Randy Orton

name=Randy Orton

Career

The Legend Killer

Randy Orton trained at Ohio Valley Wrestling in Louisville, until he was brought up to the main roster. He made little impact as a face on SmackDown! before being drafted to RAW, where he became a heel.

Related Topics:
Louisville - Face - RAW - Heel

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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-centred attitude gradually turned the fans against him.

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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.

Related Topics:
January 20 - 2003 - Triple H - Ric Flair - Batista - Scott Steiner - Evolution - Gimmick - Mick Foley - Harley Race - Unforgiven 2003 - September 21 - Shawn Michaels

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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.

Related Topics:
Rob Van Dam - WWE Intercontinental Championship - Armageddon 2003 - December 14 - The Honky Tonk Man

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World Heavyweight Champion

On the July 26, 2004 episode of RAW, Orton won a 20-man battle royal 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.

Related Topics:
July 26 - 2004 - Battle royal - World Heavyweight Championship - August 15 - SummerSlam 2004 - Chris Benoit - R.K.O. - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre

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Orton was kicked out of Evolution the night after after winning the World Heavyweight Championship, which the group's leader, Triple H, believed belonged to him. Orton became a face, and Triple H began feuding with him over the title. Just under a month later on September 12, Orton lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Triple H at Unforgiven 2004. His short reign as World Heavyweight Champion was largely regarded as a dismal failure, in part due to his unwanted and sudden rise to main event status but largely because his face turn was not well received by the majority of the WWE audience, especially as Chris Benoit had clearly been a popular World Heavyweight Champion. Backstage politics by Triple H were also rumoured to have played a part in his short run as champion.

Related Topics:
World Heavyweight Championship - Triple H - September 12 - Unforgiven

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Orton was one of the one-night-only General Managers of RAW, along with Maven, Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, following their victory 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. 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, and scheduled a lingerie contest between several RAW divas.

Related Topics:
Maven - Chris Jericho - Chris Benoit - Survivor Series - November 29 - Vince McMahon - WWE World Tag-Team Championships

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After the World Heavyweight Championship was vacated, Orton was chosen to face Triple H, Chris Benoit, Edge, Batista and Chris Jericho in an Elimination Chamber match at WWE New Year's Revolution 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.

Related Topics:
Triple H - Edge - Batista - Elimination Chamber - New Year's Revolution - Royal Rumble

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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.

Related Topics:
Stacy Keibler - Christian - "Superstar" Billy Graham - The Undertaker - WrestleMania 21

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This feud saw Orton hitting the R.K.O. on Jake "The Snake" Roberts, who had warned him not to "bite off more than he could chew" by facing The Undertaker. Just two weeks before WrestleMania, Orton cemented his heel status by knocking Stacy out cold 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 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.

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In storyline terms, a match with Batista the night after WrestleMania aggravated Orton's shoulder problems stemming from the previous night (in real life he was sidelined for several months while recuperating from his third genuine shoulder injury). The following week, WWE showed footage of Orton undergoing shoulder surgery in a hospital, where he sent Batista a message. Stacy Keibler, watching along with some other RAW divas, stated "Orton got what he deserved." He made an appearance on RAW on May 16th to talk about he was going to stay on RAW to get revenge on Batista and take his world title during the draft lottery and got in a confrontation with Vince McMahon. While Orton claimed that he could not be drafted to SmackDown because he's on the injured list, Vince McMahon cleared the air for Orton by saying "Even those on the injured list are not immune to the draft".

Related Topics:
Storyline terms - Vince McMahon

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Orton returned on the June 16, 2005 edition of SmackDown!, attacking The Undertaker and announcing that he had been drafted back to SmackDown! as the second pick in the 2005 draft lottery. On August 4, he challenged The Undertaker to a WrestleMania rematch at SummerSlam, and his challenge was accepted. Orton won his first two matches following his injury, defeating Kamala (with Kim Chee) and Chris Benoit in consecutive weeks, and went on to defeat The Undertaker at SummerSlam following interference from his father. As a result of his wins, Orton became increasingly self-confident, and announced that he was creating a retirement fund for The Undertaker, who was "dead and buried". However, The Undertaker returned on the first episode of Friday Night SmackDown!, setting the check alight with a mysterious bolt of lightning.

Related Topics:
June 16 - August 4 - SummerSlam - Kamala - Kim Chee - Chris Benoit - Lightning

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On the September 15 episode of SmackDown!, Orton and The Undertaker fought for a third time. Before the match, Orton and his father attempted to shock The Undertaker by placing a casket in the ring with an effigy of The Undertaker inside. Despite the psychological attack, Orton lost the subsequent match. The following week, the Ortons brought another casket to the ring, containing what was purportedly an Undertaker mannequin. However, while the Ortons cut a promo on the mannequin and claimed to have defeated The Undertaken mentally, if not physically, the mannequin (revealing itself to be The Undertaker in the flesh) caught Orton by the throat and threw him into the coffin. As a result of the events of previous weeks, the Ortons are scheduled to face The Undertaker in a handicap casket match at No Mercy on October 9.

Related Topics:
September 15 - Casket - Mannequin - Promo - Casket match - No Mercy - October 9

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On October 3 edition of WWE Raw's Homecoming Randy and his father appeared and interrupted "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Mick Foley during Piper's Pit, this caused a confrontation between Randy and Piper who brawled causing Foley and Bob to intervene between the two which ended with Bob fighting Foley. The segment ended with Randy giving the RKO to Piper and inevitably adding "Rowdy" Roddy Piper to the list of legends killed. This later set up a match between Piper and Randy for October 7 edition of SmackDown, 2 days before the Ortons are due to face the Undertaker at No Mercy

Related Topics:
October 3 - October 7

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