Orton's Heel Turn: It's Looming On The Horizon

[Jack-Hammer]

It's no secret that a lot of people have wanted Orton to turn heel for quite a while. Orton himself has, reportedly, been wanting it to happen for quite a spell also. I have a feeling that it's going to happen fairly soon at some point over the course of the summer.

My reason for thinking this came about as a result of last night's announcement that Randy Orton will take on Dean Ambrose on SmackDown!. It seems as though that Orton isn't done with The Shield, which leads me to believe that Orton & Sheamus will ultimately go after the tag titles held by Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns. I think that Rollins & Reigns will either interfere to prevent Orton from winning, resulting in a DQ, they'll provide some sort of distraction to allow Ambrose to pick up the win or Ambrose will come away with a clean win. At the end of either of those outcomes, I expect The Shield to beat Orton down, only for Sheamus to come to the rescue, thus starting them down the road to a tag team feud.

As usually is the case when it comes to big singles stars who've formed a tag team, the ego of one or both will get in the way of their getting the upper hand against The Shield. Frustrations over the inability to get the job done against Rollins & Reigns will begin to mount, other issues might compound & add onto the frustrations & clashing egos and, eventually, Orton simply snaps by turning on Sheamus during a point in which it looks like they've got The Shield right where they want them. WWE could also go the route of simply having Orton snap & turn without a lot of build up in the hopes of taking most fans by surprise. If Team Hell No doesn't get another rematch against The Shield, then Orton & Sheamus might be the ones to take them on at Payback.

Maybe I'm simply reading into something that's not really there or maybe I'm just projecting something I'd like to see happen. I dunno, I just have a feeling that Orton will turn heel pretty soon, or at least in time for SummerSlam so that he & Sheamus can have a match.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


No more heels! Goddamit Cena is the only real face on the active roster with Sheamus far below. If anything Orton needs to be put in a summer program with a monster heel to make his storylines matter again. He is bringing it in the ring, he has for a while now, but please not another heel turn. Madden is a fucking idiot if he thinks Orton isn't good as a face. Orton is, for me, the 2nd top face (Remember Punk is still a 'heel' by kayfabe), so please no.

Give Him Brock!

 

[Mustang Sally]

No more heels! Goddamit Cena is the only real face on the active roster with Sheamus far below.

Glad someone else sees it. As I've been ranting for a couple years, if given the choice of what type character WWE performers want to play, just about all of them would choose heel.....it's easier to make people hate you than like you.

I think Orton has done a pretty good job portraying a good guy, but from what we've read, he's never liked doing it and seemingly can't wait until that golden time they let him turn heel again. Whoop-dee-do. Sooner or later, he'll get his wish.

The whole thing with everybody wanting to be a heel makes me appreciate John Cena even more, even though it seems popular now to detest him, which I still consider ridiculous. He's a good guy and they boo him for it, making the fact he stays a face even more impressive. I'd like them to turn him bad just to stick it in the faces of the people who jeer him ("You want to boo me? Fine, I'll give you something to boo about.") I was sure he was turning bad after WM29 and believe the company was considering it, but they turned Ryback bad instead and needed someone to take him down.

As for Orton, the world will keep spinning on it's axis whether he stays face or not. Over time, everyone has a chance at playing both sides, so Randy's heel turn should come soon. Honestly, I'm surprised he's had to wait this long, and wonder if they've kept him a good guy against his wishes because his attitude still stinks and they'd like to keep him in his place.

Wouldn't blame 'em if they did.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Gotta agree with Paper and Sally. Aside from Cena and Sheamus, Orton is the only other main event level face. Kane and DB are still dealing with the tag division, and it seems like a heel turn for one of them, likely DB, is imminent.

I know the IWC loves their heels, but most of them don't have the forethought to consider that if everyones a heel, there's no one to fight with.

And this issue seems to only be getting worse since all the new influx of talent are heels. Now we've got the Wyatt family coming in as almost certainly heels. Put that on top of the Shield and Curt Axel and there's no balance whatsoever around the WWE right now. It's so much easier to debut as a heel because getting booed is easy. Frankly I'm surprised Ryback got as over as he did debuting as a face. Luckily they followed the simple formula that if you kick ass, you'll get over eventually.

So many of the IWC want this heel or that heel pushed at any given time. Right now, there's just not enough room for it. Who are they going to fight? Outside of the faces I've already mentioned, who else is there? Kofi is doing his usual thing in the midcard. Miz is floundering about. Brodus and Tensai are a comedy tag team. ADR is currently the only face in what's been a 2:1 heel:face rationed WHC feud. Zack Ryder? Irrelevant.

Turn Orton heel. Go ahead. Just tell me who he's going to fight. An up and comer? Great. Then what was the point of his turn? It's wasted if he loses immediately, especially to a nobody. Sorry. I just can't see it.

 

[a member of wwe universe]

It's no secret that a lot of people have wanted Orton to turn heel for quite a while. Orton himself has, reportedly, been wanting it to happen for quite a spell also. I have a feeling that it's going to happen fairly soon at some point over the course of the summer.

My reason for thinking this came about as a result of last night's announcement that Randy Orton will take on Dean Ambrose on SmackDown!. It seems as though that Orton isn't done with The Shield, which leads me to believe that Orton & Sheamus will ultimately go after the tag titles held by Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns. I think that Rollins & Reigns will either interfere to prevent Orton from winning, resulting in a DQ, they'll provide some sort of distraction to allow Ambrose to pick up the win or Ambrose will come away with a clean win. At the end of either of those outcomes, I expect The Shield to beat Orton down, only for Sheamus to come to the rescue, thus starting them down the road to a tag team feud.

As usually is the case when it comes to big singles stars who've formed a tag team, the ego of one or both will get in the way of their getting the upper hand against The Shield. Frustrations over the inability to get the job done against Rollins & Reigns will begin to mount, other issues might compound & add onto the frustrations & clashing egos and, eventually, Orton simply snaps by turning on Sheamus during a point in which it looks like they've got The Shield right where they want them. WWE could also go the route of simply having Orton snap & turn without a lot of build up in the hopes of taking most fans by surprise. If Team Hell No doesn't get another rematch against The Shield, then Orton & Sheamus might be the ones to take them on at Payback.

Maybe I'm simply reading into something that's not really there or maybe I'm just projecting something I'd like to see happen. I dunno, I just have a feeling that Orton will turn heel pretty soon, or at least in time for SummerSlam so that he & Sheamus can have a match.

How many times have sheamus and orton teamed up against the sheild? Those two are stale as babyface and in need of heel turn badly. Have orton turn on sheamus in some sort of quick fashion and move on. Less is more. I do not see the point to have orton and sheamus go for the tag title only to have one of them turning heel later. Its not gonna benefit either team because the shield have beat them countless time whether theyre teaming together or with someone else. The tag title are as irrelevant as the diva title and mixing up with a duo that nobody cares about at this time is not much exciting imo.

Orton needs to turn heel quick, face sheamus, beat him and move on pairing him up with a legit stars like a punk and cena to get him back on track.

 

[Gonzo]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


No more heels! Goddamit Cena is the only real face on the active roster with Sheamus far below. If anything Orton needs to be put in a summer program with a monster heel to make his storylines matter again. He is bringing it in the ring, he has for a while now, but please not another heel turn. Madden is a fucking idiot if he thinks Orton isn't good as a face. Orton is, for me, the 2nd top face (Remember Punk is still a 'heel' by kayfabe), so please no.

Give Him Brock!

I want them to do something with Orton. Heel turn, character turn, SOMETHING! His Viper gimmick is more bland than chicken breast cooked on a George Foreman grill. Your statement "Orton is a second top face" turns my stomach. As I logged in for the first time since (according to the 'last visited' stat) December 2011, I planned to ask you what vortex you are in if you are fine with Orton as a 'second top face' in his character's current iteration as the most boring guy on the planet (time to bring in Stone Cold and have him do to Orton what he did to ruin Lance Storm's career back in 2002 with the whole "you are boring! Have fun!" shtick... I'm ribbing). Great ringwork, aggravatingly banal character.

That said, I like your idea of Orton vs. B'RRRROCK' Lesnar.

 

[cam1126]

If it were up to most of the loons on here, there would be NO faces, only heels. People are delusional as this site shows again and again in the comments

 

[IT Factor]

The problem with Orton remaining a face is that he is rather bland in that role. He seems to be a natural cocky and arrogant heel and that translates across the screen and fans notice it. That'd be like Ric Flair being a face for a long amount of time, which didn't happen too often in his career. He was a better heel than a face because he did an excellent job getting fans to hate him and in the end, he was being cheered even as a heel. The same principle applies with Randy Orton. He can be a heel again and still get cheered, so it'd be a win-win situation. Plus, I always liked the Legend Killer thing a lot more than being a snake wanna-be.

 

[Redemption-2012]

I don't care if there is a shortage of babyfaces. I am sick of seeing Orton floundering around with NO real feud to sink his teeth into. A feud with Sheamus could really propel him back to relevance and get him out of mid card. I am not a fan of Orton's current gimmick, he is still good in the ring but I always find myself bored watching him.

I think Randy Orton+Sheamus make a good team but the fact is, Orton is WAY too talented to be floundering around the mid card. I think they should feud with The Shield a little longer and lose again. This could potentially setup the long awaited Sheamus and Randy Orton feud for Summerslam.

If I were booking the heel turn, I would have Sheamus and Orton face Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins at Extreme Rules for the tag team titles. Have them lose again. At Money in the Bank, both get entered into the Money in the bank ladder match and both lose. Orton could then blame Sheamus for him losing thus setting up for the heel turn. There you have the first match for Summerslam: Randy Orton vs Sheamus.

 

[President Evil]

Why not turn both Sheamus and Orton heel. They're both bland at the moment. It'd certainly get more attention both turning heel as a team than one single guy. It could be something similar to the Two Man Power Trip of 2001. That was a good storyline, until Triple H was injured. It was also done with Rated RKO and it worked. Them turning into a single heel wrestler brings nothing new. Them being a heel tag team is something new for them and for the fans.

It'd be cool to see these two as a two man wrecking crew.

 

[STFU Donnie]

I honestly don't know about the wisdom of flipping Orton. I can't think of a babyface who gets a better, more consistent pop than Orton. So while he might not enjoy being a babyface and WWE has done nothing of interest with him in nearly 2 years, I don't know what having another heel who gets a babyface reaction does for anybody.

But it does raise what I think is a huge issue for WWE, which is that heels aren't really encouraged to be heels. Maybe it's the NWO paradox of heels being booked as cool and the belief that that is how heels work. But it seems like most heels don't generate heat. I think the single biggest reason for this is WWE's reliance on merchandise. After all, if a wrestler is universally hated, then nobody but IWC guys are going to buy their shirts (The scorge of supposedly smart fans cheering bad guys is a whole different story). Then you toss in the fact that guys get paid on merchandise, so why would they want to be true heels anyway?

Back in the early days of Vince's WWF in the 80's, the merchandise structure was different. The way it worked was like this: When Paul Orndorff worked with Hulk Hogan, he and Hulk shared Hulk's merchandise sales. The idea was that the heel was there to get heat and the babyface was there to get over. This type of incentive structure ensured that the heel had ZERO interest in being cool or having any part of the audience cheer for him. Now in today's WWE, when John Cena works with CM Punk, they both have shirts and they both get paid on the sales of those shirts...which means no longer are they both working for the same goal, rather in so many ways the heels are working at cross purposes. They're playing the villain, but in a way that doesn't make them a villain. Maybe they use the old Shawn Michaels trick of trying to guzzle guys and out work them? Maybe they use the Hulk Hogan trick of always doing some little thing to keep eyes on them, even when it's the other guy who is supposed to be going over.

I guess if I could talk to Randy Orton, I'd tell him that it doesn't much matter whether you're a heel or babyface, since there's no real difference between the two roles. I suppose if he thinks that being a heel puts him back in line to work on top with Cena and main event money, then so be it. But nothing WWE has done with Orton in recent times, suggest that he's going to be any more relevant as a heel than he has been as a face.

 

[Rhodes2TheFuture3313]

They need to do some sort of 6-Man tag at SummerSlam with HHH, Orton, and Jericho vs. The Heyman guys. Or they can do Orton, Sheamus, and Jericho vs. THe Heyman guys. You have Axel pin Jericho. Begin to plant the seeds of doubt between Punk and Heyman. Lead to a double switch w/Punk and Orton. Set-up Punk vs. Lesnar for WM. Do Orton vs. Rock at WM. Cena vs. Taker.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

I want them to do something with Orton. Heel turn, character turn, SOMETHING! His Viper gimmick is more bland than chicken breast cooked on a George Foreman grill. Your statement "Orton is a second top face" turns my stomach. As I logged in for the first time since (according to the 'last visited' stat) December 2011, I planned to ask you what vortex you are in if you are fine with Orton as a 'second top face' in his character's current iteration as the most boring guy on the planet (time to bring in Stone Cold and have him do to Orton what he did to ruin Lance Storm's career back in 2002 with the whole "you are boring! Have fun!" shtick... I'm ribbing). Great ringwork, aggravatingly banal character.

That said, I like your idea of Orton vs. B'RRRROCK' Lesnar.

You should log in more dude, for starters you have great grammar.


Orton, has connected to the fans. He slithered, coiled and did his shit and he got over. He has been over since 2010 really. People pop for him when he opens the show, when he comes at the end of the 1st hour, or the 2nd hour or when he does a backstage promo whatever!


I'll tell you what, now this is a very cool trick to know which wrestlers are over. Just simple observation, ready?

Whenever an 'over' wrestler (like Punk or Cena or Rocky or Orton) come out, the cameras pan to the crowd instead of the entrance ramp at their music cue. Know why? Because people pop so damn frequently for these few that WWE wants that electricity to be caught and broadcasted to us. From Kentucky to Dallas to Atlanta to Buffalo, people POP for Orton.


He is put in good programs, shitty programs people still dig the guy and he is the 2nd babyface for me, TILL Punk goes kayfabe face.


Now Orton, boring...if you mean in the ring, you're right, we are in different vortexes as he is great in the ring. If you mean on the mic, pshh hey man, you want everyone to just start shooting to PROVE that they are great on the mic. Randy is dandy on the mic.

He is far from boring, he is just flip-flopping in some lethargic storylines in which he still manages to give good performances. He needs to be in a main event feud soon. A fresh opponent. Hell I wouldn't mind Orton/Ryback, I would love Orton/Brock.


So yeah, he is the 2nd face at the mo'.



And NO! No more baseless heel turns, especially when the roster is so weak on Top faces.

 

[Theo Mays]

Either way whether Orton be a heel or face he is going to generate a good reaction from the crowd. Honestly I like Orton as a face, but I think it is more so that Orton has brought it in terms of ring presence and there might not be another guy on the roster that has been having better matches than him.

On the other hand I'm all for the Orton heel turn. I feel he has run his course as a face and has taken on pretty much all the top heels. I want to see Orton and Sheamus go at it and I certainly want to see Orton/Cena again. I don't care that they've had a long history, it has been awhile and you know the program and the matches itself will be high quality.

I look at it from a standpoint where it is a win/win either way. Orton is going to continuously put on top notch matches whether he be a heel or face and will generate a positive reaction no matter his alignment. All that changes are his opponents and I feel it gets Orton back into the title scene much quicker and there are better pairings for a heel Orton than a face Orton at this point.

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

Keep Orton face. There are way to many heels on the roster, and of the maineventers not a whole lot of faces. Orton, Sheamus, Del Rio, Jericho , Cena and maybe Miz are all that I can think of. Orton is needed in the face role whether he likes it or not. He puts on amazing matches and a lot of young heels could use th rub that he could provide. A 2-3 month program with Ziggler would make Dolph a believable champ, by Randy putting him over (also these 2 have great chemistry in the ring). He could have an amazing match with Ambrose on SD and turn that into a feud for the US title (rub for Ambrose plus add some prestige to the US title.) I think that the WWE needs face Orton right now, and they need to capitalize on some great programs that could be had with him as a face

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Orton and Sheamus in a tag team? How can we possibly waste two talents? By making them a tag team. I understand the shtick of having them want rid of the Shield, but at the same time, why not have Orton/Sheamus go after the US Title on Dean Ambrose?

But Orton being heel does nothing but give Cena another opponent he's already feuded with previously. And yes, Kevin Dunn, the WWE will remember that feud just like we remember the feud Cena's had with Big Show. Recycling old rivalries would be a lazy as you can get and that's all that would happen if Orton would be able to turn heel.

Also, how come Orton has to be a clear cut heel? He can do just as well at being a tweener who flies off the handle on occasion as being a clear bad guy. You can be bad and be good, too. There's always a good guy who does bad things to have the right thing take place.

 

[scomvp316]

-IMO the only talent that could be great heel champions are Punk,Barrett,and Orton
-I don't think Orton will turn heel as VKM still wants to play around with his character to see how Orton reacts backstage
-The main reason for a Sheamus heel turn is his face turn IMO was a waste of time with no build up
-Sheamus has not come off as a great face as much as WWE wanted

 

[Mr. Book This Section]

I am seriously wondering if the reason that Vince isn't turning Orton heel is so that Orton is legitimatley pissed off too make a more believable heel when he does turn?

 

[Kelso1ftw]

I definitely could see him and Sheamus and Orton teaming up to take on The Shield for the Tag titles as reported on Wrestlezone, and they could get two shots at it one at payback and next at MITB. This could easily set up a turn for Orton as he could either turn on Sheamus at the end of the match or flip on him the next night on raw setting up their match at SummerSlam. I wouldn't mind seeing Sheamus blind tagging himself in and upsetting Orton and Sheamus brogue kicking Rollins and Orton coming up behind him and hitting an RKO and walking out after laying Rollins on top of him.

 

[jgregist]

Orton needs to be a heel. I understand the need to more faces but every part timer that returns is a face and I hear Punk, Henry and Langston are all potential faces in the waiting.

I would book over a series of weeks by having legends (Arn Anderson, Dusty Rhodes, Michael Hayes, Sgt Slaughter, etc) attacked backstage and then have a legend return in the ring (maybe Piper's Pit) and have Piper call out the coward who is attacking everyone and have Orton come out and beat Piper senseless, thus completing the heel turn and the return of the legend killer.

 

[CMbrose Punk]

Orton and Sheamus are both pretty stale right now, but Orton's getting the bigger pop between the two. Of course, following typical WWE logic, Orton is the more likely candidate for turning heel.

They're both in similar situations. Their characters have grown stagnant. They're good in the ring, but even that's starting to get stale. It's like they're just going through the motions, hitting their usual spots. Chest clubbing on the apron, hangman's DDT off the ropes, brogue kick, RKO.. yawn.. I haven't seen either of them do anything refreshing in the ring in a long time.

I think Madden might be on to something about them both being upper mid card talent. Orton's still got name value from when he used to matter, but he just hasn't been the same since he came back from that last wellness policy violation. Switching him back to heel might help, but what can he do as a heel that he hasn't already done a bunch of times already?

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The problem WWE has is that in Orton's case, they have to make hay while the sun shines. His record, success and attitude have all created a situation where he has a long time on his deal, but is very likely to end up getting released. Lepoards don't change their spots and Orton will screw up again, so where he is at the moment - getting strong pops, still selling merch and putting over new heel talent is the best place for WWE.

Orton himself wants to be relevant, important and "in the main event mix" so for that he needs to be heel. The problem WWE has right now is if they give him what he wants and he gets a 3rd strike (his track record even pre wrestling says he will) then they lose that "rub" that he could have given to the new heels, which WWE need more at the moment. Orton would be a great feud for the Wyatt's on their debut, but you can see him trying to avoid it.

If he goes heel then it's hard to see how he will benefit new talent, as WWE doesn't seem too interested in creating new faces. They have Sheamus and Jericho in those roles should Randy turn and guys like Big E. who can take the chance Ryback and ADR failed with. When Punk and either Kane or D-Bry turns then they aren't gonna look to create newer faces for a while.

Orton is one of those cases where I think he has to bite the bullet and accept what he has taken from the business means he's gonna spend the rest of this deal giving back. If he gets through unscathed to the final year then WWE may start taking that chance on him again. But he hasn't done as Jericho did and develop that "bulletproof" mentality for putting people over, he doesn't have the "kid friendly" marketability and friends of a Sheamus or the "coolness" that The Shield, Ziggler and Punk have.

Best I can equate him to now is he is in the Tito Santana/Rick Martel position - will be on the roster but has had his best days and the fans and even the roster take them for granted. You watch them and will never hate seeing them but you don't want them to do anything more than putting someone better/cooler/more your cup of tea over cos when they win big it's not that exciting.

Now would it be in Orton's interest to get fired and come back after the year? That one is an interesting question... the stigma of being the first name publicly fired for a 3rd strike would be bad, but it would give him that year to reassess what he wants and more to the point the fans to miss him a bit.

 

[Jay Jayerson]

Yes! Return of the Legend Killer. One of the better heel gimmicks Ive ever had the pleasure of watching. I just wish Wrestlezone would organize some kind of twitter campaign to try and get Legend Killer to trend. I wonder if I can get a Legend Killer tshirt out there somewhere on the interwebz?

 

[TheNew_ApexPredator]

Orton needs to turn heel! He is a natural heel and we all know it...

I hope Randy turns heel at WWE's next PPV, PayBack!

Orton & Sheamus vs The shield for the WWE Tag Team Champions.
Orton and Sheamus will lose and Orton will get angry because he has been losing to the shield for months now, he turns on Sheamus.

The following night on Raw Orton explains his actions saying how he doesn't trust Sheamus and etc... Sheamus and Orton will start feuding.
Orton and Sheamus will Cheap shot each other for a couple of weeks until it gets serious and a match is put together. Orton vs Sheamus. The match will be a close one until Orton tries to hit Sheamus with a chair to his advantage, Big Show comes out and stops Orton. Big show and Orton will go at it, and Sheamus will get involved helping out Show.
It's a 2 on 1 until Mark Henry Comes out and helps Orton making it 2 on 2. The feud will end up being Randy Orton and Henry vs Sheamus and Big show (Big Show as face probably?)

This would be a great storyline, we will see The Viper heel once again! and it will be interesting as Henry and Big Show have tagged up with each other before...

 

[LSN80]

Also, how come Orton has to be a clear cut heel? He can do just as well at being a tweener who flies off the handle on occasion as being a clear bad guy. You can be bad and be good, too. There's always a good guy who does bad things to have the right thing take place.

Bingo. One of my favorite moments from Survivor Series 2012(and there weren't many) was before the match between Team Foley and Team Ziggler. Foley was giving the "Ra, Ra" speech to everyone on his team, including Orton, and Orton's response to Foley?

'I hate you.'

It's as simple as that. I like Randy Orton as the guy who will form temporary alliances with people as long as there's something in it for him. The Randy Orton who, while very much a face, didn't care that John Cena could lose his job. He simply cared that Cena didn't screw him out of his title during Orton's 2010 SS WWE Title match with Wade Barrett.

That being said, something needs to give with Randy Orton right now. People can complain all they like about John Cena being stale, but if he is, what does that make Randy Orton? He's the guy you can count on to have a good first or last hour match on Raw, but ultimately means little in the long run. Even as a face, Orton has always had an edge. Now, he's seemingly lost that as well. It could simply be that he's stuck in traction and his matches, PPV or TV, have no lasting effect. His match with Big Show, while both good and an impressive win, ultimately meant nothing.

So where is he headed? From all indication, it seems back to feuding with the Shield, or a matchup with Sheamus. Personally, I'd rather see the latter. Both have been glued at the hip for some time, and it's gotten them nowhere. Both have lost most semblance of character and momentum. Chasing the tag titles for a 9 and 3 time World Champion seems beneath them, but perhaps it's simply a temporary feud until a 'bigger match' can be had at Summerslam between the two.

Orton wants to be a heel, and his played out face character simply isn't clicking. Let him be the guy who doesn't 'play well with others', rub Sheamus the wrong way, and there you go. A relevant match at Summerslam between two guys who rarely lose single's matches.

And hopefully, a match that can benefit both, with momentum and character growth. Orton a heel? Not necessary, but welcome nonetheless.