tried to RKO John Cena, if you ask me, it's official, Randy is a tweener, and I can't be more thankful for that.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

i think the fans are enjoying the fact that he's not a complete goody-toe-shoes character as they have Cena for that role but he isn't a badass heel (Batista has the position on Raw). he's (in my opinion) a tweener and the fact that he went for the RKO on Cena last night on Raw proves that to me. Now of course a tweener can lean in both directions and I think that works for when the WWE goes for a Cena/Orton feud down the line (it's going to happen again so don't bother telling me it won't) or maybe an Orton/Swagger feud. A tweener (when done right) can be one of the most compelling characters on wrestling television and the proof is of course, Stone Cold circa 1996/97.

 

[image1986]

I can agree with most of the poster who say he is a great heel but the thing is it was getting kind of stale after a while. He has been heel since 2005 and it ran it course in terms of fueds on raw. i hoping he doesnt go to smackdown cuz last time he was there he spent fueding with taker. I think alot of people don't want him to go full blow face because of his 2003 stinct but that was just a bad call at the time. orton was just starting to get momentium as a upper midcarder heel and his face turn after the benoit match wasn't the smartest move because not only what came after was the eventual burial by triple H a month later but his place as the main event for a number of years (excluding wrestlemania 22).I don't think austin was ever a full fleged face in the first place since he stunned just about anyone face or heel. orton has so much potential and may be the face of the wwe if wwe learns from its mistakes.

 

[xAsianRejectx]

I love face Randy!

I never really liked the "slow slithering viper" Randy. I love him as face because he goes batshit crazy when prepping for an RKO. I just like how wild he gets, even better when he goes on an RKO frenzy. It's also interesting that his heel and face persona are somewhat alike. Still keeping his psycho role, but maintaining a likable vibe. Not many wrestlers can be cheered for doing heelish acts, but it's great that Orton can. In fact, I believe this face turn was just waiting to happen. You can always here a fair amount of people cheer for him while he was heel.

The heel turn is great because it took a stale character and tweeked him a bit without changing too much. He's been getting great pops too.

 

[Rated Straight Edge]

Being no wrestling expert, this might draw some fire towards me, but I'd just like to say that Randy Orton is anything BUT face. He is still as heel as it gets. Sure, he no longer has his sidekicks to help him, or goes about threatening his enemies into submission like he used to, but people mistaken his sudden change from apex predator to a more moderate badass attitude. All Randy has done is switched from being a cheap win by any means necessary villain to a legitimate villain who doesn't need cheap tactics to kill you. All he needs is to flush you out in the open, deliver a punt kick to your skull or the ever destructive RKO and it's all elementary again. Randy Orton as a face? Sure, could work if he grows some hair again and goes back to wearing colorful outfits. But he is way past redemption now. All he can do, and that's what he does best, is being the villain to John Cena's heroic exploits but unlike Batista, Randy Orton can be played out as a heel for the kids as he has become what every kid wants to be in relationship to their everyday bullies: a badass who can kick their butts round and about without so much as breaking a sweat. With that said, Randy Orton is hardly face. He's just no longer a a vile bully with sidekicks helping hims destroy his opponents. The destruction aspects of his personality are still there. He just no longer relies on sidekicks. Randy Orton will soon be WWE/World Heavyweight Champion again depending on how the draft plays out, and will probably go on to become WWE's lone wolf. Alpha? Maybe. Apex? Definitely. And with nothing also to say, I'd like to welcome back Randy Orton to what he used to be and should have always been: a killer. Oops! PG! PG! Correction: a bad boy!

 

[dethgar]

Being no wrestling expert, this might draw some fire towards me, but I'd just like to say that Randy Orton is anything BUT face. He is still as heel as it gets. Sure, he no longer has his sidekicks to help him, or goes about threatening his enemies into submission like he used to, but people mistaken his sudden change from apex predator to a more moderate badass attitude. All Randy has done is switched from being a cheap win by any means necessary villain to a legitimate villain who doesn't need cheap tactics to kill you. All he needs is to flush you out in the open, deliver a punt kick to your skull or the ever destructive RKO and it's all elementary again. Randy Orton as a face? Sure, could work if he grows some hair again and goes back to wearing colorful outfits. But he is way past redemption now. All he can do, and that's what he does best, is being the villain to John Cena's heroic exploits but unlike Batista, Randy Orton can be played out as a heel for the kids as he has become what every kid wants to be in relationship to their everyday bullies: a badass who can kick their butts round and about without so much as breaking a sweat. With that said, Randy Orton is hardly face. He's just no longer a a vile bully with sidekicks helping hims destroy his opponents. The destruction aspects of his personality are still there. He just no longer relies on sidekicks. Randy Orton will soon be WWE/World Heavyweight Champion again depending on how the draft plays out, and will probably go on to become WWE's lone wolf. Alpha? Maybe. Apex? Definitely. And with nothing also to say, I'd like to welcome back Randy Orton to what he used to be and should have always been: a killer. Oops! PG! PG! Correction: a bad boy!

So basically, yes he's a face? You're kind of missing the point. Character that regular wrestling fans cheer = face. He's not the noble, baby kissing, Hogan/Cena type face by any means. He is though, without a doubt, the Stone Cold face. Basically Randy is the anti-hero, he doesn't necessarily do the right thing, but people love him regardless. He could very well be the foundation of the company in the next few years, as Cena's young fans get older and become more fickle. It will take just one tiny push, and he will explode as the WWE's mega-face. It just remains to be seen whether they will allow someone to get over more than Triple H, Cena, and Taker. If they decide they don't want to go that way, they'll likely have Orton turn back into a weasel. He is a bad ass, but villains as defined by traditional wrestling, do not get cheered.

 

[Rated Straight Edge]

So basically, yes he's a face? You're kind of missing the point. Character that regular wrestling fans cheer = face. He's not the noble, baby kissing, Hogan/Cena type face by any means. He is though, without a doubt, the Stone Cold face. Basically Randy is the anti-hero, he doesn't necessarily do the right thing, but people love him regardless. He could very well be the foundation of the company in the next few years, as Cena's young fans get older and become more fickle. It will take just one tiny push, and he will explode as the WWE's mega-face. It just remains to be seen whether they will allow someone to get over more than Triple H, Cena, and Taker. If they decide they don't want to go that way, they'll likely have Orton turn back into a weasel. He is a bad ass, but villains as defined by traditional wrestling, do not get cheered.

You do bring up valid points, but what I was trying to get at is that Orton is still heel. Wrestling has evolved to the point where alignment is no longer defined by cheers and boos, but rather presence. A wrestler with great presence in spite of his being a heel or face will draw a strong crowd reaction. Certainly villains are commonly booed, but what would that make out of John Cena who's always been face but has on several occasions drawn more boos than cheers? He has had entire arenas boo him but he was not for a second a heel. Randy Orton has future and it would ultimately be quite the let down if the WWE does not make good use of his talents but it would come at no surprise if they didn't. Randy Orton short term future is probably going to be limited by whatever decision Batista makes regarding his rumored leave of absence after Extreme Rules. He is a solid and dependable world champion, and one that the WWE can milk dry for feuds, et cetera. At days end we are all each entitled to our own opinions. I personally do not see Randy Orton as a face, at least not in the foreseeable future. Just because he isn't threatening everyone, and instigating the fear into the very souls of his foes doesn't mean he isn't a bad guy. So long as Cena is face and Orton is on the same brand, Orton will be heel last they're relegated to the decaying tag team division as partners wherein Orton would have to become face or Cena would have to go heel, which is something I do not see happening. Dream team? Yes. But that's all that it is: a dream. The same goes for Edge, too. He maybe more face-like, but you can still smell and feel the heel in him trying to lash out as it has spear after spear after spear. In the end, however, what matters is that both athletes are enormously talented and if the WWE plays them right, we will have a lot of quality entertainment ahead of ourselves.