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Randy Orton
After signing with WWE, Orton became a member of the stable Evolution, which quickly led to his capture of the WWE Intercontinental Championship, his first title with the company. Orton also acquired the moniker “The Legend Killer” during a storyline where he began disrespecting Hall of Famers and physically attacking veterans of the industry outside of appropriate restrictions. In 2004, Orton became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion, when he won the title at the age of twenty-four. This title win resulted in his departure from Evolution and a feud with his former stablemates. In 2006, Orton joined forces with Edge in a tag team known as Rated-RKO. Together, Orton and Edge held the World Tag Team Championship. After the team disbanded, Orton, during mid-2007, won the WWE Championship twice in one night. He is also the winner of the 2009 Royal Rumble match.
Early Life
Professional Wrestling Career
Training
Orton made his wrestling debut in 2000 at the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Association-Southern Illinois Conference Wrestling (MMWA-SICW) in St. Louis, Missouri, an offshoot of the historic St. Louis Wrestling Club headed by Sam Muchnick. There, he was trained by both the promotion and his father, Cowboy Bob Orton. He only wrestled at the promotion for one month, where he performed with such wrestlers as Ace Strange and Mark Bland. Orton also refereed a few matches with World Organized Wrestling, a promotion where his uncle Barry Orton worked.
In 2001, Orton signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was sent to their farm territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in Louisville, Kentucky, where he continued his training. During his time in OVW, Orton wrestled the likes of Rico Constantino and The Prototype and teamed with Bobby Eaton during a tag team title tournament. He won the OVW Hardcore Champion on two separate occasions by defeating Mr. Black on February 14, 2001 and Flash Flanagan on May 5, 2001.
World Wrestling Entertainment
Evolution (2002-2005)
Orton’s first televised WWE match was against Hardcore Holly on SmackDown! on April 25, 2002. Soon after, Orton became a fan favorite and was placed in a series of matches with Holly. In September 2002, Orton was drafted to the Raw brand, where he defeated Stevie Richards in his debut on the show. Within weeks of his debut on the Raw brand, Orton suffered a shoulder injury, leaving him sidelined for months. While recovering, Orton still appeared on Raw, in his own Randy News Network segment, a weekly vignette featuring him talking about his condition. The show interrupted other segments of Raw programming, which caused Orton to slowly transition himself into a narcissistic and self-centered villain.
After his injury healed, Orton joined the Evolution stable, which consisted of Ric Flair, Triple H, and relative newcomer, Dave Batista. The group was pushed on Raw from 2003 to 2004, with the height of their dominance occurring after Armageddon in 2003 when all of the men’s titles on Raw were held by the members of Evolution. In 2003, Orton spent much of his time helping Triple H overcome challenges from Scott Steiner and Goldberg, former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) superstars who were vying with Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. Orton joined Triple H in a six-man Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam and was involved primarily to secure Triple H’s title defense.
Afterwards, Orton proclaimed himself “The Legend Killer”, a young upstart who was so talented that he touted himself as the future of professional wrestling. He embarked on numerous storyline feuds with “legendary” wrestlers and gained infamy for his blatant disrespect of many older, well-regarded names in wrestling history. He defeated Shawn Michaels at Unforgiven, in the first of many high profile matches billed as “Legend versus Legend Killer”, with the help of his stablemate and mentor Ric Flair. Orton then spat in the face of Harley Race on the April 26, 2004 episode of Raw.
During this time, Orton began using the move that would become his signature finisher, the RKO, a jumping cutter, named after his initials. Orton soon defeated Rob Van Dam for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Armageddon on December 14, 2003. With this win, Orton started the longest Intercontinental title reign in seven years, holding the title for seven months.
Orton continued to establish himself as a “Legend Killer” throughout 2004, challenging the semi-retired wrestler Mick Foley. Famed for his hardcore matches and an ability to handle excruciating pain, Foley offered Orton a hardcore “Legend versus Legend Killer” match if Orton would put his Intercontinental Championship on the line. In a bloody match involving thumbtacks and barbed wire, Orton defeated Foley.
In July, at Vengeance, Edge defeated Orton to win the Intercontinental Championship, ending Orton’s seven month title reign. After the loss of his Intercontinental Championship, Orton entered the World Heavyweight Championship scene. After becoming the number one contender on July 26, he cleanly defeated Chris Benoit for the championship with the added distinction of being the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in wrestling history at age twenty-four. Benoit congratulated Orton after the match, shaking his hand for showing the ability to “be a man”.
The following night, Evolution threw Orton a mock celebration, only to reveal that they were not pleased with his new victory. While Batista had Orton propped on his shoulders in elation, Triple H gave him a pleased thumbs up and then abruptly changed it to a thumbs-down, which was followed by Batista dropping Orton to the mat. Ric Flair and Batista attacked Orton in the ring as Triple H revealed his jealousy for Orton’s title. He ordered Orton to hand over the championship, but he refused, spitting in Triple H’s face and hitting him with the title belt. Orton’s break-up with Evolution began a new storyline for him as a face when he continued to feud with his former stablemates. A month later, Orton lost his championship at Unforgiven. Seeking revenge, Orton lashed out at Evolution members, catching them by surprise during a show by giving them a large cake as a make-up gift, which he came out of it to beat and humiliate the group. After this, Orton experienced another 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 opponents at severe disadvantages during title defenses. Orton was granted another chance at the championship in January 2005 but lost a six-man championship Elimination Chamber match to Triple H at New Year’s Revolution. On the January 10 episode of Raw, Orton defeated Batista to earn a match against Triple H at the Royal Rumble for the World Heavyweight title. At the Royal Rumble, Triple H defeated Orton to retain the World title.
Singles Competition (2005–2006)
Orton began an on-screen relationship with Stacy Keibler and briefly feuded with Christian in February 2005. On the February 28 episode of Raw, “Superstar” Billy Graham made an appearance, in which he advised Orton to “go where no wrestler [had] gone before”. Orton then produced a copy of SmackDown! magazine, which featured The Undertaker on the cover. Heeding Graham’s advice, Orton claimed that he would set himself apart from all other wrestlers by ending The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania. Throughout March 2005, Orton taunted The Undertaker, claiming he was unafraid of him. On the March 21 episode of Raw, Orton turned heel once more after he delivered an RKO to his unsuspecting on-screen girlfriend, Stacy Keibler, knocking her unconscious. During Orton’s promos, he would immediately run for cover when signs of The Undertaker’s appearance were near (lightning, darkness, or smoke). When legend wrestler Jake Roberts advised Orton not to underestimate The Undertaker, Orton performed an RKO on Roberts as well. In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, Orton became more defiant and unafraid of the Undertaker, taunting and assaulting him in the ring following distractions from his father, “Cowboy” Bob Orton. At WrestleMania 21, however, the heavily hyped match was unsuccessful for Orton, as he lost despite his father’s interference.
The following night on Raw, Orton faced Batista, who had become World Heavyweight Champion. Orton stated on-screen that his match with The Undertaker had aggravated a shoulder injury.[65] While sidelined, Orton appeared on Raw and claimed that he was ineligible for the WWE Draft Lottery due to his injury. He was informed by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon that he was indeed a candidate for the draft, leaving a possibility of a return to SmackDown!. Orton returned to WWE programming for the SmackDown! brand on June 16, announcing that he was the second pick in the 2005 draft lottery. He rekindled his feud with The Undertaker, defeating him at SummerSlam following a distraction from his father. Two months later, Orton and his father Bob Orton defeated The Undertaker in a Handicap Casket match. The following month, Orton was a participant in the annual elimination match of Team SmackDown against Team Raw at Survivor Series. In the match, Orton was the last remaining wrestler in the match, as he pinned Shawn Michaels to get the victory for Team SmackDown. At the event, The Undertaker, who had been absent since Orton had apparently killed him on an episode of SmackDown!, returned by emerging from a flaming casket. The feud was finally settled with a Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon, where The Undertaker offered to retire if he lost. On December 16, The Undertaker entered the ring to deliver a promo while one of his druids appeared to be standing in the ring. The Undertaker sustained an RKO from Orton in a surprise attack. The druid revealed himself to be Orton’s father, who gave Orton the Undertaker’s urn, which, according to the storyline, allowed whomever held it to control The Undertaker. The Undertaker, however, beat both Ortons in a Hell in a Cell match, which ended their nine-month-long feud with The Undertaker.
Following Armageddon, Orton entered the January 2006 Royal Rumble as the thirtieth wrestler to enter the match, but he was eliminated by Rey Mysterio. Mysterio won the match and a title shot, and Orton urged him to put the title shot at stake in a match at No Way Out. In the weeks preceding No Way Out, Orton made disparaging remarks about Eddie Guerrero, Mysterio’s friend, in an attempt to gain heel heat. Guerrero’s death had occurred only months previously, and many fans felt the comments were unwarranted and highly distasteful. Orton won at No Way Out, earning Mysterio’s title shot for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22. General Manager Theodore Long re-added Mysterio to the WrestleMania 22 title match, however, making it a Triple Threat match between Orton, Mysterio, and then-champion, Kurt Angle. On April 2, at WrestleMania 22, Orton was pinned by Mysterio, making Mysterio the World Heavyweight Champion and ending their on-screen rivalry.
On April 4, 2006, Orton was suspended for sixty days for “unprofessional conduct.” In an interview, Orton stated, “my conduct was unbecoming of a champion, which is what I will be again when I return”. To cover for the suspension, a faked injury was devised, where Kurt Angle broke Orton’s ankle during a grudge match. In July, Orton said his suspension resulted from smoking marijuana backstage. Orton returned from his suspension in June to the Raw brand, where he engaged in a storyline feud with Hulk Hogan. Orton began cutting promos insulting the aging Hogan and flirted with Hogan’s eighteen-year-old daughter Brooke. At SummerSlam, the two met in a “Legend vs. Legend Killer” match, which Hogan won.