Rated-RKO
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| Rated-RKO | |
|---|---|
| Tag team | |
| Members | Edge Randy Orton |
| Name(s) | Edge and Orton Rated-RKO |
| Billed heights | Edge: 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) Randy Orton: 6 ft 4 in (194 cm) |
| Combined billed weight | 495 lb (225 kg) |
| Former member(s) | Lita (valet) |
| Debut | October 9, 2006 |
Rated-RKO is a professional wrestling tag team, on the RAW brand of World Wrestling Entertainment. The team consists of Edge and Randy Orton, and were joined by valet Lita until her (legit) retirement.
The team's name is a portmanteau of Edge's Rated-R Superstar nickname and Randy Orton's RKO, both his initials and the name of his finishing maneuver.
History
One week after D-Generation X (DX) (Shawn Michaels and Triple H) interfered in a steel cage match match between Edge and John Cena for Cena's WWE Championship -- a match which was to be Edge's last attempt at the belt-- Orton joined forces with Edge to "get rid of" DX. Edge cited Orton's lack of success after being kicked out of Evolution by Triple H, which he claimed stalled Orton's career, as well as the antics of DX taking up TV time that he (kayfabe) felt should rightfully go to the younger stars as reasons Orton should join him, with Orton agreeing.
Edge and Orton immediately became very outspoken against DX, calling themselves Rated-RKO, and began mocking them at every opportunity, including a sketch reminiscent of the ones DX would do about their opponents. Eventually Orton traded wins with Triple H in singles matches on episodes of RAW, leading to a tag team match at Cyber Sunday with the fans choosing the special guest referee. At the pay-per-view, the duo gave DX their first team loss since they reunited when Eric Bischoff (the fan selected referee) allowed the use of a steel chair without calling for a disqualification. Earlier in the same show Lita won the Women's Championship in the finals of a seven woman tournament.
On the next night's RAW, Edge & Orton faced Ric Flair and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper for their recently won Tag Team titles, but were unsuccessful despite unfair officiating from Eric Bischoff. The next week, however, Rated RKO managed to capture the titles in a rematch when they attacked Piper upon making his entrance, with Edge going so far as to deliver a one man con-chair-to to Piper. As he was taken to the locker room by paramedics, Flair was forced to defend the titles by himself, and Rated-RKO won the match after Edge hit Flair with a spear. The real reason for the sudden switch was later revealed to be Piper's diagnosis of lymphoma forcing him out of action.
At Survivor Series, Lita (legitly) retired from WWE after losing her Women's Championship to Mickie James and leaving the group in the process. Later in the night Team Rated-RKO -- consisting of Rated-RKO along with Johnny Nitro, Mike Knox and Gregory Helms -- were swept by Team DX -- DX with Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy and CM Punk -- with Orton being the last member eliminated in a survivor series style match. On a subsequent episode of RAW Edge and Orton beat Ric Flair bloody, continuing to beat him after dragging him to the ring when it had been made clear this his DX friends had left the arena. In doing so DX claimed they had made their rivalry "personal".
At the 2007 New Year's Revolution pay-per-view event, Rated-RKO retained the Tag Team Championship after they and DX fought to a no-contest in a match that saw Triple H suffer a (legit) torn right quadriceps muscle. Rated-RKO figured this signaled the end of DX, and were able to book a two on one handicap match against Michaels, during which he was able to defy the and odds beat both men, leaving Orton lying in the ring after a one man con-chair-to as Edge stood and watched at ringside. The next week, though Orton helped Edge during the night, bad blood was still evident between the two and Orton eventually threw his partner out of the ring, in much the same way one would in the forthcoming Royal Rumble. On January 29, 2007, Rated-RKO lost the World Tag Team Championship to the impromptu team of John Cena and Shawn Michaels.
In wrestling
- Finishing and signature maneuvers
- Con-chair-to - Edge and Orton
- RKO (Jumping cutter) - Orton
- Edgecution (Lifting DDT) - Edge
- Spear - Edge
- Signature foreign object
- Chairs, often each member will perform the one man con-chair-to on opponents.
- Theme music and ring entrance
- As a group, Rated-RKO use a combination of both Edge and Orton's separate theme songs (Metalingus by Alter Bridge, and Burn in My Light by Mercy Drive respectively). It begins with a pitch-lowered Metalingus before switching to a pitch-heightened Burn in My Light and alternates between the two as the wrestlers enter. They initially used Edge's Titantron video and Orton's tunnel video before one was finally created for the team in itself. They enter the ring through Edge's fog pyrotechnics, but not Orton's pyro waterfall.
Championships and accomplishments
- World Tag Team Championship (Edge and Orton, 1 time)
- WWE Women's Championship (Lita, 1 time while valeting the group)
Trivia
- Their first tag team title reign marks Randy Orton's first tag title reign, but brings Edge's total reigns to eleven (12 tag title reigns altogether with the WWE tag title reign), the most reigns of any individual (see his article for more information).
- Their tag title reign also makes Orton the seventeenth WWE Triple Crown Champion, having won a World title, second-tier title, and tag team title. Edge has also accomplished this feat.
- Before officially teaming up as "Rated-RKO", Edge and Orton had previously worked as a tag team several times in 2006. They first teamed up at the final ECW show before Vengeance to face Kurt Angle and WWE and ECW Champion Rob Van Dam in a loss. They also worked together at the last two RAW shows before Unforgiven in six man tag matches against Carlito and John Cena. Lita and Johnny Nitro were their third partners in each match, Trish Stratus and Jeff Hardy being the enemy counterparts. Orton and Edge won the first (Lita - Trish) match but lost the second (Nitro - Jeff) match.
- Before forming Rated-RKO, both Edge and Orton have stated in separate interviews on Byte This! that their match as opponents at Vengeance 2004 for the Intercontinental Championship is one of their favorites in recent memory. They actually had a short feud between May and June of that year, which manifested itself on-and-off until Orton's heel turn prior to WrestleMania 21 in 2005.