Randy Orton: He deserves WrestleMania!!

[Hard Hit Prince]

Most people in here have been praising the likes of Daniel Bryan for sometime now, and have been bashing every single guy that stood in his way to the top, like little marks worked by the WWE - and completely neglected the fact that Randy Orton is the most consistent and solid performer the WWE has right now.

I know I'm going to sound biased in here given my signature, but to be fair, I'm just going to tell the truth. Since January 2013 until now, Randy Orton has had over 100 matches on television alone - matches that we may very well remember with the likes of Antonio Cesaro, Damien Sandow, Sheamus, The Big Show, Jack Swagger, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, The Miz, The Shield, Kofi Kingston, Big E. Langston and pretty much everyone on the roster. One thing those matches have in common is the ability to improve a show overall, because one thing is guaranteed, which is a good solid match, regardless of the opponent WWE puts up against the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Now I think people forget the fact that Randy Orton has been with the WWE for 12 years, give it or take it. If we take out his injuries and his suspensions, he's been with the WWE for at least 10 years non-stop delivering on television, house-shows and most likely in high profile match-ups that take his tool on the human body. However, for some ridiculous reason, I read people's opinion of how he does not deserve it, because he's:

a) been handed everything, because he's friends with Triple H;
b) a douchebag;
c) boring and can't talk;
d) overrated.

Yet after 12 years being in the top 5 biggest stars of the company, year after year, I start to roll my eyes each time I read a comment about any of those subjects. WWE is a mega corporation, where Randy Orton is a valuable asset. There is no such thing as "friends" in the business world, specially not in the current WWE's world. If you're so bad, how can one maintain such a big position in said company? Clearly people don't like him, yet he keeps on getting pushed and that right there is a flaw in some highly regarded opinions like Mark Madden's for instance.

Now I don't want to take anything away from Daniel Bryan and Batista, who are clearly two strong contenders to close the show - but Daniel Bryan's logic that he's a workhorse more so than any others because he came from the independents is dumb. Randy Orton is in a mega competitive environment for over 10 years, working his butt as much or, most likely even more than Daniel Bryan to maintain his status in the company, because being friends with Triple H is one thing, being an average talented dumbass like Jack Swagger is another. Batista doesn't need to prove anything to deserve a big match in WrestleMania, he's clearly a big star in the wrestling world around the globe and he's paid his dues a long time ago, and he did indeed main evented WrestleMania before in a more than okay match and in a high profile feud.

But the fact of the matter is that regardless of Batista or Daniel Bryan - Randy Orton should have his main event spot guaranteed and, it doesn't seem so as of right now to be the case, with already three clean losses in less than a month and with a high probability that he'll end up fighting Batista one on one, while Daniel Bryan and HHH close the show, or better yet, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker. I just think I should get it out there. It's a disrespect for such a consistent workhorse to not be given an opportunity to close the show and have at least a WrestleMania moment, that isn't a loss to Undertaker or Triple H in a very early stage of his career and in one of the worst booking decisions in the past 10 years respectively. So, thoughts....

 

[Wald]

I genuinely don't get the hate Orton receives from some sections of the crowd. He has put over more midcard talent than other top of the card guy I can remember and he is talented in the ring. He does need to change up his promos from the monotone Viper style but he's been working on that the past few weeks and is improving.

I do think he deserves the Mania title match as well and I feel he has been let down just as badly as Daniel Bryan with the Authority storyline. Any time it looks like he's picking up heat Steph and Triple H just take it away from him with their nonsense tweener characters. The match up with Batista is also going to be completely destroyed at Mania by the fans because Daniel Bryan won't be winning the belt. It's also obvious Batista is, and while obvious is sometimes a good thing I don't think it is here as Batista, simply put, has been a bit of a dud since his return.

The obvious, and the right, storyline path this should have taken was what we all hoped for back at Summerslam. It was absolutely the right call to have Orton snatch away Bryan's moment and turn heel. It could have led to an unbelievable Wrestlemania moment where Orton ducked a rematch with Bryan for months until Bryan won the Rumble and challenged him for the title at Mania. The roof would genuinely have come off the place if they had gone for the obvious booking of Bryan winning the Rumble and winning the title at Mania and Orton would have been an integral part of that storyline & moment. His character come out of that moment with his heat intact looking for revenge, or they could have played up the Authority turning their backs on him and him snapping, either as a face or a heel.

Instead he'll get a power bomb at the twelve minute mark by a blown up Batista. The crowd will boo the hell out of the two of them throughout the match, they'll chant Daniel Bryan and both guys will look like chumps. After the PPV Orton's character will be dead in the water and he'll either need some time off to freshen it up, probably after losing to Batista again at Extreme Rules or he'll have to turn face and drop down to upper midcard.

Actually typing that out makes me think that Orton has been screwed over more than Bryan throughout this entire debacle. This whole thing could be a genuine character killer for him.

 

[laodaron]

Orton is doing fine. He's gone over Cena and Bryan at PPVs in the last few months. He's going to go over at Elimination Chamber. And he's probably going to drop the belt to Batista at WM30, setting up a Batista/Orton/Bryan Extreme Rules where Bryan goes over in Seattle.

Orton is probably one of the better workers in a decade, falling only minimally short of John Cena. The problem is that Orton hasn't gotten better on the mic in the better part of a decade, and he desperately needs it. I thought last night's (2/10/2014) promo by him was pretty spot on. He's working at it, you can tell, he just isn't 100% of the way there on his promos. Also, I think he's playing the paranoid heel champ perfectly.

 

[ASKane]

WWE has had TV ratings drop in the last hour massively since Summerslam, PPV buys have been down and fans have been vocal about how bad the product is and there are 2 constants over this period, 1. The Authority and 2. Randy Orton. All the blame for bad buy rates was put on Bryan when they need to be put on Orton. As fans have proven in recent weeks they have no interest in Orton revisiting one of his past feud and therefore should not be the 1 facing Batista. It should be Batista vs Bryan in a 1 vs 1 match and have Orton do something else

 

[AegonTargaryen]

I agree with you totally. Daniel Bryan is an abomination to the WWE universe, a cancer. Look at how Daniel Bryan's ******ed fans ruined a perfect royal rumble which delivered us a stellar performance(both athletically and dramatically) by Roman Reigns, and it was over-all loaded with great performers, Cesaro, Ambrose, Punk, Rollins, Swagger, Kofi Kingston, to name a few. Audience booing Batista is one thing(and perfectly understandable) but just because some bearded goofball running around chanting YES! did not enter the Rumble match doesn't mean the apprently dumb WWE universe should defecate all over guys like Cesaro, Ambrose, Reigns, Rhodes brothers, among others, who're as good and hard a workers as Bryan . They do as many houseshows, they wrestle long matches too. And surely they don't bombard the WWE Universe with absurd one-word chants day in and day out. Somebody already bury daniel bryan and show him his right place, the mid-card. He is not tall enough, or strong enough. What's an abomination is that he's not even half as passionate and intense unlike Guerrero, Benoit ,Angle. His emotions just come across as pseudo.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

WWE has had TV ratings drop in the last hour massively since Summerslam

Wrong.

Ratings have been higher compared to when CM Punk was Champion.

http://www.gerweck.net/tv-ratings/2012-tv-ratings/

http://www.gerweck.net/tv-ratings/2013-ratings/


On to the topic, yes after spending 2011 and 2012 in mid-card, Randy Orton deserves to headline this year's Wrestlemania. Orton has been constantly putting on better performances since last year and his heel promos have also improved a lot over the last few months. Maybe they should have a Triple Threat at Wrestlemania 30 i.e Bryan vs Orton vs Batista instead of one on one.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

No matter what Bryan fans think, Randy Orton was, is ,and will always be a superior performer, athlete, and superstar than him, and no matter how "boring", "bland" or "monotonous and robotic" he may appear on the microphone at times, I'd take him over "YES" and "NO" ******fest.

 

[Dyscord]

WWE has had TV ratings drop in the last hour massively since Summerslam, PPV buys have been down and fans have been vocal about how bad the product is and there are 2 constants over this period, 1. The Authority and 2. Randy Orton. All the blame for bad buy rates was put on Bryan when they need to be put on Orton. As fans have proven in recent weeks they have no interest in Orton revisiting one of his past feud and therefore should not be the 1 facing Batista. It should be Batista vs Bryan in a 1 vs 1 match and have Orton do something else

It's typical WWE logic. When buyrates are bad, blame the guy who ISN'T one of their beloved stars. It's not the problem of the Authority or Creative or Orton. No..it's the guy who's trying to be a rising star.

I really don't mind Orton in the main event. He's been playing heel rather well. Playing second fiddle to the authority hurts him though. Especially since they can't make up their damn minds on if they want to be heel or face.

Personally, Orton vs Bryan would have been a much better main event. Have Bryan beat him decisively on the grandest stage of them all. Send the fans home happy and then move on from there.

 

[Mustang Sally]

....Randy Orton is the most consistent and solid performer the WWE has right now.

This seems to be so, and how nice it is to be able to say it. Of course, we don't know what really goes on behind closed doors except for what is leaked out by often unreliable sources, but it appears Randy has finally matured and earned the trust and respect of WWE management. If it's so, it means he can go about the business of being the world champion (never mind the "face of WWE": stuff.....that's just part of the act) and concentrate on his character and in-ring repertoire instead of trying to extricate himself from another self-induced jam outside the ring.

In the past, Randy would shoot himself in the foot by performing at a superior level, then undoing everything he'd built by trashing a hotel room or ingesting a substance he should have stayed away from. Now, unless the powers-that-be are covering up his misdeeds because they've invested too much in him to have his career derailed again, he seems to be sticking to the straight and narrow......and doing his job better than ever before.

His failures on the mic appear to be in the past; he's performing his on-air role better than he had previously. I don't know whether he deserves to headline WM30; he's still got far less charisma than John Cena and lacks the fan participation program of Daniel Bryan.

Still, as someone who was never particularly a Randy Orton fan in the past, I feel a lot of confidence for his future, sensing that we're now looking at a man instead of a boy.

 

[Dirk]

I genuinely don't get the hate Orton receives from some sections of the crowd.

It's because he's a heel. If you mean "forum", then yeah, I'm with you.

Any time it looks like he's picking up heat Steph and Triple H just take it away from him with their nonsense tweener characters.

This. Tweeners are expensive characters and authority figures are supposed to let the talent shine. Ergo, tweener managers are wrestling cancer.

Instead he'll get a power bomb at the twelve minute mark by a blown up Batista.

Sad, but true...

The crowd will boo the hell out of the two of them throughout the match, they'll chant Daniel Bryan and both guys will look like chumps.

Hopefully they aren't THAT smarky.

Actually typing that out makes me think that Orton has been screwed over more than Bryan throughout this entire debacle.

Yes, he has. But he IS 33 and already a veteran. Nobody but him knows how many years he has left in him or how much longer he wants to be in the business. He's not had bad treatment overall, except maybe when he was sent over to Smackdown to carry the brand when Edge retired. That period wasn't his best booking.

Perhaps Bryan's slow, teasing build will help him achieve longevity, that's all I can think of why he hasn't kept the title for longer than a few days yet.

 

[workhorse]

Wrong.

Ratings have been higher compared to when CM Punk was Champion.

http://www.gerweck.net/tv-ratings/2012-tv-ratings/

http://www.gerweck.net/tv-ratings/2013-ratings/


On to the topic, yes after spending 2011 and 2012 in mid-card, Randy Orton deserves to headline this year's Wrestlemania. Orton has been constantly putting on better performances since last year and his heel promos have also improved a lot over the last few months. Maybe they should have a Triple Threat at Wrestlemania 30 i.e Bryan vs Orton vs Batista instead of one on one.

Wrong.

If you actually average the ratings of the entirety of Punk's reign and feud with The Rock, it's 3.03

The average rating from the RAW after Summerslam, until Hell in a Cell, 2013 - the length of the Orton vs Bryan feud - is 2.78, a 9% decrease.

The average rating over Orton's complete title reign: 2.89

Just for the hell of it, I included Cena's title reign from WrestleMania 29 - Summerslam: Average = 2.98
Only The Rock's title reign has out-rated Punk's 434 day reign. 3.34

So maybe before you rattle of stats, actually analyse them to see if they're correct.

I do however, agree with your last paragraph

 

[ASKane]

Wrong.

Ratings have been higher compared to when CM Punk was Champion.

http://www.gerweck.net/tv-ratings/2012-tv-ratings/

http://www.gerweck.net/tv-ratings/2013-ratings/


On to the topic, yes after spending 2011 and 2012 in mid-card, Randy Orton deserves to headline this year's Wrestlemania. Orton has been constantly putting on better performances since last year and his heel promos have also improved a lot over the last few months. Maybe they should have a Triple Threat at Wrestlemania 30 i.e Bryan vs Orton vs Batista instead of one on one.

I never said the average ratings had dropped I am talking about the drop off of about half a million viewers a week when Raw goes into the final hour and Orton is about to wrestle

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

Wrong.

If you actually average the ratings of the entirety of Punk's reign and feud with The Rock, it's 3.03

The average rating from the RAW after Summerslam, until Hell in a Cell, 2013 - the length of the Orton vs Bryan feud - is 2.78, a 9% decrease.

The average rating over Orton's complete title reign: 2.89

Just for the hell of it, I included Cena's title reign from WrestleMania 29 - Summerslam: Average = 2.98
Only The Rock's title reign has out-rated Punk's 434 day reign. 3.34

So maybe before you rattle of stats, actually analyse them to see if they're correct.

I do however, agree with your last paragraph

Trying to be a smartass I see,... STILL WRONG.

Average ratings are determined yearly not by particular title reigns/time periods.

But if you want to compare both title reigns....

CM Punk won the title at Survivor Series 2011 which means his title reign included the "Wrestemania Season", And during the "Wrestlemania Season" from January to April, ratings are always the highest. If you remove the January to April time period, CM Punk is one of the worst rating drawing champions since 1997.

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/262957-update-1022-raw-draws-lowest-rating-in-15-years

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/265...s-eve-special-draws-lowest-rating-in-15-years

And even if you want to include Wrestlemania season, 2014 has already surpassed 2012 in ratings..

http://www.gerweck.net/tv-ratings/2014-ratings/ whilst Randy Orton's title reign continues.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Ah Nolan, wrong as ussually. Well semiwrong lol

a) been handed everything, because he's friends with Triple H;
b) a douchebag;
c) boring and can't talk;
d) overrated.

Orton is none of that to me. He was always good performer. If anything he is underated...

If it wanst of his own stupidity maybe, just maybe he would really be face of WWE.

So i agree with that part

But the fact of the matter is that regardless of Batista or Daniel Bryan - Randy Orton should have his main event spot guaranteed and, it doesn't seem so as of right now to be the case, with already three clean losses in less than a month and with a high probability that he'll end up fighting Batista one on one, while Daniel Bryan and HHH close the show, or better yet, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker. I just think I should get it out there. It's a disrespect for such a consistent workhorse to not be given an opportunity to close the show and have at least a WrestleMania moment, that isn't a loss to Undertaker or Triple H in a very early stage of his career and in one of the worst booking decisions in the past 10 years respectively.

Nobody in WWE has nothing guaranteed. Cena this year faces off with Bray Wyatt probably. That match would surely not close night and Cena is the real face of WWE regardless what you think of him. No1 guy in company and he would maybe be given semi important match with guy who is on his first Wrestlemania ever. Face of WWE and maybe has to settle with that...

Especially you cant guarantee that match to Orton. Man who despite his ability has almost been fired because of violating company policies. He payed his dues and is maineventing Raw after Raw but still is at one offence away from being fired. And in past he proved that he is not someone you hand over no1 spot. I like him as perforrmer but he is not and will never be no1.

Btw Wrestlemania 24. Gone over against maybe 2 biggest faces in that era. Didnt close the show but had his moments at Mania. And as much as I dont like HHH and his nose and showel storyline wise didnt make sense for Orton to go over in Wrestlemania 25. It was paybeck time after all he did to Mcmahons in storyline. And if the streak was going down he was perfect man to do then. There he could maybe go over but WWE didnt maybe think that far and wanted Streak to live. Which is fine booking decision maybe considering that after that Streak really meant a lot for Manias in future.

Regarding this years Mania: He will mainevent and he did deserved it. Wheather he will go over thats another thing and depends who will be there. Can see him go over Batista, cant see him go over Bryan. But Bryan would be involved with Authority and HHH perhaps so maybe he will not get opportunity at Orton at Mania.

 

[ASKane]

Trying to be a smartass I see....Still WRONG.

CM Punk won the title at Survivor Series 2011 which means his title reign included the "Wrestemania Season", And during the "Wrestlemania season" from January to April, ratings are always the highest. If you remove the January to April time period, CM Punk is one of the worst rating drawing champions since 1997.

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/262957-update-1022-raw-draws-lowest-rating-in-15-years

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/265...s-eve-special-draws-lowest-rating-in-15-years

And even if you want to include Wrestlemania season, 2014 has already surpassed 2012 in ratings..

http://www.gerweck.net/tv-ratings/2014-ratings/ whilst Randy ORton's title reign continues.

Yes but what your forgetting is when CM Punk was champion he was not the main guy it was Cena. When he won the title at Survivor Series it was not the last match up Cena was ahead of him on the card. At Elimination Chamber, Wrestlemania, Extreme Rules, Over the Limit and No Way Out Cena's match was after Punk's which means CM Punk was never in the main event feud Cena and that is probably the main reason his reign didn't draw because they didn't book him as the #1 guy they just booked him as the champion. The only time Punk main evented PPV's during his reign was when he fought Cena or Rock, or Cena wasn't on the card. Orton has been booked as the top guy, his matches are always the end of the PPV and rating and buyrates have declined, Orton is the problem and that's why he doesn't deserve to be in the main event of the Biggest PPV of the year

 

[workhorse]

Trying to be a smartass I see....Still WRONG.

CM Punk won the title at Survivor Series 2011 which means his title reign included the "Wrestemania Season", And during the "Wrestlemania season" from January to April, ratings are always the highest. If you remove the January to April time period, CM Punk is one of the worst rating drawing champions since 1997.

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/262957-update-1022-raw-draws-lowest-rating-in-15-years

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/265...s-eve-special-draws-lowest-rating-in-15-years

And even if you want to include Wrestlemania season, 2014 has already surpassed 2012 in ratings..

http://www.gerweck.net/tv-ratings/2014-ratings/ whilst Randy ORton's title reign continues.

How is it wrong? I used the stats from his whole reign. Should those 'WrestleMania Season' weeks just be removed? Because that period of the year always draws better? HA! You can't just use selective statistics to make your point seem valid. And WrestleMania season is what, 5 weeks old? Yes, the first 5 weeks of 2014 (3.23) has out-rated the first 5 weeks of 2012 (3.14). Put Punk's reign also included the first 5 weeks of the 'WrestleMania season' last year, which rated 3.3. Punk was still champion then. Or does that not count because The Rock was back?

I'm not trying to justify CM Punk's reign as something that was the most popular thing ever - but rather replied to you saying: "Ratings have been higher than when since Punk was champion", to which you then just posted links to a bunch of ratings with no meaning.

 

[Kidpolean]

Yes but what your forgetting is when CM Punk was champion he was not the main guy it was Cena. When he won the title at Survivor Series it was not the last match up Cena was ahead of him on the card. At Elimination Chamber, Wrestlemania, Extreme Rules, Over the Limit and No Way Out Cena's match was after Punk's which means CM Punk was never in the main event feud Cena and that is probably the main reason his reign didn't draw because they didn't book him as the #1 guy they just booked him as the champion. The only time Punk main evented PPV's during his reign was when he fought Cena or Rock, or Cena wasn't on the card. Orton has been booked as the top guy, his matches are always the end of the PPV and rating and buyrates have declined, Orton is the problem and that's why he doesn't deserve to be in the main event of the Biggest PPV of the year

This is the most biased crap ive ever read....

I agree that CM Punk was only the champ and not the top guy during his reign BUT the same can be said for Orton. DB was the TOP guy from Summerslam to HIAC and maybe even up until TLC. DB ended almost every Raw and Smackdown during that time period, main evented every ppv, had more tv time than anyone else on the roster, and was in the top feud even when Cena and Orton started feuding Bryans Feud with Wyatt was still the top booked program and was ending raw and smackdown every week.
You also stated that the only time Punk main evented a ppv was when he faced Rock or Cena. Once again the same can be said for Orton. Orton only has main evented with DB (the true top booked guy in the company during the time) and John Cena.

If you want to make a fair argument than Orton's Reign, where he was the clear NUMBER 1 Guy didnt start until Royal Rumble in my opinion. Wyatt vs DB was still being booked as the top feud going into RR but was put first on the card and this pretty much ended DB's top booking. Orton has really only been the top guy for like 3 weeks IMO.

It is completely unfair to say that those ratings are the result of Orton's title reign when DB was the focal point of Raw and closing out every show on a weekly basis. Orton ha only closed one ppv without DB and that will be no different at EC.

I was there live at TWO raws between Summerslam and TLC and DB main evented both of those. One of which Orton wrestled Christian in the middle of raw, and the other I honestly dont even remember if Orton had a match...that alone should tell you something. AND look at the times for Royal Rumble...DB vs Wyatt was a longer match than Cena vs Orton lol

 

[L@RISANO]

Orton is doing fine. He's gone over Cena and Bryan at PPVs in the last few months. He's going to go over at Elimination Chamber. And he's probably going to drop the belt to Batista at WM30, setting up a Batista/Orton/Bryan Extreme Rules where Bryan goes over in Seattle.

Extreme Rules according to many reports is in New Jersey. The location being Seattle was just a rumour.

On topic: I agree that Orton has gotten the short end of the stick throughout the Authority storyline.

Whilst he has played the role of the whining secondary heel well enough.... if he remains in such a role going into Mania..then as said above, he may well have to undergo another character change if Batista beats him and then turns heel to do a feud with DB.


All that said, my personal opinion is that the likes of Cena, Batista and Orton are still the Prime Main Event talents in the company, but they should never be Main Eventing together. Its been done till death.

 

[H33LTurn]

When you have marks for a certain superstar constantly heaping praise upon them it makes all the more difficult to objectively grade a wrestler's performance and career. Daniel Bryan is great in his own right, hes got good in ring performance and charisma. However, he has not accomplished what Orton has during his tenure with the WWE. Orton's in ring style caters to its own crowd, and is born out of a philosophy that you don't constantly have to perform high risk maneuvers to put on a good match. Its an ideology that Undertaker has voiced approval of, so I would say Randy's in ring work has been more a result of veteran coaching than anything. Remember he's suffered some serious injuries very early on in his career, his style was most likely changed to prolong his career. Its a shame certain very vocal fans only approve of one in ring style, one body type, and one history prior to a WWE career. It severely limits the kind of talent WWE can push and punishes those not capable of putting on a "Daniel Bryan match". Orton is in the latter stages of his career, and he doesn't seem like a guy who's going to stick around any longer than he should. Theres definitively a time for everyone to shine at Wrestlemania and its Orton's time to do so. Daniel Bryan has many more Manias to come, and I'm sure he will main event some of them.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

The problem with Orton(at least for me) is his character is stale. He's pretty much the John Cena on the heel-side of the fence. He's really made no efforts to change anything about himself. He hasn't come up with any new catchphrases, or taglines. He's been running on this Viper thing for so long now that people are just sick of it.

I don't think anybody would deny that Orton is one of the best in-ring talents they have, especially on a ring psychology level. He's shown multiple times in his matches that he can go with the flow and change as the match progresses to fit the fans reaction. He's one of the best heat seekers that WWE has on the active roster. But the recent stinkers he's had with Big Show and John Cena have also done a lot to leave bad tastes in peoples mouths.

I don't have a problem with him going to Mania with the belt, nor do I have a problem with him being in the Main Event. What I have a problem with is the program they've chosen for him which is Batista. I don't understand how Batista gets a Main Event slot, and why they haven't corrected their mistake considering the heat that he's been getting. He's one of the only "babyfaces" I've ever seen that's put a heel through a table like Del Rio, and then got booed for it. People want to see Orton/Batista as a WM Main Event almost as bad as they want to see Orton/Cena for the trillionth time. It's just bad booking that reeks way too much of political agendas as opposed to "what's best for business"... but then again that's just business as usual for that office.

 

[Kris Benwa]

I hate Orton and have for going on 5 years now. I hate him mostly for backstage shit but I also hate his promos after 2008. I'm not one of the people that hate and can't give credit where it's due though. Randy Orton is an amazing in ring competitor to say the least but the fact of the matter is he shouldn't main event WrestleMania because not very many of the fans want him to. I'm of the mindset that also Randy Orton doesn't draw and Batista vs Orton wouldn't draw in a WM crowd without it being well WM. To me Orton's best days as a character are behind him, no one wants to see him in the main event, and quite frankly, I don't think he'll have a classic match worthy of closing WrestleMania XXX. I think the main event should be Cena vs Bryan 2. That match was better than any of 10 Bryan and Orton had AND any of 50 Cena and Orton had. If they don't want have to Cena take the pinfall because I assume he will to Reigns next year then they could make it a triple threat and still have Orton in there. I know I personally don't like Randy Orton do think he's boring and can't talk and is a doucebag. Also don't think he should main event WrestleMania unless it's with Bryan and/or Cena. Orton is just a guy many people aren't interested in seeing anymore especially as champ and especially in the Main Event of WrestleMania.

 

[laodaron]

Why do people continue to insist that Orton will close WM30? When was the last time that the Title Match was the closing Main Event? He'll be in the upper mid-card with Bootista. Where they both belong currently.

 

[Blade]

You should be careful when throwing around words like "deserve" when it comes to pro wrestling. What determines someone as successful in wrestling is vague and arguable. What determines someone as deserving is even more so.

Should it be the guy who's consistent and hard-working? Maybe. Or should be the guy who managed to get himself over in a way we haven't seen in years? Or the top draw, who works his ass off just as much as Orton if not more?

We can all say who we like and dislike, and who we want and don't want to headline Wrestlemania. But everyone is going to have their own opinion of who should be deserving. I think Bryan, Orton, Cena and (before he walked out) Punk are all deserving. I mean, Bryan has gone from strength to strength as the hottest guy on the roster, Cena has given so much of himself to the company, and Punk carried WWE for the last couple of years when Cena was injured, or in crappy feuds with Kane while waiting to face the Rock.

Deserving means a lot of things to a lot of people, and I don't think Orton should be singled out when Bryan, Cena and pre-walk out Punk are deserving in their own ways.

Also, anyone but Batista.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Deserves is relative. Yes, Orton works hard, and he has a great look for the WWE, and he has been rewarded numerous times with the title and the Main Event spot at WrestleMania. I also think he should be defending the title at WrestleMania this year. But the business isn't strictly about how hard guys worked...it's also about crowd reaction.

Now, I will say this...Orton gets a good crowd reaction depending who he is pared with. I think fans genuinely like to see him perform in the ring. As a heel, he'd get massive heat when wrestling someone new. What he won't get is massive heat wrestling somebody that he's wrestled a bajillion times in the past.

He certainly won't get heat wrestling Batista. The problem is that the WWE is sometimes too accustomed to being able to manipulate an audience. Right now, their audience is rebelling to their chosen direction, and they are having to pivot. I think Orton's still a big part of the storyline.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've never disliked Randy Orton. He's another guy that's gotten a lot of hate that's been undeserved, in my opinion. For most guys who've made it to the main event scene consistently in the last 10 years, they're liked until they get there, but then some fans turn on them. It's understandable in some instances, and I also understand that nobody can appeal to everybody. I don't know if Orton's an ass in real life or not, but he's able to get into the ring and deliver whenever he's out there. I'd say that's why he wasn't fired a long time ago.

However, at the same time, I also understand the sentiment that people are just flat out bored with Randy Orton. For me, it's not a put down of Orton's ability or his consistency, it's just that he's been at the top for such an extended period of time and we've seen him so consistently feud with the other top names in the company that it's gotten dull. I'm not saying that Orton should be just flat out dumped by the wayside because, as has been pointed out, he's among the most consistent guys on the WWE roster and has been for a very long time. Consistency is definitely something you want from top level guys. Because of such consistency, I can certainly understand the notion that he deserves the spot he's in and has had. As someone else said, what someone "deserves" is subjective. Guys like Orton & Cena have almost always delivered, just like they did on Raw last night. It doesn't mean that people are wrong for feeling bored with them after the better part of a decade on top of the mountain, but it does mean they deserve to be there.

If Daniel Bryan's popularity had just suddenly blossomed out of nowhere, he'd come off as a flavor of the month and such a sentiment could be understood. You just don't elevate a flavor of the month at the expense of your top guys for the sake of an experiment, that's simply now how it's done. Daniel Bryan, however, is not a flavor of the month. He's someone who's popularity as either a heel or babyface has been consistently growing for more than 2 years now. If he was a flash in the pan or flavor of the month, fans would've stopped ultimately caring about him a very, very long time ago. Whenever WWE has given Bryan the metaphorical ball, he's ran with it and made the most of it. Inside the ring, he's easily among the top guys in wrestling and has been for a very long time. As far as his personality goes, he's likeable. He's not over the top dynamic like The Rock , but he comes off as a genuinely likeable fella that "real people" can identify with in some ways. Ever been told that you can't do something for one reason or another? Because you're not tall enough, not "pretty" enough, not "handsome" enough, not muscular enough, etc.? Most people have at one point, including Bryan both in real life and as part of wrestling storylines. What do fans see? They see this guy that's been told he doesn't have what it takes not only proving the doubters wrong, but they see him proving them wrong while doing what he does, arguably, better than anyone else going right now. People love a good underdog story and they love it when underdogs make it. Will fans turn on Bryan if he makes it to that level? Who knows? But that's something Bryan'll have to deal with later on down the line. Fans like him for what he can do in the ring, they like him for who he seems to be as a person and they like him because he's genuinely passionate for wrestling.