Randy Orton

Randy Orton
Born	(1980-04-01) April 1, 1980 Knoxville, Tennessee
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Randy Orton
Billed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Billed weight
Billed from	St. Louis, Missouri
Trained by	"Cowboy" Bob Orton South Broadway Athletic Club Ohio Valley Wrestling
Debut	March 18, 2000

Randal "Randy" Keith Orton (born on April 1 1980), nicknamed The Legend Killer, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestling on its RAW brand. Orton is a third-generation professional wrestler; his grandfather, Bob Orton, Sr., father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, and uncle, Barry O, were all professional wrestlers.

Orton's career in the WWE has included of him being the youngest World Heavyweight Champion, a 1-time Intercontinental Champion and 1-time World Tag Team Champion (with Edge). In keeping with his Legend Killer persona; he has "injured" the likes of: Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, Dusty Rhodes and Sgt. Slaughter.

Career

Orton's parents tried to convince him to stay away from wrestling; his father warned that life in the ring meant a life on the road, away from family. He still agreed to try other venues first. After graduating Hazelwood Central High School in 1998 (where he was an amateur wrestler), Orton enlisted with the United States Marine Corps. Orton was dishonorably discharged about a year later after going AWOL on two separate occasions, and disobeying an order from a commanding officer. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Private First Class Orton was tried and convicted under a special court-martial, and was put into a military prison for thirty eight days.

Orton made his professional wrestling debut in 2000 with the MMWA-SICW in St. Louis, Missouri. There he was trained by such wrestlers as Ron Powers, Gary Jackson, Mark Bland, Jeremy Lightfoot, Phil E. Blunt and promoter Tony Costa as well as his father, Cowboy Bob Orton. This is an organization that was an off-shoot of the old St. Louis Wrestling Club headed by Sam Munchnick between 1950-1983. Orton also did a few shots as a referee with World Organized Wrestling, a promotion his uncle Barry O worked for.

Before long, Orton signed a developmental deal with WWE and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling in Louisville where he rose quickly through OVW's ranks by becoming OVW Hardcore Champion.

His earliest appearance on WWE television was in a match against Billy Gunn, on the May 6 2001 edition of Sunday Night Heat.

World Wrestling Entertainment

2002

Orton made his debut on WWE programming as a face, defeating Hardcore Holly in his first-ever match. Gifted with strong wrestling skills as well as a knack for cutting promos on the microphone, Orton was quickly pushed as a main eventer, going on to challenge the renowned Undertaker for the WWE Championship. Although he failed in his endeavor, Orton's career changed drastically when he was drafted to RAW, considered the prime show of World Wrestling Entertainment. On RAW, he again received a large push, defeating another long-time wrestler, Steven Richards, in his debut match.

Randy Orton's persona as a face, using clean wrestling tactics and exciting the fans primarily with his ability to overcome odds as an underdog was unsuccessful. Instead, over time, the WWE creative team decided to transform his character into one that was narcissistic, self-centered, and highly-disrespectful to both wrestling fans and his opponents. For example, while Randy Orton was sidelined with a separated shoulder, he was still aired on the show in his own Randy News Network, a weekly vignette which featured him going at length on the condition of his shoulder in an excessive show of narcissism. His show often interrupted the more interesting segments of the show, gaining him the hatred of the fans.

Part of Evolution (2003)

Main article: Evolution

Upon his return to RAW, Orton joined the stable of Ric Flair, World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, and a relative newcomer, Dave Batista, creating a group popularly known as Evolution. Seen as a link between Wrestling's Past (Ric Flair), Present (Triple H), and Future (Orton and Batista), the stable slowly became more and more powerful over the WWE roster, as each member acquired championship gold. The relationship between Randy Orton and Triple H slowly changed as Orton began to measure up with Triple H and was competing for respect and power.

Originally, Randy Orton fought as an underling to Triple H, used primarily to help Triple H defeat his rivals. Orton continued to resort to dirty tricks and illegal maneuvers, solidifying his heel status alongside Triple H and Ric Flair, who were very notable heels. Orton spent much of 2003 helping Triple H overcome challenges from Scott Steiner, Goldberg, and Kevin Nash, former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) superstars who were vying with The Game for the World Heavyweight Championship.

He was used in high profile matches for the first time, gaining fans and visibility alongside Champion Triple H. Randy competed at SummerSlam 2003, in a six-man Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship with stablemate and defending champion Triple H. During the match, although his main reason for involvement was to secure Triple H's hold on the title, Orton put on a great display of wrestling ability, proving himself as main-event material.

Orton's gimmick was expanded upon during his time in Evolution, as he started to proclaim himself as "The Legend Killer", a young upstart so promising and so talented, that he touted himself as the future of wrestling entertainment. He embarked on numerous feuds with "legendary" wrestlers and celebrities, gaining infamy for spitting in the face of Harley Race. At Unforgiven 2003 on September 21, Orton defeated Shawn Michaels in what would be the first of many a high profile match billed as "Legend vs. Legend Killer", with the help of his stablemate and mentor Ric Flair; After the match, Orton was interviewed by WWE.com and stated, "I may be the Legend Killer, but as far as I'm concerned, there's no killing the legend of Shawn Michaels".

It is during this time that he began using what would become his signature finisher, the "RKO", named after his initials.

Orton went on to defeat Rob Van Dam for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Armageddon 2003 on December 14.

Two significant things about this night were that all the male-owned titles on Raw were in Evolution's grasp, and that with this reign with the Intercontinental Title, he would become the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in the past seven years, holding the title for seven months.

Youngest Champion 2004

Randy Orton continued to establish himself as a legend killer throughout 2004, calling out the semi-retired wrestler Mick Foley. Evolution members Flair and Batista joined the fray, helping Randy overcome Foley and his partner, The Rock, who made a rare wrestling appearance at WrestleMania XX.Famed on hardcore matches and intense pain, Foley offered Randy a Legend vs. Legend Killer match under hardcore rules with the Intercontinental Championship on the line. Randy won the match, although badly bloodied.

In July, at Vengeance 2004, Edge defeated Orton to win the Intercontinental Championship, ending Orton's seven month reign as champion.

Orton rose in ranks following the loss of his Intercontinental Championship, now challenging contenders for the World Heavyweight Championship. His move to conquer the World Heavyweight Championship marked a "rite of manhood" for Orton, as his win made him a young star, champion, and established his career as one of "wrestling's futures." After becoming the number one contender on July 26, he quickly gained heat with the fans as a potential champion. He won the title at Summerslam, a month later, with the added distinction of being the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in wrestling history (age 24). After the match, Orton and Benoit shook hands with Benoit encouraging Orton to "be a man".

His teammates in Evolution were not pleased by his win, and the following night, after supporting Orton in a mock celebration, they double-crossed him. As Batista had Orton on his shoulders and the group gave him praise, Triple H gave him a congradulatory thumbs-up; he abruptly changed it to a thumbs-down, and Batista dropped Orton from his shoulders. The group of Ric Flair, Triple H, and Batista brutally beat him in the ring, and Triple H revealed that he was jealous of Orton's ownership of the title. He offered an ultimatum to the young champion to hand over the title; Randy Orton refused, and spit in his face, beating him with the title itself. The break-up of Randy's alliance with Evolution resulted in him becoming a popular face with the fans.

Randy continued to rebel against his former stablemates in the months to come. He fought Triple H but after a month of feuding, finally lost his championship at WWE Unforgiven. He lashed out at them, catching them by surprise during a show by giving them a large cake as a make-up gift, which he came out of, beating and humiliating the group. Orton was experiencing a large push, becoming General Manager of the Raw Brand for a week following a match stipulation at Survivor Series. He continued to feud with Triple H, using his authority to place his title defense matches at severe disadvantages.

Facing the Deadman 2005

Orton continued a strong push despite weakening fan reaction to his status as a face. He feuded with Triple H, and was granted another chance at the championship in January 2005. He lost a six-man championship Elimination Chamber match to Triple H on Jan 9th, and then beat Batista on Jan 10th for a rematch. During the match, Triple H interfered, accidentally hitting Batista with a steel chair; this started a successful face turn for Batista. On Jan 30th, Randy attempted to regain the title from champion Triple H and was unsuccessful, effectively removing him from the Heavyweight Championship scene.

---

In the book World Wrestling Insanity, Orton's quick push to champion followed by tremendous losses to Triple H between August 04 and January 05 marked a huge setback to his career. The booking is criticized heavily because Orton's character was built on trampling the competition and beating legends, and yet, when he came to win the championship, he lost it in only a month. To make matters worse, Orton was given a poor rematch, including an Elimination Chamber match where he lost decisively to Triple H. Afterwards, he had a #1 contender's match with Batista, which he won by interference of Triple H, devaluing him below Batista. Then, another match with Triple H was lost, leaving him utterly beaten by both The Game and Batista.

---

Afterwards, Batista was given a strong push, dethroning Triple H from his reign as Champion, while Randy Orton was marginalized. He was moved onto the Smackdown brand, where he began an onscreen relationship with Stacy Keibler and briefly feuded with Christian. During this time, "Superstar" Billy Graham advised Orton to "go where no wrestler has gone before". Heeding the advice, Orton challenged veteran SmackDown! wrestler The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania 21, making the ambitious claim that he would defeat him, ending The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania winning streak.

This feud saw Orton hitting the RKO on Jake Roberts, who had warned him about facing The Undertaker. Only two weeks before WrestleMania, Orton cemented his heel status by knocking Stacy Keibler out with the RKO; ending their on-screen angle. He went on to slap The Undertaker and assault him following a distraction by his father, Cowboy Bob Orton. Despite interference from his father, Orton was defeated by The Undertaker at WrestleMania 21.

In storyline terms, a match with Batista on the night following WrestleMania aggravated Orton's shoulder problems stemming from the previous night (in actuality he was sidelined for several months while recuperating from his third genuine shoulder injury). While injured, Orton appeared on the May 16 2005, episode of RAW, declaring his intention to gain revenge on Batista by defeating him for the World Heavyweight Championship. Orton claimed that he could not be drafted to SmackDown! as a result of his injury, but was informed by Vince McMahon that he was in fact an eligible candidate for the draft.

Randy Orton showing off his signature pose

Orton returned to WWE television on the June 16, 2005 episode of SmackDown!, attacking The Undertaker and announcing that he was the second SmackDown! pick in the 2005 draft lottery. He made his in-ring return on August 11 2005, fighting Kamala to a draw. Orton went on to defeat The Undertaker at SummerSlam following a distraction from his father, the returning Cowboy Bob Orton, who was disguised as a fan. After SummerSlam, an overconfident Orton announced on the first episode of Friday Night SmackDown! that he was opening a retirement fund for The Undertaker. However, The Undertaker made his return by setting the over sized check ablaze with a mysterious bolt of lightning.

After losing to The Undertaker on an episode of SmackDown!, Orton and The Undertaker began taunting each other using caskets. This led to Orton and his father facing The Undertaker in a handicap casket match at No Mercy 2005. The Ortons defeated The Undertaker after Bob Orton blinded The Undertaker with foam from a fire extinguisher, enabling his son to strike him with a chair. After sealing The Undertaker in the casket, Orton set the casket on fire and struck it with an axe.

At Survivor Series, Orton took Eddie Guerrero's place on "Team SmackDown!". Orton became the sole survivor of his team for a third time, pinning Shawn Michaels to win the match for "Team SmackDown!". As Orton celebrated following the match, The Undertaker made his return, chasing Orton from the ring and indiscriminately attacking several other members of the SmackDown! roster.

On a special live episode of SmackDown! on November 29, 2005, Orton placed The Undertaker on the trunk of one of Eddie Guerrero's lowriders and reversed the car through the SmackDown! stage, setting it on fire and the car to "explode". The Undertaker retorted by playing mind games with Orton over the next several weeks, leading to a Hell in a Cell match between the two being scheduled for Armageddon 2005. On December 16 2005 Orton lured The Undertaker to the ring by declaring his "retirement". When The Undertaker entered the ring, one of the druids who typically accompanied him to the ring remained at ringside. The Undertaker was distracted as a result, enabling Orton to attack him and deliver an RKO. The "druid" then revealed himself to be Bob Orton, and gave Orton The Undertaker's signature urn to strike him with. At Armageddon 2005, The Undertaker defeated Orton in a Hell in a Cell match after delivering the Tombstone Piledriver to both Orton and his father, finally ending their nine-month-long feud.

2006

Two weeks after Armageddon, Orton agreed to represent an injured Booker T in the fifth match of his "best of seven" series with Chris Benoit over the WWE United States Championship. As Booker T had won three of the matches already fought, Orton only needed to beat Benoit once to win the series for Booker. Orton lost to Benoit following botched interference from Booker T's wife Sharmell. He faced Benoit the following week, but lost once again after Orlando Jordan interfered on Benoit's behalf. On the January 13, 2006, episode of SmackDown!, Orton defeated Benoit, thus winning the United States Championship for Booker T and finishing the series four-three. The following week saw him face Orlando Jordan in a match because Orlando had interfered with Booker and Sharmell's celebration by attacking him in the middle of the ring. Orton won the match by a distraction from Booker and Sharmell which allowed him to hit the RKO for the win. The following week, Orton lost to Benoit in a no holds barred match.

Orton took part in the 2006 Royal Rumble match on January 29 2006. Despite entering at number thirty, Orton was eliminated by the second entrant, Rey Mysterio.

On the following SmackDown!, Orton challenged Mysterio to put his title shot on the line at No Way Out 2006, with Mysterio accepting his challenge. In the weeks preceding No Way Out, Orton made several controversial remarks about Eddie Guerrero. At No Way Out, Orton defeated Mysterio, earning himself a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22.

However, on the following episode of SmackDown!, General Manager Theodore Long re-added Mysterio to the match, turning it into a Triple Threat match between Orton, Mysterio and then World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle. Orton protested the decision but was told by Long to accept it or lose his own shot at the title.

On April 2, 2006, at WrestleMania 22, Angle lost his title after Orton was pinned by Mysterio.

On April 4 2006, WWE stated that Orton was suspended for sixty days for "unprofessional conduct", On April 7, 2006, in an interview with WWE.com, Orton stated, "my conduct was unbecoming of a champion, which is what I will be again when I return". On April 12 2006, WWE stated that Orton had suffered a broken ankle at the hands of Kurt Angle during the previous night's SmackDown! taping, shortly after losing to Angle in a King of the Ring first round match. In July 2006, Orton claimed that he had been suspended for smoking marijuana backstage at a SmackDown! taping. While suspended, Orton spent four weeks at an anger management clinic in Atlanta, Georgia.

Orton returned from his suspension on the June 5 episode of RAW, attacking Kurt Angle and accepting Angle's open challenge for a match at One Night Stand. Four days before the show, at WWE vs. ECW Head to Head, Orton announced that his contract with SmackDown! had expired, and that he was once again a member of the RAW roster. Orton went on to lose to Angle at One Night Stand, but would win in a rematch at Vengeance.

Throughout July 2006, Orton would involve himself in a feud with WWE Legend Hulk Hogan by flirting with Hogan's 18 year old daughter Brooke. This feud would culminate in a match at SummerSlam 2006 which would see Hogan victorious.

After the suspension had been lifted in October, Orton joined with Edge to feud with Shawn Michaels and Triple H of D-Generation X (DX). The new duo dubbed themselves Rated-RKO and became the first team to defeat DX in a match since their reformation. Later, Rated-RKO would also win the World Tag Team Championships from Ric Flair and Roddy Piper.

2007

File:Ratedrkolive.jpg

Edge and Orton as Rated-RKO

In 2007, Rated-RKO continued their feud with DX while attacking Ric Flair (a friend of DX), using the attacks on Flair as emotional leverage to enrage DX. This resulted in a match at New Years Revolution on January 7 where Rated-RKO's World Tag Team titles were on the line. The match was declared a No-Contest, and Triple H suffered a legit right quadriceps injury during the match.

With Triple H out of action, Rated-RKO continued to feud with remaining DX member Shawn Michaels. On January 29 2007, Rated-RKO lost the World Tag Team Championships to Shawn Michaels and WWE Champion John Cena.

Seeds of a split between Rated-RKO began forming over the next several months while they were feuding with Michaels and Cena. Both Edge and Orton competed at Backlash for the WWE title, but lost when Michaels superkicked John Cena and Cena landed on Orton for the inadvertent pin.

At Judgment Day 2007 a wounded and concussed Shawn Michaels collapsed in the ring during the match. Due to the collapse, the referee was forced to stop the match and award the victory to Orton. Michaels was then taken out of the arena on a stretcher and was joined by his wife in the ring.

Orton then began to feud with ECW's Rob Van Dam, during a match between the two on RAW, Orton would concuss Van Dam in a similar fashion as he did to Michaels, executing an RKO. At One Night Stand 2007 Orton lost a Stretcher match to Rob Van Dam, when he rolled Orton over the line. But Orton would get his revenge. After the match was officially over, Orton viciously attacked Van Dam ending in a running kick to the head and an elevated DDT onto the concrete. Van Dam suffered a concussion (kayfabe) as a result of the attacks. The next night on RAW Orton continued his rampage by "taking out" Ric Flair with the same tactics he employed against Shawn Michaels and Rob Van Dam.

On the July 2 edition of RAW Orton had an altercation with Dusty Rhodes and his son Cody, showing disrespect to Rhodes, another "Legend", by slapping him across the face. At The Great American Bash, Orton defeated Rhodes in a Texas Bullrope match, by slamming him with a Cowbell. After the match, Orton had his sights on delivering a running kick to Rhodes; but was interrupted when Cody stopped Orton from doing so. Following the night after the Bash, Orton defeated Cody, who challenged Orton to a match. At the end of the match, Orton had Cody set up for a kick, until Dusty Rhodes made the save. But, instead, Rhodes fell victim to Orton, who went onto deliver the kick. He was then carried out of the arena on a stretcher. Later that night, Orton was announced as the number one contender for the WWE Championship. The following week, Orton had a match with Sgt. Slaughter; he went onto continue his attacks and sent him to the hospital.

In wrestling

• Finishing and signature moves

  

  Randy Orton performing his Super RKO (Elevated jumping cutter) on CM Punk.

  • RKO (Jumping cutter)
  • Super RKO (Elevated Jumping cutter)
  • Overdrive - in 2002
  • The Legend Killer (football kick to a kneeling opponent)
  • Wheelbarrow suplex - in Ohio Valley Wrestling
  • Randy Orton Stomp (Multiple stomps while circling a fallen opponent)
  • Elevated DDT
  • Wrenching chinlock
  • Jumping knee drop
  • Gutwrench elevated neckbreaker
  • Inverted headlock backbreaker
  • Scoop powerslam
  • Elevated Boston crab
  • European uppercut
  • Rapid forearm shots to head and chest of a seated opponent
  • Standing dropkick

• Managers
  • Ric Flair
  • "Cowboy" Bob Orton

• Nicknames
  • "The Legend Killer"
  • "The Legend Destroyer"

• Legends Defeated - as legend killer, Orton has "killed" the legends of singles wrestlers and tag teams alike:
  • The Fabulous Moolah
  • Shawn Michaels - Unforgiven 2003
  • Stone Cold Steve Austin - Survivor Series 2003
  • Sgt. Slaughter
  • Rock 'n' Sock Connection (Mick Foley and The Rock'- WrestleMania XX)
  • Cactus Jack (Mick Foley) - Backlash 2004
  • Chris Benoit - Summerslam 2004
  • Ric Flair - Taboo Tuesday 2004
  • Jake "The Snake" Roberts
  • Jerry "The King" Lawler
  • D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels)
  • Rob Van Dam - One Night Stand 2007
  • Dusty Rhodes

• Theme music
  • Burn In My Light by Mercy Drive
  • Line In The Sand by Motörhead (while Orton was part of Evolution)
  • Blastin' (Production theme while Orton was briefly in his first face run)
  • This Fire Burns by Killswitch Engage (used for one week, eventually became the theme for CM Punk.)

Championships and accomplishments

File:Orton-SS04.jpg

Randy Orton after winning the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam

• Ohio Valley Wrestling
  • OVW Hardcore Championship (2 times)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Rookie of the Year award in 2001
  • PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year award in 2004
  • PWI ranked him # 5 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2004.
• World Wrestling Entertainment
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
  • World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Edge
  • Seventeenth Triple Crown Champion
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Most Improved Wrestler in 2004

Personal life

While on RAW, Orton was accused of harassing fellow WWE employees Amy Weber and Rochelle Loewen, leading to the departure of Weber from the company, while Loewen was transferred to SmackDown! (she was later released). Loewen (who has called Orton "an animal") claimed that he vandalized her possessions and subjected her to harassment. However, it should be noted that Orton's friend Mark Jindrak refuted several of Loewen's accusations in an interview with Voice of Wrestling, and claimed that Orton had apologized to Loewen at the time of the 2005 Royal Rumble, and that fellow Diva Search contestant (and eventual winner) Christy Hemme denied what she knew of the allegations in an interview with The Sun.

Orton suffers from hypermobile shoulders.

In November 2005, Orton announced his engagement to his girlfriend Samantha Speno.They will be married in the fall of 2007.

Orton has a tattoo of his fiancée's name on his right arm. He also has designed signature tattoos on his wrists, upper biceps and on his upper back finishing his shoulders.

Orton who is the oldest, has two siblings, his sister Becky and his brother Nathan. His mother is Elaine Orton.

Orton's three favorite matches are: Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart - WrestleMania XII - Iron Man Match, Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon - WrestleMania X - Ladder Match and Randy Orton vs Mick Foley - Backlash - Hardcore Rules Match.

On March 19 2007, Sports Illustrated posted on its website an article in its continuing series investigating a steroid and HGH ring used by a number of professional athletes in several sports. That article mentioned several current and former WWE wrestlers, including Orton who was alleged to have obtained clomiphene citrate and the steroids stanozolol, nandrolone, anastrozole, oxandrolone, and testosterone. WWE has since made a statement on this situation, mentioning that the allegations preceded the Talent Wellness program WWE launched in February 2006.

External links

• WWE Profile
• Online World of Wrestling profile
• Randy Orton at IMDb

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