Randy Orton
| Randy Orton | |
|---|---|
| File:RandyKOrton.jpg | |
| Born | April 1, 1980 Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Randy Orton |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) |
| Billed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
| Trained by | Cowboy Bob Orton South Broadway Athletic Club Ohio Valley Wrestling |
| Debut | 2000 |
Randall Keith "Randy" Orton (born April 1, 1980 in Knoxville, Tennessee), is an American professional wrestler, currently working for the SmackDown! brand of World Wrestling Entertainment .
A third-generation professional wrestler, Orton comes from a family of professional wrestlers, ranging from his grandfather, Bob Orton, Sr., to his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton. His uncle, Barry O, was also a former wrestler.
Career
After graduating from Hazelwood Central High School, Randy Orton made his professional wrestling debut in 2000 with the MMWA-SICW in his hometown of Saint Louis, Missouri. In MMWA-SICW or South Broadway Athletic Club as it is known in St. Louis, he was trained by such wrestlers there as Ron Powers, Gary Jackson, Mark Bland, Jeremy Lightfoot, Phil E. Blunt and promoter Tony Costa as well as father, Cowboy Bob Orton. This is an organization that was an off-shoot of the old Wrestling at the Chase headed by Sam Munchnick between 1950-1983. Randy Orton then had a match with another St. Louis group, Central Championship Wrestling, with O.G. Stevie B. Not long after, he signed a developmental deal with WWE and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling.
The Legend Killer
Orton trained at Ohio Valley Wrestling in Louisville, until he was brought up to the main roster . Orton debuted on WWE programming on the April 25, 2002 episode of SmackDown!, defeating Hardcore Holly. He made little impact as a face on SmackDown! before being drafted to RAW, where he became a heel.
Orton's heel turn was drawn out over several months. While sidelined with a separated shoulder, Orton launched the "Randy News Network", a weekly vignette which featured Orton explaining the current status of his shoulder. He also provided an e-mail address by which fans could contact him to express their support (GetWellRandy@wwe.com). His smug, self-centered attitude gradually turned the fans against him.
Upon his return on January 20, 2003, Orton helped Triple H, Ric Flair and Batista beat down Scott Steiner, a rival of Triple H's. Triple H later called the foursome Evolution. At this point Orton was given the gimmick of The Legend Killer which saw him defeating or humiliating legendary wrestlers and personalities. Orton gained infamy when he spat in the faces of wrestling legends Mick Foley and Harley Race. At Unforgiven 2003 on September 21, Orton defeated Shawn Michaels with the help of Ric Flair.
Orton went on to defeat Rob Van Dam for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Armageddon 2003 on December 14. He became one of the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champions of recent years, holding the title for seven months.
World Heavyweight Champion
On the July 26, 2004 episode of RAW, Orton won a twenty-man battle royal last eliminating Chris Jericho to become the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. On August 15, 2004 at SummerSlam 2004, Orton defeated the World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit by pinfall following an R.K.O. to capture his first World Heavyweight Championship, making him the youngest ever World Heavyweight Champion in the WWE at the age of twenty-four. After the match, Orton and Benoit shook hands in which Benoit encouraged Orton to "be a man." The match was held in Toronto, Ontario at the Air Canada Centre.
After successfully defending the belt against Benoit on RAW the next night, Orton and Evolution celebrated the win. During the celebration, Batista had Orton on his shoulders and Triple H gave him a thumbs-up; which then turned into a thumbs down. Orton was then brutalized by Batista, Flair, and Triple H. He was thrown out of Evolution the next week on RAW after he refused to hand his World Heavyweight Championship over to Triple H when requested, instead spitting on Triple H and striking him in the face with the belt. Orton became a face as a result, and began using new entrance music, Burn In My Light by Mercy Drive. He feuded with Triple H over the World Heavyweight Championship for a month before losing to Triple H on September 12, 2004 at Unforgiven 2004.
Orton versus Evolution
After losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Triple H, Orton continued to feud with his former stablemates. After he was scheduled to take part in a match in late October that would see him prohibited from challenging Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship if he lost, Orton had an added incentive to see Triple H lose the title.
Orton, along with Maven, Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, emerged victorious at Survivor Series 2004 in a match which entitled the winners to each be General Manager for one of the four weeks following the event. On the November 29, 2004, episode of RAW, Orton booked a battle royal for the World Heavyweight Championship in the belief that this would ensure that Triple H lost the title. However, Vince McMahon overruled Orton, changing the battle royal to a number one contender match. Orton also gave Eugene and William Regal a match for the WWE World Tag-Team Championships against La Résistance, pitted Jerry Lawler against Ric Flair in a legend vs. legend match, and scheduled a lingerie contest between several RAW Divas.
After the World Heavyweight Championship was vacated on December 13, Orton was chosen to face Triple H, Chris Benoit, Edge, Batista and Chris Jericho in an Elimination Chamber match at New Year's Revolution 2005 on January 9, 2005 to determine a new champion. Triple H managed to win the match, thus keeping their feud active for a longer period of time. He was later unsuccessful in his attempt to win back the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H at the 2005 Royal Rumble on January 30,2005.
Return of the Legend Killer
After Batista's push began, Orton was marginalized. He began an onscreen relationship with Stacy Keibler and briefly feuded with Christian. After "Superstar" Billy Graham advised Orton to "go where no wrestler has gone before", Orton challenged veteran SmackDown! wrestler The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania 21, making the ambitious claim that he would defeat The Undertaker, thus ending Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania streak.
This feud saw Orton hitting the R.K.O. on Jake "The Snake" Roberts, who had warned him about facing The Undertaker. Just two weeks before WrestleMania, Orton cemented his heel status by knocking Stacy out with the R.K.O. 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 after he attempted a Tombstone Piledriver, but was off-balance, enabling The Undertaker to reverse the move into his own Tombstone Piledriver for the pinfall victory.
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.
Orton returned to WWE television on the June 16, 2005 episode of SmackDown!, attacking The Undertaker and announcing that he was the second SmackDown! second pick in the 2005 draft lottery. He made his in-ring return two weeks later, 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 oversized 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.
On November 11, 2005, Orton faced Rey Mysterio in a match with a place on "Team SmackDown!" (a group of SmackDown! employees scheduled to face a rival group of RAW wrestlers at the 2005 Survivor Series) on the line. The match was declared a no-contest after Bob Orton interfered. The following week, Orton was scheduled to face Eddie Guerrero and Batista in a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship. However, as a result of the sudden death of Guerrero, Batista and Orton instead fought one another in a no holds barred match. The match again ended in disqualification following interference from "Team RAW".
At Survivor Series, Orton took Guerrero's place on "Team SmackDown!". Orton became the sole survivor of his team for the third year in a row, pinning HBK 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, Orton placed The Undertaker in the trunk of one of Eddie Guerrero's lowriders and reversed the car through the SmackDown! stage, setting it on fire. The Undertaker retorted by playing mind game on 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 , 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 R.K.O. The "druid" then revealed himself to be Bob Orton, and gave Orton The Undertaker's signature urn to strike him with. At Armageddon, The Undertaker defeated Orton after delivering the Tombstone Piledriver to both Orton and his father.
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 R.K.O. 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 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 again added Mysterio to the match. For the second time ever, the main event of WrestleMania will be a Triple Threat Match with Orton and Mysterio facing World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle.
Finishing and signature moves
- R.K.O. (Jumping cutter)
- Super R.K.O. (Top rope jumping cutter)
- O-Zone (Overdrive)
- Elevated DDT
- European uppercut
- Stretch backbreaker
- Frog splash style flying crossbody
- Standing dropkick
- Wrenching rear chinlock
- Wheelbarrow German suplex (OVW)
Championships and accomplishments
- 2-time OVW Hardcore Champion
- PWI Rookie of the Year Award (2001)
- PWI Most Improved Award (2004)
- PWI Top 500 ranked number 29 (2005)
- 1-time World Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time WWE Intercontinental Champion
- 2004 Most Improved Wrestler
Championship succession
Personal life
Before becoming a wrestler, Orton enlisted with the United States Marine Corps out of high school. Orton was dishonorably discharged about a year later after going AWOL on two occasions, the first time for eighty two days, and disobeying an order from a commanding officer, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Private First Class Orton was convicted under a special court-martial, and was put into a military prison for thirty eight days. As this was before the law changed in 2002, Orton did not become a felon as a result.
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 claimed that he vandalized her possessions and directed racist remarks towards her, calling him "an animal." It should however 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 [1].
In late 2004 and early 2005, it was rumored that Orton was in a relationship with Stacy Keibler after appearing on RAW together. It was later confirmed that they were not romantically linked off-screen.
In November 2005, Orton announced his engagement to long term girlfriend Samantha. [2] Orton has been fueling rumours that he may already be married after appearing at the Royal Rumble press conference and February 10 edition of SmackDown by wearing a possible wedding ring. Though it is thought it could be an engagment ring.
Trivia
- Although Orton is the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in the history of WWE, he is only the fourth youngest person to hold a version of the World Heavyweight Championship. Lou Thesz won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the age of 21, The Giant won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at the age of 23, and Kerry Von Erich won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the age of 24 years and three months in May 1984.
- Orton was the sole survivor of elimination tag matches at Survivor Series in three successive years (2003, 2004 and 2005). In 2003 and 2005 he defeated Shawn Michaels to win the respective matches, while in 2004 he pinned Triple H.
- The name of Orton's finishing move (the "R.K.O.") is presumably an acronym referring to the initials of his full name (Randall Keith Orton).
External links
