Does anybody give a shit about Randy Orton?

[El-P]

Randy Orton, to me, is like a WWE version of someone that would have came out of the WCW Power Plant & been slapped in the Natural Born Thrillers.

 

Exactly this. Everything about him screams WWE 00's.

[anarchistxx]

To be fair to Randy Orton, to survive twelve years of WWE booking and still be over is some achievement.

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

To be fair to Randy Orton, to survive twelve years of WWE booking and still be over is some achievement.

 

Randy Orton is over? Maybe he's over to the crowd on WWE 2K14, but he isn't in real life.

 

This is why I asked the question if anybody gives a shit about Randy Orton. Unless I'm so out of touch with the modern product that audience silence and indifference is considered being over these days, Orton is not over, yet keeps getting pushed like he is.

[SomethingSavage]

Orton's cold as ice as a heel right now. A lot of that can be attributed to the way he's portrayed and handled on TV. He just looks and behaves like a lackey. He's being used like 2003 Randy Orton, and that simply isn't where 2014 Orton should be at this point. That role belongs to somebody else on the rise - someone on the cusp of breaking out - somebody that would benefit from rubbing shoulders with Aitch, the Authority, and the Shield in matches.

 

Orton was INCREDIBLY over as a babyface just last summer. I know that feels like a lifetime ago in today's era, with such an abundance of TV, but yeah. It's true. He was a peg below Bryan and Punk in the pecking order going into that Money In The Bank match last year. I didn't even mind him winning the thing at the time, 'cause the guy was getting major reactions everywhere & had just produced a stellar series of matches with Bryan during the build to that event.

[claw64]

I really like the Orton/HHH comparison in terms on ring work but Trips had the benefit of being a big star in a much hotter period for the company. Orton is probably the second biggest star next to Cena in the current era. But I think there's a huge gap between them. Cena was a no brainer pick for Meltzer's HOF. I voted for him with no questions asked. Which brings us to Randy Orton. I don't think I'll vote for Orton when he becomes eligible. He's not a slam dunk like Cena. I'd like to see Orton' career play out then decide on his worthiness. Unless the guy is a no brainer like Cena, Austin or Rock, I like to take the wait and see approach.

 

I'm trying to get the pulse of others on Orton. This board because of all the people that watch tape seemed like a good place to do it.

[Dylan Waco]

I would never vote for Orton for an HoF, or at least not based on his record as it currently exists.

[JaymeFuture]

I'm not sure which level Orton has a HoF level career, and I like the guy. As a draw he never was responsible for anything major, not even a one-time huge buyrate like a Sting or Batista (two other guys who aren't in and likely won't be). In the ring he can be very, very good when he wants to be, but I don't know that he's all time elite. I think Orton's issue is that he's "almost" in every category but a sure thing in none.

[Dylan Waco]

I don't think Orton is "almost" in any category.

 

I understand that many workers say he's great, but as a fan, I don't think he's even close to great. He's been around for a long time and has been in plenty of good matches (and even some great matches), but there are hundreds of wrestlers I would comfortably rate ahead of Orton.

 

As an influence? There is nothing I can see there at all.

 

As a draw? Forget it. Rich from Voices of Wrestling did a stats based piece on Orton recently that suggests he isn't really a draw at all. Even if you think statistical analysis devoid of historical context has limited value, I don't see how historical context would do Orton very many favors. More than that Orton has absolutely bombed in epic ways in recent years. The Orton/Christian feud in particular was a complete disaster, to the point where SD had to be saved by Mark Henry of all people. I love Henry and that was an epic run, but no Hall of Famer, borderline or otherwise, should need Henry coming in to save the day.

 

The one thing Orton has going or him is that he'll likely have a twenty year long career at or near the top of cards when it's all said and done and a lot of people really go for longevity. To me I want longevity with results, and Orton does not have anything approaching an HoF pedigree when it comes to results.

[JaymeFuture]

I should qualify - the 'almost' point I was trying to get at is that he's either got or been given all the tools and platforms to succeed in all these ways, more than 95% of guys in the history of the business, and he's fallen short of great in every one (not saying that he's "almost" a HoF worker, influence or draw, hence me saying he fell short of even Sting/Batista level).

 

I'll be surprised if he sniffs 30% in the Observer ballot.

[The Chief]

I think a good question would be; at this stage in his career, is there anything at all Orton can do to get over his stigma?

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

Are we seriously talking about Orton as a Hall of Fame candidate?

 

Are we going to discuss Nick Punto as a possible baseball HOFer or Trent Dilfer for the football HOF while we're at it?

[Johnny Sorrow]

Randy Orton is really fucking good, some of you people must be on dope.

[Dylan Waco]

Orton CAN be really good at times. He is not consistently. Not even close

[cheapshot]

When motivated Orton is great fun. Shame that these times are few are far between.

 

He'd be best served to take a sabbatical, but I highly doubt that will happen unless he picks up an injury.

[goc]

Taking a sabbatical doesn't even work to freshen a guy up in WWE anymore because the booking is so terrible that 2 weeks after someone comes back they seem to already be treading water and not doing anything important. Like Sheamus' recent return and Christian's before that. Even RVD, which some people can blame on the fact that he hasn't updated his look or moveset in over a decade, but the crowds still seem to be excited to see him when he makes the initial return.

[DMJ]

I agree.

 

A 3-4 month sabbatical for Orton would be awesome. He could ostensibly come back as heel or face and get a huge reaction. Hell, if this were to happen, it could reasonably lead to an Orton/HHH match that people would genuinely look forward to.

 

But, as goc pointed out, the WWE doesn't know how to book a return properly. This is the company that had Brock Lesnar lose his first match back and then split wins and losses with Triple H. This is the company that spent months promoting Fandango, had him beat a former World Champion at WrestleMania, then ran out of storyline ideas for him by June. Their longterm booking is so laughably poor, CM Punk could come back next week and, by SummerSlam, they'd probably have him feuding with Kane or Del Rio.

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

Randy Orton is really fucking good, some of you people must be on dope.

 

I tried snorting a Scarface mound of cocaine and smoking Cheech & Chong sized joints and Randy Orton was still awful.

 

Seriously, Orton's gotta be the most irrelevant wrestler ever. That's fine if you think he's decent in the ring (he better be at least somewhat decent after all these years, at least in a few people's eyes), but it doesn't change the fact that very few people actually give a shit about Randy Orton.

[Sidebottom]

For my money, he was never better than in 2003/4 as a cocky up and comer. he was often a highlight of the shows, had great matches, was fun to listen to and watch. In a word, he was fresh. But that was ten years ago sadly. Whilst he has had moments of greatness, for the most part he's just been there, hasn't he. He is somebody who would have benefited from the territory system by being able to leave the scene every so often ad come back in a different climate.

[(BP)]

When they gave him the belt last year it was a show of confidence since his second wellness strike, and he was definitely motivated by it. The booking and presentation of him in the Bryan/Authority feud wasn't his fault,but he likewise went back to going through the motions when that went to hell. He'll always get more chances, so the book's not totally written on what kind of legacy, if any, he'll leave in wrestling.

[Steenalized]

I should qualify - the 'almost' point I was trying to get at is that he's either got or been given all the tools and platforms to succeed in all these ways, more than 95% of guys in the history of the business, and he's fallen short of great in every one (not saying that he's "almost" a HoF worker, influence or draw, hence me saying he fell short of even Sting/Batista level).

 

I'll be surprised if he sniffs 30% in the Observer ballot.

I could see him getting more, given the way Dave constantly refers to him as a great worker and a star.

[Dylan Waco]

I actually think Orton has an outside chance of making the Hall.

 

He has been around forever. There are a lot of older voters I know who think he's a brilliant worker (I have no clue why, but whatever). He's got the right last name which will help him with some voters.

 

To me when you look at his record across the board he's a weak candidate, but there will be pressure to put guys from this era in, and the more I think about it, the more I think he's a guy who will get way more support than his actual career merits

[iamthedoctor]

I have never enjoyed any of his work. Since his debut he has been terribly overatted, The Legend Killer Gimmick probably could have been given to a better wrestler and while hes been given 2 suspensions so far I dont ever see him getting fired. If he wasent Bob Orton's son he probably wouldnt have made it as far as he did.

 

To think at one time WWE actually wanted him to end takers streak!

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

After Summer Slam, I think the number of people who actually give a shit about Randy Orton dropped from 7 to maybe 3 or 4.

 

Since it obviously looks like the WWE has no intention of getting rid of Orton, and actually will continue to try and push him in some weird, boring and mind-numbingly dull type of way, I I hope they make him the guy who always wrestles the snoozer match between the semi-main event and the main event on PPVs.

 

I'd sell it as a challenge for whoever Orton's opponent is: Can (insert Orton's opponent) actually make the snoozer slot on the card featuring the King of Snoozers Randy Orton somewhat interesting? If (insert Orton's opponent) manages to somehow convince half of the live audience to pay attention to the Orton snoozer match instead of checking their mobile devices or taking a leak, (insert name of Orton's opponent) earns a title shot the next night on Raw.

[Russellmania]

the irony is that it was Orton, not his opponent, who took the snoozer match spot on the card last night and made it something interesting. Dude just carried a still incredibly green Reigns to the best singles match of his life and people here shit on him for it.

[Superstar Sleeze]

I asked a question in my long Summerslam post, but I have a feeling it may have gotten lost so I thought best to ask here.

I feel like the RKO is one of the most protected finishes in the WWE. This is not the FU, which takes a minimum of three on a big PPV to win a match. The RKO seems like one and done to me. Not only that, it is very rarely kicked out of. Now, until I got the Network, I barely watched any of the PPVs so is my feelings true? Is the RKO one of the most protected finishes? Is Reigns kicking out getting underplayed? It was a very big moment for me, but no one seems to care on the web.