What are they doing with Orton?

[Hard Hit Prince]

​

Randy Orton is at least what it appears like, with yet another injury thanks to Tribute to The Troops tapings, but before that he wasn't doing anything relevant, in fact he didn't do anything worth watching for about a year now. I mean he had great matches, he put some younger guys over but his rivalries were just plain and simply boring and repetitive. That created the idea that Randy Orton started to go bland and that he is boring, but the truth is that his storylines can't be any worse. It's always the same thing, some heel wants to tear The Viper apart, he ends up winning the feud while losing some matches, WWE then books a lot of that same matches over and over again on SmackDown and on Raw. If you remember, Wade Barrett vs. Randy Orton was something somehow cool in the beginning of the year, by the end of 2012 I've seen them face of so many times that I just gave up. In a whole calendar year, Randy Orton had probably three in-ring promos to talk about his rivalries with the likes of Kane or Alberto Del Rio, his character didn't even changed a bit, his responses was always the same "I'm going to win after a RKO" (The idea is always that).

And that... just makes me think about what it's going to be his future, because I mean we are talking about Randy Orton, a nine time world heavyweight champion with 31 years. He's the same age as Dolph Ziggler, and he is one of the best athletes the WWE has. The guy was the future of the company 10 years ago, and 10 years later the guy can still be considered the future.

Now I know he was suspended last year for some non prescription painkillers or something like that, and he was punished, he lost cleanly to Alberto Del Rio via submission, he lost clean to the Big Show on Main Event, he lost clean to Dolph Ziggler. Hell he lost this year to Kane at WrestleMania and nothing seems to go in his favor and for a guy that was easily the second biggest draw of the company back in WrestleMania 27 it has to be somehow a pretty stupid downfall.

Some of you will applaud that position by the WWE, by reasons like he's a big asshole or that he is a drug addict and accuse him for being boring and some crap like that. But I'd rather have an asshole running SmackDown than having to pay attention to Sheamus unidimensional character that is more stale than Lawler's jokes. I mean Sheamus is pretty much the face of SmackDown, he has the personal rivalries and the ones that they push over and over (and we still don't care in the midst of two big matches that Raw always ends up booking for the PPV)

So what you think that killed Orton's mystique?
The fact that SmackDown lost relevancy helped his depush?
Do you think that he will be on top again? If so, how?

 

[Nate DaMac]

I think the fact that he now has 2 Wellness Policy violations is holding him down. He's made himself a liability. They don't want to put the title on him or push him too hard for fear that his dumbass will inexplicably start roiding up again.

It's his own damn fault.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

So what you think that killed Orton's mystique?
The fact that SmackDown lost relevancy helped his depush?
Do you think that he will be on top again? If so, how?[/FONT]

1) I think his being so injury prone and missing so much time is the main reason his mystique was killed. Also the fact that sometimes it seems like his attitude is just piss poor and his is just coasting along instead of putting in the real effort that he can. I also think this is in part due to the fact that he is not happy with the role of the face character that he has been performing for the last few years.

2) I don't think this has anything to do with. There are really not separate brands anymore and Randy Orton has been on RAW just as much as anyone else. Hell some of the Smackdown guys get even more exposure by being on RAW and Smackdown when some of the RAW guys are only on RAW and never on Smackdown. So no I don't think this at all effected Orton or his push.

3) I think if he goes back to being a heel and that some of the other guys that WWE is not currently behind like Ziggler and Ryback fail to succeed then yeah I could see Orton on top again. If he continues to get hurt and miss tons of in ring and TV time and other young guys continue to surpass him then no he best days are behind him and he will just be an upper mid card guy at best.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Orton can still go in the ring, he's still one of WWE's top performers, and he can still bring a good reaction out of the crowd. But the wellness violations raise some serious red flags, and we've all heard about the numerous reports of Randy being head case/dick backstage. I can still remember the reports of a "hostile" meeting between Orton, Vince, and HHH not too long ago. On top of that, he has the injury prone problem.

You have to face facts, Orton is someone, who has a lot of baggage right now. WWE isn't going to take the risk of pushing him hard and throwing a world title on him anytime soon, because it might blow up in their faces.

There's always the chance of Orton going down the right path again, but how long is he going to stay there? Orton still has a lot to offer, and watching him participate in a nowhere feud with Del Rio might be frustrating, because we all know Orton can do better. Hell, just last year we all watched him put on a series of five star matches with Christian. But you can't ignore the track record of incidents he's built up over the years. Randy might come out of "time out" mode in the future, but it's not going happen anytime soon.

 

[XXJJ]

2012 was just a lost year for him. He got hurt at the beginning, got suspended and then came back and left to shoot a WWE film and was placed in some filler feuds.

The two strikes is whats holding him back right now. I'm sure they are a little worried about placing him in top storylines. I guess if he proves to them that he wont screw up again they will ending up putting him back into top feuds. He is still one of the most popular current wrestlers.

 

[TM Punk]

Its pretty clear as stated above that Randy Orton is in the dog house. Im sure he'll be fine once he gains back a little trust. I know its a little bit of a conspiracy thoery, bu I always wondered if the "herniated disk" injury was a cover for a failed drug test. It just seems weird that he was injured, came back for elimination chamber. Then whoops, not healed yet. Back in time for wrestlemania. And then a few short months later he's popped with the real suspention. Just a theory i know, but it makes sense.
He'll turn heel. He'll dominate either Raw or Smackdown and win two or three more titles. And we'll complain because of it. Thats usually how it goes, right?

 

[Jerichoholic8894]

Randy Orton is the Terrell Owens of Pro Wrestling (Ignoring the fact T.O. can't find work).

For as much talent as Orton brings to the table, comes an equal amount of baggage in the form of Wellness strikes and injuries.

Vince probably will be very hesitant to push Orton anymore due to those two facts, same goes for Jeff Hardy if he were ever to return to the WWE.

In the mind of anyone in the spot Vince is in, baggage will override the talent all 7 days of the week.

 

[Slash-LN]

I wonder who he's going to blame for the injury this time?

As others have said. It's hard to put stock in a guy that has violated the wellness policy twice and has had multiple injuries.

I don't really know what his personality is like backstage because I've heard stuff about him sticking up for guys in the back but I've also heard a lot of negative stuff. Randy most likely is in the position he is in because he put himself in that position.

From what I've read he was moved to Smackdown to help boost ratings and be the face of the show but things kept happening so Sheamus ended up taking that spot. I don't think being on Smackdown hurt him in any way.

He can potentially be on top again if he shows himself to be a good worker both on and off screen and if he can stay healthy. He's still a popular wrestler and that never hurts.

 

[sanefan_har]

Here's my take on the post 'Legacy' Randy Orton:
1. Apart from the feuds with Christian and Mark Henry, Randy Orton as a face has been bland as hell.
2. Has Two wellness policy violations.
3. Very much Injury Prone.
4. Filler Feuds rather than legitimate ones. The past 2 Wrestle-manias featured feuds that were story-line wise because of something that happened on an archived episode of Smack-down.
5. Randy has expressed his displeasure as being a face. If you remember, many IWC marks thought it would be cool to cheer Randy Orton. Plus the girls loved him and he was forced to turn face rather than build up to a proper turn.

He can always go back to the top if he's given some creative control. But with the wellness violations to his name, he'll be in the doghouse for a while, with a few wins here and there because he's a nine time champion.

 

[Pedigree1]

Its kinda his own fault! The Wellness Policy has seriously crippled him in such a big way. Randy cant really get any momentum behind hi,due to the fact that his violations are such a handicap

Yes he is injury prone. But Randy can go in the ring that man can tell a story like no other. He is ultra talented(If your gonna build a wrestler from scratch you want him to be Randy Orton). If Orton can stay clean and not roid up then i can see him holding the title! The E is i think making Randy evaluate his own demons his has. He is one strike away from being gone for good. I know the E wants to build Randy to a main event status its just everytime Randy gets a little momentum behind him the wellness policy bites him in the arse

 

[Dirk]

Most things I've heard about Orton is quite shitty (case in point: Kelly Kelly's gymbag). I really want to dislike this scumbag, but dammit, he's talented!

He got the loudest pop on Team Foley at SS and he played his loner, tweener face role perfectly. Before that he was a bit bland, though, showing no real emotion in his matches.

If Orton taking the top spot on SD means we get to see less of Sheamus, I'm all for it.

Orton sells very well, his ring-psychology is great and he's not bad on the stick. The fact that he's still as over as he is, despite booking just floundering him around for about a year, says something about him as a top-tier guy.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Yea, same as the rest. Cant make a calendar year without getting hurt, and one strike away from seeing is they will ACTUALLY fire somone over the wellness policy.

Zero point into putting any sort of heavy investment into a guy with so much liability about him, given those factors.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It's a mix of the wellness violations, injury prone-ness and his general attitude coming back to haunt him.

This is a guy who, when he was on top was not a "team player", he got Kennedy fired and a bad rep around the company only to get in trouble himself to the point where one more even small slip on wellness and Vince has to fire him.

A lot of people think the Shield will catch heat for this, but putting people through tables is a risky situation... Ryback got none for Punk so they won't for Orton, it wasn't like they botched moves in the ring on him.

The reality is that Orton in his current position is almost worthless as a draw, you can't get behind him past upper mid in case he breaches and you have to 3 strike him, you can't put him over emerging talent as WWE clearly needs new stars and he is always getting hurt anyway, so you are paying a stupidly long contract for a guy who spends most of his time on the shelf anyway (like with Rey).

Best thing they could do IS release Orton for a year, on the understanding that when he is in shape they can re-hire. Make the fans actually want him back.

 

[Boourns]

An injury was oddly enough exactly what Orton needed right now. He has grown stale over the past year or so and there would be nothing better for him than to go away, have stuff written for him and return as a heel at a crucial moment so, he gets a great pop and a feud as soon as he returns. Orton as a heel vs The Miz or Ryback is probably what they'll end up going with though.

 

[FarFromFine]

^^Couldn't agree more. This injury came at a perfect time for him. He needs to go away for a while then come back as a heel. He currently gets one of the biggest pops when he comes out and, although he has lost plenty of matches this year, he still feels like a threat to beat anyone he is up against. He needs to come back and start RKOing people for no reason, slapping fans drinks out of their hands, stabbing people in the back, and punishing people. Or let Mark Henry make his return in that fashion and let Randy keep on keeping the doghouse warm. Hate to get off topic but I really hope they give Mark Henry a big push when he comes back. I'd love to see Ziggler beat Cena then later in the night have Show get destroyed by Henry leading to a Sheamus win, Ziggler cash it in to steal the title, and have Show vs Henry (who put on some really solid matches last year) and Ziggler vs Sheamus at Royal Rumble.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I really wanted to come in here and throw a curve ball; blame Orton's current rut on his lack of enthusiasm and his inability to perform. That'd really be an "It was me, Austin!" moment from the guy who's defended Orton to the point that Orton has, well, deserved to be defended. Orton gets undue criticism from people who don't understand what it means to portray a character. Unfortunately, Orton underperforming isn't the problem, at least not primarily, and everybody seems to have found the truth before I even got to come in here and discover how wrong I was. Oh dear.

I don't buy that Orton's grown stale, and I think Orton's as wrong as anybody else who thinks he needs to turn heel. Maybe I'm just cynical because "He's grown stale! He needs to turn heel!" seems to be the default response to, um, anything.

What Orton needs is a good feud, a good opponent and some good writing. No duh. He doesn't have to challenge for the world title or win the Royal Rumble. If the powers that be want to keep him in the midcard, that's fine - sensible even. Just try to find him something good. The fantastic feuds and matches Orton had in 2011 (with Christian and Mark Henry) surely, surely can't have been dependent on them involving the world title. Maybe, however, they were dependent on how much time they were given and how much time was spent developing them. So that could be a problem. Is such little time spent on WWE's midcard that even Randy Orton can't flourish there?

Alternatively, fuck it, ten years and nine world championships was a good run, wasn't it?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

There are a couple of issues with Randy Orton going on, some of which are his fault and some of which is the fault of WWE itself.

Allegedly, Orton has a snotty attitude that causes some problems backstage. But, just like in every other aspect of life, Orton is given special treatment because, let's face it, he's a very talented guy that delivers for the WWE. If Orton was a star for any sports team or if he was some hotshot on Wall Street, whomever he worked for would make certain allowances for him. Orton's attitude has gotten so out of hand in the past that he was suspended. I forget the details but I think it had something to do with the Divas. Not all that long ago, while doing an interview on radio, Orton pretty much openly called Kelly Kelly a **** by saying she'd been with half the locker room. He was forced to apologize for his comment. Then, as others have said, there's the Wellness Policy violations. The fact that Orton has been where he is in WWE for so long and would be willing to thumb his nose at the policy shocked a lot of people, especially WWE officials. According to reports, there were some high ranking officials in favor of firing Orton over this. If I had to guess, the Wellness Policy violation, the second one, may have been the latest flare up in a line of Orton's alleged asshole nature.

I think another major problem for Orton is, generally speaking, there's nothing really left for him to do and nowhere for him to go in WWE. Since he first showed up in WWE, he's been bred for success. He was paired up with Evolution soon after his arrival before embarking on what's been a HOF career. Orton's a former IC champ, the second longest reigning IC champ since Mr. Perfect's 2nd run in late 1990, former tag team champ with Edge and he's been a 9 time World Champion in WWE. The problem with this is that all of this happened before Randy Orton was 30 years old. Orton is only 32 with nowhere to go. Orton is someone that can still deliver great matches and great reactions from fans, but there are other guys coming up in WWE that are fresher and could be huge names. All the members of The Shield are only in their mid-20s, Cody Rhodes is only 27, Daniel Bryan, Antonio Cesaro, Damien Sandow are both in their very early 30s, CM Punk's just 34, Kofi Kingston is 31, Wade Barrett's 32, etc. These are all guys who're hot in WWE right now and the idea of any of them getting pushed ahead of Orton, frankly, feels like a fresh idea. Not saying that they'd ultimately be better than Orton, but WWE hasn't pushed these guys to the moon with the same frequent fervor as Orton. I think WWE made a mistake in pushing Orton so hard, so consistently and so fast to the main event level because he's simply got nowhere to go. Having Orton go heel, however, could add some needed spark to his career.

Orton is also someone that seems to be becoming fairly injury prone. It seems that whenever you turn around, Orton is getting hurt these days. I know it can happen to anyone but it happens frequently to Orton. Even though he's a young man, the wear & tear of the road might be catching him.

If Orton ever left WWE, he could always go to TNA but, all in all, it'd be a step down for him. Besides that, it wouldn't be long before Orton got to the main event scene in TNA and that'd rub a lot of fans raw.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Do you think that he will be on top again? If so, how?

Time. Right now, WWE and Randy Orton are caught in a vortex. It's a day-to-day thing whether he can be depended on or not. Compare it to John Cena; the company can put all their resources behind him, knowing he'll be there to do everything they need him to do, from his ring appearances to Make-a-Wish. Some of you may choose to "hate" Cena, but the company loves him, and with good reason.

Orton? They just don't know. He'll go on and on, doing what he's supposed to do.....and then he'll pull some stunt. We know of the few that have been bad enough they needed to be reported, but who knows how much he really gets into? For all we know, they've got people riding herd on Orton, keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn't get in hot water. It's the only way; if the company invests big-time in him and he goes on another hotel-trashing rampage, they have to stop the push and it costs them.

Yes, Randy isn't that dynamic a character, but his ring skills and countenance are excellent and he's capable of heading Smackdown, even while not being overly inspiring on the mic or in storylines.

What does it take to regain the full trust of management? Again....time. As it passes, he'll work his way up to the point where the company gets behind him again in a big way.

Hell, everybody matures after a time.

Then again, sometimes they don't.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

I know Randy Orton has allegedly an asshole attitude in the backstage, but for more than once guys like John Cena, CM Punk or Sheamus also reveals their flaws - I mean CM Punk is pretty much a self-centered man and a jerk if I have to believe the latest reports and the fact that he punched a fan in the face. Cena had some pretty bad stuff leaked with Riley, Tarver, Tyler Reks and Kenny going on Twitter about him in the backstage and Sheamus back in his FCW days actually threat Yoshi Tatsu to the point that the poor guy had to kick Sheamus's ass in a real fight - so they all have shitty attitudes and are all a bunch of whiners when their ass is on fire. Orton was suspended, much like Rey Mysterio, for painkillers, because you know, they actually get hurt in the ring and the medicine was also being taken by Rhodes and by Ezekiel Jackson at the time, the only problem is that Orton had the pills without prescription, that doesn't make him an asshole of some sort.

However I get the point, two strikes, one more and he is out for a year as I recall reading. No, they won't fire him. But that is things that you can control, I mean Orton is a smart guy, he is a father and he is around long enough to see guys come and leave the business and ruin their careers. The fact that we all had to endure Sheamus's endless rivalry with Alberto Del Rio and with The Big Show now is just turning SmackDown off for me, and not just for me, because I pretty much recall SmackDown being always on their 2.0 ratings when Christian and Orton were battling for the World Championship, and now they can't even get a 2.0.

Another point that I've seen is that he's done it all to young... Well I CANT see a problem in that, because that means he is/was a big draw young and if I had a company I would invest in someone that has proved more than once to be a relevant factor when it comes to draw ratings, crowds and money. Also I am fan and I could make Orton interesting by giving him any program that was worth watching, because c'mon Orton x Del Rio started because Orton RKO'ed him in a SmackDown show, in the same night Del Rio attacked Orton and proclaimed himself as the new apex predator and that's it. That gave us two PPV matches, probably four television matches over on Raw, Main Event and Smackdown. I am pretty sure that Kofi Kingston vs. Miz had a week build and came out a better storyline for a match at Main Event, and even better for the PPV.

I also read that the fact that he was changed to SmackDown didn't hurt him because he appears on Raw every week. While that may be true, the only thing Orton does at Raw is fight some already done match and leave. He does not speak or cuts promos, he does not develop his character nor he develops storylines, he just goes out there and have probably the best match of the night day in day out. For internet fans you'all should remember his work with the microphone in his early days at Evolution, and in 2009 with Legacy, he was great and also a believable heel, everybody was in his side and he turned face because of that (much like CM Punk at MITB 2011) so two years after, he just forgot how to be interesting? That doesn't make no sense.

I'm also one of the guys that feel that Orton is a great babyface and a phenomenal heel and he can still offer a lot as a babyface, I for once can't believe the fact that we did not have a CM Punk vs. Orton for the WWE Championship. Orton was also scheduled to work with Brock Lesnar, that didn't happen, we haven't seen Orton vs. Sheamus as it was reported too and Miz was lost before Raw 1000 and Orton could very well be a great opponent for him in a good logical rivalry. I expect a better 2013 for him, the fact that he isn't even considered for a big match at Mania while the likes of John Cena and CM Punk are, just shows how hard he fall, two years ago everybody would be crazy for the idea of having The Rock vs. Randy Orton... How can WWE really fuck this up?

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The diva incident in question was Candice, he allegedly shat in her bag and she quit because of it, citing bullying, as this was around the time the Be A Star stuff began, so they suspended him.

The problem Orton has is the same one that Shawn had in 1998 and Hogan had in 93... their auras in the ring had become tarnished by their backstage relationships ,drugs allegations and their conduct out of the ring.

Shawn had to literally quit the biz for 4 years, though at the time it was forever, but to those in the biz he "didn't want to drop the belts"...

Hogan had to totally reinvent himself, it wasn't simply a case of "going heel", he had to run in a pack for the first time and find a cohort in Bischoff who would back him up financially so he could surround himself with his cronies for that initial WCW stint.

Orton doesn't have Hogan's "stroke", knack for attracting sycophants or inventiveness and he hasn't had the time away that allowed people to forget Montreal that Shawn had but most importantly he doesn't have the business environment on his side. It's a different time to the other 2 guys had.

WWE can never go back on it's wellness or anti-bullying campaigns now, and this is a guy with strikes and a bad rep for both, he has made enemies in TNA so going there would be a risky move for him (or them if a lot of talent decided they wanted to leave if he came) and even if Orton took a year or two out, he would miss that next big catchfire moment which is bound to come soon.

When Shawn disappeared and came back religious, people got behind him because of the time involved but also because it was the early days of the IWC, so people knew how messed up he was when he left. We knew Hogan had testified to taking roids, but we didn't know a lot of his other bad traits backstage.

In Orton's case, every mistake is out there for all to see... It's hard to root for the guy because everyone from fans to co-workers have the same story to tell, he's had a career handed to him and his attitude shows this, and most believe he WILL screw up again, it's not if but when.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

The diva incident in question was Candice, he allegedly shat in her bag and she quit because of it, citing bullying, as this was around the time the Be A Star stuff began, so they suspended him.

The problem Orton has is the same one that Shawn had in 1998 and Hogan had in 93... their auras in the ring had become tarnished by their backstage relationships ,drugs allegations and their conduct out of the ring.

Shawn had to literally quit the biz for 4 years, though at the time it was forever, but to those in the biz he "didn't want to drop the belts"...

Hogan had to totally reinvent himself, it wasn't simply a case of "going heel", he had to run in a pack for the first time and find a cohort in Bischoff who would back him up financially so he could surround himself with his cronies for that initial WCW stint.

Orton doesn't have Hogan's "stroke", knack for attracting sycophants or inventiveness and he hasn't had the time away that allowed people to forget Montreal that Shawn had but most importantly he doesn't have the business environment on his side. It's a different time to the other 2 guys had.

WWE can never go back on it's wellness or anti-bullying campaigns now, and this is a guy with strikes and a bad rep for both, he has made enemies in TNA so going there would be a risky move for him (or them if a lot of talent decided they wanted to leave if he came) and even if Orton took a year or two out, he would miss that next big catchfire moment which is bound to come soon.

When Shawn disappeared and came back religious, people got behind him because of the time involved but also because it was the early days of the IWC, so people knew how messed up he was when he left. We knew Hogan had testified to taking roids, but we didn't know a lot of his other bad traits backstage.

In Orton's case, every mistake is out there for all to see... It's hard to root for the guy because everyone from fans to co-workers have the same story to tell, he's had a career handed to him and his attitude shows this, and most believe he WILL screw up again, it's not if but when.

That is bullshit, specially the last part where "everything was handed to him". If you believe for one second that his career was a mix of luck and politics, than you are delusional. There is no formula to make fans interested, if you suck fans won't care about you, if you do a great job you'll get everything you deserve and Randy Orton had the fans behind him since his stint in Evolution - they saw potential on the guy, and they saw it well because Orton is one of the most talented guys in the roster, both in and outside of the ring and they put him in Evolution because of that. Heidenreich had a feud with Undertaker, he actually dominated him, and fans didn't care so it's not about handing anything to said guy, it's about giving them the ball and see if they can run with it, and Orton did it with his work, not yours nor McMahon's work, he did it by himself, he got over by himself saying otherwise is plain stupid.

Now onto his suspensions, first and foremost Orton was an asshole, he is the first to admit it and he got suspended back in 2006 and 2007 for that. Now, after 5 years clean he got suspended again because he was on some painkillers, not drugs (like Evan Bourne), just something that happened to have something against the Wellness Policy (it's not always for drugs, a lot of medicines are forbidden because they can contain stuff like testosterone). I can't see why you are comparing Orton to Michaels, because you are comparing two different persons and if Michaels for God unknown reasons stayed clean after 4 years absent, you don't believe that Orton can stay clean for the rest of his career? Too much hate and I haven't seen no reason to believe he can't, in fact he alone said more than once that he treated himself for the sake of his daughter, wife and himself. And in his main event run, including a WrestleMania Main Event, he did it with no problem whatsoever, at least for what I've seen, he never hit a fan in live television of some sort and nor he had an attitude problem (that every main guy has if you believe every bullshit the IWC reports) so big that TMZ reported of something.

And if we start to talk about his talents you can't deny that the guy has IT, and let him go and become a free agent is a big hit for the company. Don't you forget that WCW boomed thanks to guys that had less name than Orton. If he shows up at a TNA Show and gets himself in a feud with the likes of Bobby Roode, you may believe that people will tune in to watch it. The guy still has something like 6 years in him at his very best and letting him go is a stupid move.

However I think that he should stay home for more than one or two months, I even think that he should only return near SummerSlam, to create buzz and to have a relevant storyline, not return like he did, by beating Heath Slater in a 4 minute match and leave, that is some serious shitty booking. I don't believe for one second that his fall is only his fault, in fact I believe that WWE's Creative Team is the reason he started to lose interest, and if you have a guy like Orton and use him as poorly, you're gonna have a bad time. In some way he reminds me of Jake Roberts, one of the most talented wrestlers ever, that were victims of a shitty dark past. And almost 30 years since Roberts was in his prime, you may very well believe that now the fact that he didn't hold any WWE Championship is a wrestling "crime".

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

So what you think that killed Orton's mystique?

Orton himself. If it hasnt been that Wellness violations he would probably be on the top of the world. I believe that he paid his due to that and was on the way for the heel turn and push again but i hear that he is injured so probably nothing for that.

Other than that there is nothing wrong with him. He is somewhat bland on the mic but he is one of the best technical wrestlers in the company. Companu needs him right now, if for nothing just to put midcarders over so they didnt fire him and let him stay because he is needed.

The fact that SmackDown lost relevancy helped his depush?

Smackdown lost relevancy from Raw way before him. Smackdown was always no@ show in every turn and was never no1. One thing is for sure: It didnt help him that WWE thought they could mix things up and leave Cena on Raw(which is very good bussiness decision) and put him as easyly no2 guy in the company then to Smackdown...

Do you think that he will be on top again? If so, how?

He was on his way. Had very good role on Survivor series and was on the way to be somewhat relevant again but I fear that this injury makes things harder for that. Its not that hard to be relevant again, put him away from Del Rio and meaningless guys like that and put him on some high profile match(for example he could walk away from his team on Survivor series and have a match with Mick Foley at TLC but its too late for that) and thats it.

 

[3drinks]

The problem with Orton is right now, the WWE is in a terrible position. On the one hand, you have a talented individual with a rather lucrative contract, but on the other you have this same man with two wellness violations and could be out the door soon because of that(if he fucks up again, anyway). So you can't push him too hard because if he fucks up then...

But at the same time, you can't let him go because TNA would be foolish to snap him up. Eric Bischoff has already said he would love to get his hands on Orton, and he would be a sure-fire future TNA World Heavyweight Champion...of the World. Maybe even get the "Kurt Angle Treatment". No doubt he'd be a huge draw for them, especially as they don't have a wellness policy to implement, and the lighter schedule would certainly be appealing to one as injury-prone as he can be. One thing is for sure though; if this happens, TNA will have a huge improvement to their roster and may very well be able to finally go toe-to-toe with the WWE. Mark my words, if this happened, he will be the key move; the catalyst that finally brings TNA to this level.

The other problem is, you have a guy getting main event money, but you're afraid to push him past the upper mid-card level because of his baggage. it is just a very difficult position for them to be in with him.

 

[xavyer]

I think that in a way, Randy Orton has to re invent himself, not in the ring, but as a person, people make mistakes, and people deserve second chances, but in Randy's case, this would be his third chance, if Shawn Michaels could do it, i think he can, let's face it, the guy has talent, there was even one time that it looked like he was going to become as big or even bigger than Cena, but he blew it, so i guess he's back in line for a push, or a good run, like many people said, they pushed him way too early, and now, he's still young and there is basicly not much left for him, so the only thing left for him to do is re invent himself, or help the newbies make a name for themselves, like him and the shield is a step in the right direction, right now the WWE has two top faces in Cena and Ryback, plus the Miz is right behind them, so what the WWE can do at this moment is to turn Orton Heel, because at the moment they only have CM Punbk as the top heel, Ziggler, Barret, Sandow and Cesaro are good heels, but they are not there quite yet, and Brock Lesnar is only part timer, so they need another top heel, and that can only be Orton, and also, like many people said, he's injury prone, what they can do is have him apear in every show, but not wrestle in every show, he can start a feud, get in someone's head, or on his nerves every week, and have him face his rival at the PPV, or if he gets to wrestle before a PPV, let it be in tag team action or multi people matches so he doesn't risk getting injured, and hopefully he doesn't get that third strike.......

 

[rb286]

people make mistakes, and people deserve second chances, but in Randy's case, this would be his third chance, if Shawn Michaels could do it, i think he can, let's face it, the guy has talent,

I pretty much agree with this. He's far too talented to throw away, there's a reason why Bret Hart has called him one of the best technical wrestlers today. He really needs to buck up his ideas and stop abusing drugs. It doesn't help that the WWE seem to have gone off the boil regarding Randy and have made him rather dull. Some character development is needed, not necessarily a heel turn (although I wouldn't be against the idea). Just some change in his character to make you care about him again. He needs that mean streak in his game again, make him unpredictable. He's a loner, don't team him up with other wrestlers, if someone gets in his way, he should beat them up. Spice him up abit, he seems to be stuck in a routine where Randy himself, isn't happy with.