What is wrong with Randy Orton?

[#IndyRules]

Orton just... isn't doing it for me at the moment. If anything i think he's in the wrong storyline. He's a smaller cog in a bigger machine if you will. The authority storyline is totally overshadowing his title reign which is sad because a heel Randy Orton on his own or leader of a group is fantastic. I think that Orton will drop the title Royal Rumble, get abuse from the authority, leave, then take a backseat up till Wrestlemania, maybe be McMahon's representative at WM against HHH for the company. There match at WM 25 was golden but never got the praise it deserved because of THAT HBK vs Taker match.

Anyway, i love Orton as a heel and face, so whether he is either doesn't bother me, but what's wrong with him, i say, wrong place, wrong time.

 

[Softcore Holly]

It's simple, he's a henchman again. He's supposedly the main bad guy on paper, but really he's just a lackey of the real villain, HHH. And at times not even a important lackey at that, he's the one that has to fight DB since HHH feels it's beneath him. So he's basically a dog of the Authority that gets overshadowed by the real villains of the WWE. Even last Monday on Raw when HHH/Steph wasn't there he got overshadowed by Kane and the GMs. (which btw was a terrible segment for so many reasons)

I remember when he had the spotlight to himself back when he won the RR and Legacy was around, now THAT Randy Orton was deserving of the "face of the WWE" title. Of course that also didn't really happen thanks to HHH, go figure.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The difficulty Orton has is three-fold.

1) He is not interesting in anyway - The most interesting work he has done recently was with Wade Barrett - a guy many consider to be equally uninteresting... Orton doesn't have any flash or excitement to his game, he doesn't pump a crowd up - he meanders...

2) He is a known failure/nasty piece of work - This is a guy we know until 2 days ago was in last chance saloon. Now they've revised the wellness programme the first instinct of many will be "he failed again and they can't fire him" that may or may not be true, but the reality is the policy had to change for RVD to comeback, after all what he was "busted" for is now legal in many states, so they can't judge on the same way. But that notwithstanding Orton is known to be a louse, a man who shirked his duties as a Marine, shits in women's bags and tears up hotel rooms... all of which are criminal behaviour... this is not a poster child by any stretch and all his debacles are in the public eye via the IWC and public record. He's the most unlikeable wrestler since Honky Tonk Man.

3) He's not what the fans want - the fans WANT Bryan or something new anything but what they are currently getting... Of course because Mania 30 isn't about the younger crop, Orton is the perfect custodian of the belt until then (or Show is) Sandow, Bryan, even Punk can wait till after the biggest show of WWE's history for their time in Vince's eyes... this one is all about the guys with Mania legacies and Orton, rightly or wrongly has that...

How do you redeem him... you don't...you can't... he's the monkey in the wrench, the vomit stain in the corner that burned into the carpet... all you can do is cover him up and make it look as good as you can and that's what they're doing. I'd be fascinated to see how the new Wellness rules affect him (and Rey and Regal) because frankly both those guys would have been in his slot ahead of him if not for Wellness...

 

[The Eighties]

I actually think in the last 6 months Randy has produced the best ring work of his career with a consistent string of good matches. His promos have also been pretty solid and he's never hidden the fact he's more comfortable as a heel.

The big problem is the fact Triple H has overshadowed him as many have pointed out, prior to NOC Triple H even said the WWE title was his and Orton was holding it for him, he's basically the avatar for the main heel and thus his reign feels lackluster.

When The Rock played this chosen champion role Vince and Shane catered to him and treat him as the crown jewel, the star player of the team. Triple H has basically just treat Orton as his puppet in their segments which diminished him as the WWE champion. His feud with Bryan and now his feud with Show are not about him, he's just the schmuck taking Triple H's beatings for him.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

I think the problem lies in a simple comparison. We know that in the past, main eventers have been able to speak their mind to the authoritative figures and felt confident as if they have free reign to do so. It wasn't even just a "balsy" thing to do, it was more like an unsaid statement of "You may run the company but I AM the company!" type of thing. Stone Cold, Triple H, The Rock and even Chris Jericho had that attitude. And today, John Cena and Randy Orton share that attitude. Albeit they're at opposite ends of the morality spectrum with their intent when stating it but nevertheless, they have that attitude. This is a good thing but there's one thing noticeably different.

The men I mentioned first, were mouthing off at an authoritative figure in Vince McMahon who was not a muscle-bound 40-something Triple H - who visually rivals both current main event champions. Not to mention, this guy has lots of accolades and built-in crowd respect. Back when Vince was being treated like crap or delivering scathing speeches, he often had protection in DX, The Rock etc. This provided him his often unwise swagger that gave him the "testicular fortitude" to say whatever he wanted. But even with this advantage, he OFTEN had moments of weakness where he'd be threatened, turn tail and run after being on the losing end of a stare-down, or be backed into a corner. Triple H CANNOT be an authoritative figure that cowers from a guy smaller than him. After HHH's take-on-the-world persona for over a decade, it would look too ridiculous and unbelievable to a crowd who has more recently seen him take on Undertaker and Brock Lesnar without fear. Knowing HHH's character is supposedly this powerful, is what's hampering Orton's ability to get a response from the crowd. When Orton yells at Triple H, you get the sense that Orton's about to get his ass kicked. I'd say at this point, the only wrestler who has been built-up through kayfabe to take on such a power as HHH, is Cena. This is the flaw of having a (very over) main eventer as "The Authority". His presence overshadows everything that a typical main event champion does.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

Is it just me or is he just missing something? Perhaps a new theme song, a new entrance, a new look...something. He seems uninterested when giving promos, almost like he is bored or tired.

I feel like this is easily his weakest title reign in his career and i feel like he is just stale (please no cena jokes).

Orton has reinvented himself a few different times in his career with the Evolution Orton, the Legacy Orton and the Legend Killer, also with numerous heel/face turns along the way.

Has the Viper gimmick ran its course? Does he need some time off?

Personally i always thought Orton was better as a member of a faction, not including his current backseat role in the "Corporation".

Thoughts?

If anyone takes a back seat to HHH, then they seemingly miss something. Nothing Orton can do about that. He can't have just lost his 2009 aura. The insanity in his promo and the beating on Maddox this Monday made me realize that he can just be as bad ass as he once was. But HHH is hogging enough of the spotlight to make Orton look good enough. At least, he shaved his head, next should be him shaving his facial hair, and there we have the sadistic bastard. Bring back the punt kick and he's just top heel again.