Should Randy Orton Remain With "The Viper" Gimmick?

[CM Steel]

For a few years now Randy Orton has been dubbed by Michael Cole (of all people) "The Viper", which is a snake. Alot of wrestler's from over the years have been using some sort of snake gimmick to their charactor's.


1970's: John Tolos & The Original Sheik
1980's: Jake 'The Snake" Roberts
1990's: Stone Cold Steve Austin
Now: Randy Orton

2 out of 4 of those men are now WWE hall of famers. For the past ten years now we've seen the evolution of Randy Orton. From being the "Legend Killer", to the "Apex Predator", following with being "the Viper".

Should Randy Orton remain with the snake gimmick unti'l the end of his career? And will it be enough to one day get him over into the WWE hall of fame?

 

[Rckstrtmmy]

For a few years now Randy Orton has been dubbed by Michael Cole (of all people) "The Viper", which is a snake. Alot of wrestler's from over the years have been using some sort of snake gimmick to their charactor's.


1970's: John Tolos & The Original Sheik
1980's: Jake 'The Snake" Roberts
1990's: Stone Cold Steve Austin
Now: Randy Orton

2 out of 4 of those men are now WWE hall of famers. For the past ten years now we've seen the evolution of Randy Orton. From being the "Legend Killer", to the "8-Pexxed Predator", following with being "the Viper".

Should Randy Orton remain with the snake gimmick unti'l the end of his career? And will it be enough to one day get him over into the WWE hall of fame?

Yes the Viper is an awesome nickname and it fits Orton perfectly. Based on his actions, motions in the ring, etc. the Viper suits him well and he'll prolly finish his career with it. I don't know what the fuck an "8-Pexxed" predator is but Orton is the APEX Predator...meaning he's the best predator out there. That's one of the stupidest mistakes I've seen on here. I want you to go ahead and tell me what an 8-Pexxed anything is...Don't worry I'll wait. Also, your punctuation is all sorts of fucked up.

 

[CM Steel]

Yes the Viper is an awesome nickname and it fits Orton perfectly. Based on his actions, motions in the ring, etc. the Viper suits him well and he'll prolly finish his career with it. I don't know what the fuck an "8-Pexxed" predator is but Orton is the APEX Predator...meaning he's the best predator out there. That's one of the stupidest mistakes I've seen on here. I want you to go ahead and tell me what an 8-Pexxed anything is...Don't worry I'll wait. Also, your punctuation is all sorts of fucked up.

My bad about the "Apex Predator" typo. I must have read it wrong somewhere. Shit happens!

But Randy Orton is both 'the Viper" & "the Apex Predator". Steve Austin had both "Stone Cold" & "the Rattlesnake" nicknames at one time. But you get what I mean bub.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

Randy Orton is a 9 time World Champion. Its pretty obvious he is a sure Hall of Famer no matter what gimmick he uses. His Viper gimmick needs a change as he can't cut promos and has a limited moveset with that gimmick.

Orton can't cut promos like this anymore with "The Viper" gimmick

[YOUTUBE]lcTYZUX4TQo[/YOUTUBE]

Maybe he should combine the Legend Killer and the Viper gimmick.

 

[Shotaro]

It works for his current gimmick, but IMO he needs a tweak and if he stops being snake like in the way he pounces for an RKO he should change his nickname

 

[Aquaman6686]

Orton is terrible with the Viper gimmick. At times it's downright goofy, like roughly a year ago when he was actually hissing at people. It makes him look like an idiot. Two years ago at this time Orton was white-hot and was on his way to becoming a true megastar. Now he's like a pale shadow of his former self.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Whether or not Orton sticks with the viper gimmick wont be the determining factor as to his induction to the Hall of Fame. The guy is a 3rd generation wrestler, one of the youngest WWE champs, one of the key faces in the current era, multi-time champion and a draw to boot. He's done enough to get there as it is regardless of gimmick.

His gimmick is working for him, so there is no need for it to change. It somewhat covers his shortcomings on the microphone as the selling point of the gimmick is his calculated movements, physical tics and not running down opponents on the mic ala Cena and Punk.

Should he stick with it for the rest of his career? If he and WWE wanted to, there's no reason why he shouldn't. I think he may have one more change before he retires, but he doesn't need to.

 

[Krossbreed]

randy is very stale as the viper...he and cena both in the same boat... but randy however got lost in the crowd,,,he needs to go heel and complain about everything then go back to raw.

 

[ECW Dan Selby]

It's all fine. It's all renouned and well known by now.

He just needs to up his mic game, whether that means injecting a little more emotion, a little more tone, or his actual content. His whole movement as 'The Viper' is fantastic and unique.

Even by Randy's own self-admittance, he needs to improve his promo.

 

[Nick Black]

Fact is, Randy gets done what he needs to get done. He's still intimidating in the ring and maintains heat (now facetime). Regardless of the fact that his promos were much better as the "Legend Killer", the kids nowadays know him as the Babyface Viper.

Personally, I'd love to see him revert to his Legend Killer status and take out a few oldies just to add to the list, and it certainly wouldn't hurt to do that. The "Viper" gimmick is still working for him, just not for some of us.

 

[Dmbfantomas]

He should jump in the air and touch his toes after every semi-significant move. That was by far the most interesting thing he has done in the past 3 years, and I think he's one of the best ever.

As for the Viper gimmick, it's pretty much run its course. They need something fresher for him.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Randy Orton is more over now than he's probably ever been. Whenever Orton's music hits, whenever he gives an interview, whenever he builds offense inside the ring and just the slightest movement of his head or change in his facial expression causes the live crowds to erupt wherever he goes. The Viper personality seems to fit Orton well. A viper is a cold, calculating, merciless predator and Orton pulls that off extremely well.

What they're doing with Orton's character is obviously working and has been working for a long while now. I see no reason to tinker with a formula that's obviously doing everything that WWE officials could hope for. If Orton can stay at the level he's at for the rest of his career as The Viper, there's no need to change his gimmick. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Orton should stay in the character he has now. The Viper fits him extremely well and he is good at pulling it off with his mannerisms in the ring as well as promos. I can understand if people miss his days as The Legend Killer, but he is a face right now and WWE would be making a mistake to turn him heel again when he is generating great reactions from fans as a face. People like him and the reactions to the RKO alone are excellent. The days of his heel personas are gone for now. He is still doing a great job of entertaining when he gets out there and The Viper is what he should remain as for the time being. Why change it when it's working out fine?

While another heel turn may lead to a character change in the future, I can see Orton remaining as The Viper in face form until he enters the Hall of Fame many years from now. He is a 9 time World Champion, a Tag Team Champion, an Intercontinental Champion, and has won the Royal Rumble. That list of accomplishments alone would get Orton to legend status in the future, regardless of whether he reverts to his heel persona again or not. The Viper gimmick is a perfect fit for him and he should stay in it for now because there's no reason for him to not remain in it unless he suddenly stopped getting any reactions from fans.

 

[BigRedMachine88]

I don't think he should lose the viper gimmick in ring, it works well for him, but i do think his characters gone a little stale. Problem is WWE needed a big babayface to replace Edge a year ago, and Orton was the solution, but the viper gimmick doesn't suit a babyface. He needs to be a loner, neither a face or a heel. And he needs to be unpredictable, just RKO people for no reason, a little sadistic and twisted. Then it would work.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Fact is, Randy gets done what he needs to get done. He's still intimidating in the ring and maintains heat (now facetime). Regardless of the fact that his promos were much better as the "Legend Killer", the kids nowadays know him as the Babyface Viper.

Personally, I'd love to see him revert to his Legend Killer status and take out a few oldies just to add to the list, and it certainly wouldn't hurt to do that. The "Viper" gimmick is still working for him, just not for some of us.

See the thing about his Legend Killer gimmick is that it worked best when he was an up-and-comer who was making his name by taking out legends like Hogan and Foley. Hogan is the face of wrestling and Foley is the hardcore legend. Orton taking them out and then standing up to Evolution (read Flair and HHH) did him a lot of good in the eyes of the fans. Perhaps the Evolution/Champion storyline wasn't as strong as it could have been, but hindsight is 20/20.

Orton is now seen as a leader of the locker room for Smackdown, going someway to filling the leader void left by 'Taker. He's one of the elder statesmen of the full-time roster and has a target on his back, even if he isn't champion. To get a win over Orton, or even be in a prolonged program with him can serve a superstar well.
My point being, Orton is now closer to being a legend than he is being a legend killer. While many would like to see him take on Austin or perhaps Taker, it wouldn't be in the same manner as it perhaps would have been when he was the legend killer, but more of a special attraction.

 

[playmaker21]

Orton has to be a heel. He is just boring as Hell as a babyface. And even worse as a tweener. Personally I don't like Randy Orton. I think he is vastly over rated and one of the biggest assholes in an industry full of assholes.

 

[Dmbfantomas]

Orton has to be a heel. He is just boring as Hell as a babyface. And even worse as a tweener. Personally I don't like Randy Orton. I think he is vastly over rated and one of the biggest assholes in an industry full of assholes.

Orton, before he cleaned himself up and started a family, was a legendary asshole. He's apparently a really awesome guy right now. I do love that people villify Orton for being an asshole, but give HBK a total pass for being 1,000 times worse.

Anyway, I don't like the Orton is overrated talk, but I understand it. We're living through his tenure now, as opposed to looking back on it lovingly. In 15 years, I really wouldn't be shocked if Orton goes down as a top 10, maybe even a top 5 guy.

 

[RicSpade]

Honestly I think its the best one to fit him, I am honestly sick of wrestlers now-a-days getting 1000 nicknames, Apex predator, Legend Killer, Viper. Triple H with Cerebral Assassin, King of Kings, The Game. I mean honestly I understand you have to find something that fits, but I mean c'mon Orton finally found one that works, so if its not broke don't fix it

 

[Headman]

He needs to go back to having orgasms in the ring after hurting people. That was creepy as hell, wasn't it? But it sure made him stand out. Not that Orton needs help standing out. As long as they keep him bat shit crazy he'll be fine.

 

[AwesomeRko]

I'm a massive fan of Randy Orton, I think he is the total package. Having said that I always preferred the Legend-Killer gimmick to the viper, it enabled him to express more of his own personality and actually cut a really good promo and as a previous poster mentioned was pretty much just an extension of his true self.

I think the Viper thing is reaching the point now where it is getting kind of stale, they need to develop it slightly to a point where he can be cocky but maintains the crazy, sadistic streak which has characterized his dominance over the past few years. I thought they were doing that to an extent a few months back when he was performing Ziggleresque acrobatics in the ring, jumping and touching his toes etc during matches but they seem to have reverted back to the cold Viper character again.

I think within the next year we will see a definite devlopment and progression in his character. He is still a definite hall of famer regardless though and will be remembered in wrestlings all time top 15 at least in the future I would think.

 

[theBec2101]

i dont really think the viper is a gimmick. I think it was a nick name. Jake the Snake Roberts came down to the ring as Jake the snake Roberts. Orton doesnt come down with snake design outfits or accessories. It was just noted that he stricks fast and out of no-where. Its far from a gimmick.

 

[Arsenal]

I highly prefer the "Legend Killer" gimmick. His promos and his overall personality were much more interesting back then. The natural transition would have been from a heel "Legend Killer" to a face "Living Legend" gimmick, allowing him to keep a similar personality but as a face. He just doesn't have enough personality as a face "Viper" with his boring monotone promos. To me he is highly overrated, and the biggest reason he's accumulated so many accolades is because the roster is weak. He's a big fish in a small pond. He would be a midcarder back in the Attitude era or the Golden era.

But apparently people like him so I don't expect them to change his gimmick/persona anytime soon.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I don't see it as much of a gimmick. I think it's him, with the volume cranked up. I could be wrong, seeing I don't know the man, but that's my impression.

And no, he shouldn't change. I realize we have a few thousand internet dopes who hatez the guy 'cuz he wentz face, but none of them matter.

Along with Taker and CM Punk, he's the most over guy they have. There really is no reason to change the character. Give him some more mic time, write some interesting shit for him to do, and take off the leash. Those are the only alterations I see as necessary.

 

[Davi323]

I don't know about the rest of his career, but a "Viper" is a pretty good description of what he does. It's fitting. Until it stops fitting his persona, why would they change it? When I think of a viper, I think of an ill-tempered snake who will bite anyone if given the chance. We have seen Randy Orton take out anyone, face or heel if they stood in his way. Randy Orton will do anything to win, betray allies, cheat, doesn't matter. calling him the Viper still seems appropriate.

 

[sweetvarunn]

Yes it suits him.... but he needs to be more aggresive IMO. He is becoming new cena i do not want people to boo him just for being hlthe same everytime.. he is a good wrestler i am not sure if its his current storyline or what. I would like to see him in a good feud like it was with legacy or nexus. He looks good fighting with more than 1 guy at the same time.