Please…Don’t Hate 5.25.08: Randy Orton

Posted by Julian Bond on 05.25.2008

While there may not be as much love-lost towards the guy nowadays, I want to make peace with anyone out there who still wants to hate on the man known as the Legend Killer, Randy Orton.

Welcome everyone to Please…Don't Hate, the weekly column which takes a look at some of the most hated on and complained about wrestlers, companies, and topics within the wrestling world. For this edition, we are going to take a glance at the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history in Randy Orton. It seems like there isn't as much hating against Orton in the last year since he's upped his game in and out of the ring, but I noticed that there still exists a few people who just don't want to give him his proper due. This is where I step in. Before I do so…

Reader Reverb
This is the section where two reader comments, one being for last week's topic and the other being against, are chosen and I give my two cents on them.

Last week's topic: Triple H

Note to Readers: For the reason I stated last week of people hating Triple H for "being too old to still be wrestling", I really meant to say that I heard a few people say in the last year that Trips was "too old" to be constantly in the main event. And by "too old", I honestly didn't mean his age literally (especially with people like Batista and HBK around the same age wrestling), but with Triple H "hogging up" the championship scene that he's been in a long time instead of just letting the younger up and comers (Orton, Cena, Kennedy) take it up. I didn't really empathize this point in the column and I probably should have left it out in the first place to avoid any confusion. Sorry for any misunderstand.

Also as one reader pointed out (thanks for the minor correction), the Raw Year-End match against HBK was in 2003 and not in 2002 as I stated.

Claire (Registered) comments:

Personally I've always had respect for HHH, I hated him in Evolution but I knew that there was a point to the whole story, we got Orton and Batista. Yes he cheated, yes he was King Shit for a very long time but as you stated, every match he worked hard not only making himself look good but his opponent, hence the cheating so it looks like he can't beat them any other way. There are few in the business who can be such a despised & hated heel and a switch in story lines and he is loved by all, old people, babies, kittens. Yes he married up, yes in some small part I'm sure that has helped him rise to the top, but he has also worked his ass off and it may be random and most don't acknowledge it but he does put new guys over. Ask yourself, where Orton would be right now if HHH hadn't been involved in his career? For me Orton opened my eyes with his Hardcore match with Foley but he cemented his future as main event status against HHH.

But, one thing I will never forgive is trashing Takers bike and throwing it off the stage on SD! sad day that was!

Yes, I agree…it was a very sad day in the wrestling world when the Dead Man's bike was utterly destroyed by HHH….funny as hell too! But I also agree with your other points about Triple H. People may utterly hate the guy and others may not like the small fact that he may have a slight advantage with his family connections, but you have to step back and respect what the man has done in the business thus far. Sure he was the top world champion for almost too long of a time, but as a killer heel, he helped get others over by making them look in trying to beat him. Plus on top of this, he also is the one of the only few people to have the ability to seamlessly go from face to heel and back again without a hitch. People should stop hating so much on him and instead gives props for some of the rare abilities that make him one of the most diverse and reliable wrestlers out there today.

JJ (Guest) comments:

I hate the "...well he had to lose a lot to be a 12 time champion" argument because nowadays, the only reason why he even loses the title is so that when he inevitably wins it back, he'll be one step closer to having more title reigns than Flair.

Of all of the arguments against Triple H, this is the one I dislike the most. I pointed out in the column that the main possible reasoning why he gained a good number of those 12 world titles were in between 2002 – 2005 was likely due to the limited amount of viable champions that were available at the time. EVERYONE who says this argument are always stating that HHH is attempting to pull a "Ric Flair" by trying to break his record of title wins, but I believe this isn't the case. People know that HHH admires Flair and wants to be just like him, but I don't see the powers that be saying "Hey, who cares what plans we have for the belt, let's just get it to HHH just cause!!". No, they've given him the strap because he deserved it and because he was the best choice. If the man was truly that powerful just to ask for Flair's record, then he probably would have already reached that goal by now with his alleged "grand power of politics".

Now….The Legend Killer.



Why People Hate On…Randy Orton
-Bland in-ring personality
-Uses same basic moves in matches
-Not good fit as World Champ
-Cocky/unprofessional attitude outside of ring

My Reasoning for Not Hating On… Randy Orton
Okay, I realize that straight off the bat a few readers may be saying "Why is he bothering to do a column on Randy Orton when a lot of people seem to like him now?". Well I had a couple of reasons for wanting to do so. The first reason as I stated above is that I noticed that they are still a nice amount of people out there that don't like young Randy's work, while the second reason is to talk about the thinking of those who totally hated on Orton about a year ago and now have turned a 180 by being a new member on his bandwagon. No offense to anyone with this label, but I really wanted to point out to these "bandwagon" fans, who all of a sudden went from hating the guy's guts to being a frequent viewer of his matches, the reasons why I think that Randy has ALWAYS been good inside of the ring before the hate started to disappear and why he shouldn't have been bad-mouthed so much during this time.

The first complaint that some people have with Orton is about his personality. I heard people say that the things they hate the most are his "robotic"-type, monotone sounding promos and somewhat generic heel persona. I think the opposite. While he isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread on the mic, Orton has given some horribly great heel promos in the last few years. Starting with his first heelish "RNN Breaking News Reports" skits, in which he constantly gave the audience his own injury status, and his face-to-face confrontations (and spiting incident) with Mick Foley to his proclamations of being a "Legend Killer" and starting the "Age of Orton". From just these examples alone, you know that the man can be a killer heel that definitely knows how to get massive crowd heat and should be forgiven if a few of his promos come off a little bit flat.

The other thing haters gripe on is with Randy's move set. They say that his moves are basic and boring with the same non-spectacular moves throughout each match. Some people have even dubbed him "the Master of the Headlock". With that I horribly disagree. First and foremost, viewers have to remember that the man is attempting to be a heel…a true red-blooded heel. And as a very good one, Randy uses the old school wrestling psychology of not pulling out all of the big moves as a working heel. With that said, I'm not saying that to be a good heel that you have to be boring in the ring, but you have to know when to pull out the good moves and Orton does this very well at the right times. On top of this, and people can definitely argue with me on this, the man is one of the best people I've EVER seen to use the Ace Crusher move the best with his RKO finisher version. I've seen wrestlers like DDP (Diamond Cutter) and Homicide (Gringo Cutter) do it great justice, but the way that Orton puts so much intensity and unpredictably into the move really makes it truly his own.

For the true-blue Orton haters, when he won the WWE Title from HHH at the No Mercy back in October 07', they cried out that he wouldn't make it past a couple of title defenses. But oh how he proved everyone wrong. Haters always want to bring up Randy's first title reign in 2004 with the World Heavyweight Championship and how HHH crippled his stint on top to only one fateful month. Since then, some have had this in the back of their mind thinking that Orton had a slim chance of a becoming a long reigning World Champ. During his almost 6 months with the WWE Title, he admittingly didn't have the greatest promos nor the greatest matches in the world, but he did do the unthinkable of proving a lot of people wrong by being a very reliable and steady champion at the top of the company and shows that he is able to easily carry the big torch when handed to him.

Lastly, people hate on the guy simply based on the readings they see on his out-of-ring antics. Rumors and reports of Randy being unprofessional backstage and on the road have been definitely wide-spread since his arrival in the WWE. Again, like I had mentioned in the column I did on Sean Waltman (X-Pac) a few weeks ago, viewers should stop being so concerned about what a wrestler does after hours. We are not there behind the scenes, we are not their family members or friends, so why should we be judge and jury for what they do in their own personal time. If we are that concerned with their outside mistakes over their willingness to entertain us paying fans, then we aren't doing them justice by constantly criticizing them for something we don't fully know about. Orton even said in a recent interview that he's admitted that he has made some mistakes that he regrets and wants to be a better person and better wrestler in the ring. We should just watch the matches and let those actions be the judge for us.

Good Reasons to Love…Randy Orton
The Beginning of The Legend Killer

While in his stint with the heel group Evolution, Orton started a moniker of his called The Legend Killer, in which he would go around beating up and taking out such legends as Jake the Snake Roberts, Sgt. Slaughter, and Dusty Rhodes. The true genesis of this and a sign that this persona would be a great lasting one was found in his stellar feud against the hardcore legend Mick Foley.

(Excellent Promo on Foley at Wrestlemania)


Hanging With The Main Eventers

After his lackluster turn as a babyface following his brief World Heavyweight Title run, the WWE thankfully got Randy back to his old ways by turning him back heel and having him gun for one of the biggest dogs in the wrestling yard with the Undertaker. Their near year-long feud that also involved wrestling legend and the man's own daddy Randy Orton Sr., helped established him as a natural main-event player.

(Orton vs Undertaker Feud)


Reign As WWE Champ

When Orton won the WWE Championship from HHH last October, some viewers gave his title reign only at most a couple of months to really last. But the man went ahead and proved those people wrong by lasting almost 6 whole months with the strap around his waist. His matches against the returning Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, and John Cena were all pretty impressive, but none more so than his memorable Survivor Series bout against Shawn Michaels.

(Survivor Series Match vs. Michaels)


Overall for the hopefully few haters (current and former) of Orton still out there, I just ask for you stop constantly downing on the guy. He is easily one of the most unique and well-rounded heels that has been seen in a very long time. Even with this, you can't really take away his accomplishments thus far: being the Survivor Series MVP by winning 3 team matches in a row (2003 – 2005), holding one of the longest WWE Intercontinental Champion reigns ever, and having some great programs with Rey Mysterio, Undertaker, Edge and Degeneration X. So I ain't asking you to like the guy, I'm just asking you to not hate on one of the best in the biz currently putting on good match after good match for us the fans.


On The Next Episode of…"Please…Don't Hate"
In the second edition of Readers' Request, we cover a true legend in the wrestling industry whose rumored reputation of dirty backstage politics and unwillingness to put others over is often talked about over his long storied wrestling legacy. We take a look at Hulk Hogan.