Orton's Return Yields Simple But Effective Way For A Turn

[Jack-Hammer]

On last night's episode of Raw, Happy New Year btw, saw Randy Orton return to WWE television after a brief absence. Orton came to the ring and helped Sheamus & Ryback turn the tide against The Shield.

It's been reported that WWE is planning to turn Randy Orton heel in the near future and that both he & Sheamus will be top players in the WHC picture heading towards WrestleMania. Personally, I think the best way to go about this is an an age old story. I'm sure some have heard this very old story or variations of it:

There once was a young viper looking to cross a raging river that'd been flooded by heavy rains. He calls out to a young duckling that happened to be flying overhead and asked for help. The duckling was wary as he knew enough about snakes not to trust them. He refused at first, saying he didn't trust the viper as the viper would strike him if he tried to help. The viper denies it, stating that if he did, he'll die from falling in the river. It made sense to the duckling and he scooped up the small snake in his bill and proceeded to fly over the river. Halfway across, the viper did indeed strike, biting the duckling. The duckling was surprised, asking why the viper would strike him as that he's going to die now as well. The viper simply said that it was his nature.

Randy Orton's character is a snake. He's called the Viper and he's generally someone that's not trustworthy. The raging river in the scenario could be The Shield. I'm not suggesting that Orton join them, only that perhaps he could team with Sheamus & Ryback in a six man tag against The Shield at the Royal Rumble. It looks like Alberto Del Rio is feuding with Big Show for a while for the WHC, I doubt that Ryback will win the WWE Championship next Monday, Orton has just returned so all three can rally against a common foe. All six men will probably also compete in the Royal Rumble match itself later on, so pulling double duty won't be a problem. During the match, simply have Orton turn on his team by nailing Sheamus with an RKO and walking off. It gives Orton a heel turn, puts him in a high profile feud with a main eventer, gives The Shield another high profile win on a big ppv and protects Ryback.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Seems like a feasible enough plan. To me, the wild card in all of the booking for the Road To WM29 is who wins the RR. I'm assuming Rock wins the WWE Title at RR. Would they really have Rock fight in an EC? I doubt it. It's too risky. So that would put a likely rematch between him and Punk at EC. That, in turn, would mean the Raw EC would have to be for a #1 contender.

I'm only saying all this because that would most likely place the RR winner as someone who would challenge for the WHC. If they wanted, they could have Randy Orton win the RR and have him turn heel between then and WM29. Say Sheamus wins the WHC at EC by pinning Orton. Orton, obviously upset, RKO's Sheamus and sets up Ziggler cashing in. Now you've got a 3-way set up for WM29 with Orton getting further over as a heel in between the two PPV's.

Obviously too many variables in my plan for it to be right on, but it makes sense. Though, your plan would still work even if Orton won the Rumble later in the night.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Sounds reasonable. Of course, if you take any WWE performer outside of John Cena and ask whether you'd prefer to see him/her as a face or heel, the vast, vast majority of folks on this forum will say "heel." Look at the individual examples that come up all the time; almost everyone wants to see their choice as a bad guy. Heels are simpler to play, given that it's easier to make fans boo you than cheer. For that reason, heels are often more exciting to watch since you never know what devilment they're plotting.

In the case of Randy Orton, I'm surprised he's stayed a face this long....and admit wondering if the powers-that-be kept him in this role for such a long time because of his misbehavior in the past; sort of a way of corralling his wild ways by letting him know he can't have everything his own way.

Still, he must have a lot of power in the organization or he might have been gone already. Yes, he has two strikes against him, but keep in mind that those are two incidences the company chose to punish him for.....there may be more he's done but wasn't called out on, because doing so would mean firing him and losing the whole investment.

Still, Orton has stated publicly he wants to be a bad guy, most of the people on this forum who have commented have voiced their preference he be a heel......and it's probably his best destiny anyway, for the reasons mentioned by the OP.....parable included.

 

[wrestler36]

I thought about this the other day. I think it would be cool to see Orton turn and challenge the Rock at WM. It doesn't even have to be for a title. Orton can be a hybrid of his past characters, being the Viper when he turns against a face, hitting a random RKO. He'll also revert to being the 'legend killer' with Rock being the biggest legend on his list at the biggest stage being Wrestlemania. This would catapult Orton as big a heel as Punk is right now and can re-ignite some huge feuds with the likes of Kofi, Miz, Bryan, Ryback, etc

 

[HBsam31]

With Orton getting involved with The Shield/Ryback feud, I could definitely see them using this to finally turn him heel. I am also surprised they kept Orton face for so long. He has always been a natural heel, and I think it would actually be pretty cool if it turned out he was the mastermind behind The Shield if indeed they are working for someone. One thing that Mustang Sally made me think though. Orton has been in some trouble, and obviously that and injuries has made this a pretty non productive year for him. That being said do they trust him enough at this point to put him in a main event angle. The Shield are doing really well now and if Orton was aligned with them then got into some sort of trouble would it mess up The Shields momentum? Who knows what will actually happen, and maybe he won't align with The Shield. This should be an interesting year for Orton either way.

 

[Dirk]

I think Cena would be the ultimate candidate for a heel turn, because his character needs it most. Not from a commercial standpoint, but from an critical one.

Back on topic - maybe the reason why Orton has... been... phoning... it... in... as... a... face, is his (kind of brattish) way of sulking. Clearly he wants to go heel, but the WWE needs to spank his ass like a child, so they're between a rock and a hard place.

I say: "Screw it". Make Randy heel, if it'll make him happy, but we need face turns.

We can't have Cena, Sheamus and Ryback main-eventing against the Shield, Punk, Big Show, Del Rio and Ziggler. Not to mention Hell No (who I thought were tweening?), Kofi and Miz taking a lone vigil against the rest of the whole roster.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I have no idea what's going to happen with Orton, but a lot of people miss this, and it's important - he's still really fucking over with the crowd.

I know a lot IWC dopes piss and moan about how boring the guy is, and he needs to turnz da heelz (like every other wrestler on the planet), and so forth. I must admit, for my own personal, selfish reasons, I'd like to see it happen (or anything different from his current course), but WWE doesn't care.

He's over, I'm sure he moves merchandise and they have plenty of people to take care of.

And please, don't tell me he isn't the second or third most over face in the WWE. He is, and I'd rank him above Ryback, despite Ryback's recent push. Look at his return the other night - once again, he was gone for just a few weeks, and his "return" pop is the biggest face reaction of the night.

Just for my sake, they need to shit or get off the pot with Orton - do something big with him as a babyface, or turn him heel. But when you really look at it, none of that needs to happen. They've been doing very little with him for a long time now, and he's as over as he was a year ago.

I'd do something with him because I still think he's the best wrestler on the planet, but I'm not sure WWE feels the need to move him into a different role.

 

[thebarber]

Orton is a natural heel, and needs to be turned, but turned to maximise the effect. I like the idea of him turning on Sheamus, but the problem I see is Ziggler. Surely WWE are goin to run with him as the WHC in 2013, so he needs to cash in. Maybe he cashes in at the end of the Smackdown EC match, Big Show could retain, then be taken out by a Brouge Kick or RKO, with Ziggler running in and cashing in. Then leaves us Orton vs Shemaus without the title invovled, and Ziggler left without a credible Mania opponent

 

[enviousdominous]

I'm pretty sure the original was based on a scorpion and a turtle, but I get what you're saying.

He's been given the character of an apex predator by virtue of his coming out of Bob's dick, and dammit he's gonna live up to it. Like most who realize that a brain damaged monkey could wear his boots, I'm already at the fifth stage of grief so I'm cool with it.

Whatever they do with him, it'll be the same redundant groaning with occasional underbite that's sold those ugly ass t-shirts for years. It will work if he betrays Shaemus or not, because everyone unfortunate enough to have to work with the spoiled brat will be forced to physically and emotionally sell his low brow bullshit.

 

[vikesfan]

Jealous much? Thanks for adding nothing to the subject at hand. My say though is I think that after Raw lastnight,where Orton RKOd all 3 of 3MB and then later on having Sheamus kick all 3 of them was a "one up" angle that hopefully will be brought up on S-Down this week to continue the build to hopefully a Mania match and heel turn for Orton v Sheamus..

 

[XXJJ]

Yeah they dont have to turn him heel. He is still the 2nd most popular babyface in the company, but since Orton wants to turn heel you might as well turn him.

Sheamus costs Orton the Royal Rumble. Orton attacks Sheamus the Monday after the rumble turning him heel. Orton then wins the world title at the Elimination chamber setting up their match at Wrestlemania..I think something like that happens.

 

[PsychoBlack]

Orton suffers from nWo syndrome. No matter how good of a heel he is and no matter who's ass he whips, the fans will always cheer him. This is a good and a bad thingin a away. Good because he will always be over and bad because as a heel he fails to get heat because the fans love him and as a face he can do basically whatever he wants and no one will ever acknowledge it as a heel turn. His character is edgy enough to keep where it is now. The only thing I have in mind for him turning heel and the fans buying it is if he was leading the shield which since they attacked him I highly doubt that he is.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

From what I saw on Raw this week, I get the feeling that they are going to do the "friendly rivalry turns to ass-kicking rivalry" angle with Orton and Sheamus, due to Sheamus one (or 3) upping what Orton did to 3MB.

It may well not be the route they go down, but the benefit of a friendly rivalry is the longevity you can get from it. Rather than have Orton snap suddenly on Sheamus, they can plant some seeds for the feud perhaps culminating at WrestleMania as I believe that neither are locked down for a match there yet.

Maybe let Orton and Sheamus take turns kicking the bejesus out of 3MB up until the Rumble, maybe have Sheamus (accidentally?) eliminate Orton from the Rumble, maybe one costs the other at Elimination Chamber, and then maybe heel Orton begins his punting season all over again in time for the big one at Mania.

 

[Skinsley]

You could almost gaurantee that Sheamus would use this old tale in a feud with Orton, as he likes to give his little Irish stories from promo's.

I hope Orton and Sheamus eliminate each other at the Rumble. Setting up for an Orton Heel turn. A Rivalry which I would relish.

In all honesty, I also prefer Sheamus as a Heel...simply because he suits it. But having said that, he has gotten over SO well as a Face, that I am perfectly happy with him staying how he is.