Randy Orton

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Randall Keith (Randy) Orton (born April 1, 1980 in Knoxville, Tennessee), is an American third-generation professional wrestler currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown! brand.

Orton comes from a family of professional wrestlers starting from his grandfather Bob Orton, Sr.. After graduating from Hazelwood Central High School he was trained by his father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, and made his professional wrestling debut in 2000 with the MMWA-SICW in his hometown of St. Louis. Not long after, he signed a developmental deal with WWE and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling. He debuted on WWE programming in September 2002.

Contents

1 Career

1.1 The Legend Killer
1.2 World Heavyweight Champion
1.3 Return of The Legend Killer

2 Finishing/Signature Moves

7 Championships and accomplishments

8 External Links

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.

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.

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

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Randy Orton with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

On August 15, 2004 at the SummerSlam PPV, Orton defeated Chris Benoit by pinfall following an R.K.O. capturing his first World Heavyweight Championship. This made him the youngest World Heavyweight Champion (in the WWE) of all time at the age of twenty-four. After the match, Orton and Benoit shook hands. The match was held in Toronto Ontario, Canada at the Air Canada Centre.

Randy 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 World Heavyweight Championship.

On September 12, 2004, Randy lost the championship to Triple H at Unforgiven. 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.

He 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 Royale 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.

After the World Heavyweight Championship was vacanted, 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 WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H at the 2005 Royal Rumble.

Return of The Legend Killer

After Batista began to be pushed, 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 his unbeated (WrestleMania) streak.

This feud saw Orton in an in-ring confrontation with Jake "The Snake" Roberts, who warned him not to "bite off more than he could chew" by facing The Undertaker. Orton responded by hitting the R.K.O. on Roberts, drawing boos from the crowd. Just two weeks before WrestleMania, Orton turned his back on Stacy, giving her the R.K.O. and knocking her out cold in the middle of the ring, sending a message to The Undertaker. He went on to slap The Undertaker and assault him following a distraction by his father, Cowboy Bob Orton.

The Undertaker made Orton his thirteenth victim at WrestleMania 21, thus ending the "legend killing" streak. Orton then fought World Heavyweight Champion Batista on the episode of RAW immediately after WrestleMania and was powerbombed. In storyline terms, the match aggravated Orton's shoulder problems stemming from WrestleMania (he is expected to be sidelined for four to six months while recuperating his third genuine shoulder injury). The following week, the 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."

On June 16, 2005 The Undertaker, who had not been around since WrestleMania 21, returned to SmackDown! and faced John Bradshaw Layfield in a no disqualification match. As The Undertaker went for his signature Tombstone Piledriver, Orton stormed the ring and gave him the R.K.O., enabling JBL to win the match. Orton then announced that he had been traded back to SmackDown!, making him the fourth man to be traded in the 2005 Draft Lottery.

Finishing/Signature Moves

"Legend Killings"

Orton's "Legend Killer" gimmick has led to him defeating, assaulting, humiliating or otherwise denigrating the following "Legends":

Quotes

"Get a look at greatness!"
"Not only am I better looking, I am just plain better!"
"All of your opponents in the future, they had already beaten themselves before they even stepped into the ring."

Personal Life

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Orton and Stacy Keibler sharing an onscreen kiss during WWE RAW

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 82 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, because this was before the law changed in 2002, did not become a felon as a result.

Orton has been accused of harassing fellow WWE employees Amy Weber and Rochelle Loewen, leading to the departure of both women from the company. Loewen claimed that he vandalized her possessions and directed racist remarks towards her, calling him "an animal". It has been rumored that Orton is in a real-life relationship with Stacy Keibler (a video shown exclusively on the official WWE website showed them hugging and kissing). ^{[1] (http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/raw/history/20050124_raw_results.jsp)} (Choose the "J.R. after spoiled ceremony'" video.)

Trivia

Though Randy Orton is the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment, he is only the second youngest World Heavyweight Champion in the belt's history. Kerry Von Erich is the only person to win the belt at a younger age, which was back in May of 1984 when the belt was known as the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. When Von Erich won the belt he was 24 years and three months old. This makes Von Erich one month younger when he won the belt first making him the youngest World Heavyweight Champion of all-time, contradicting the reports that Orton is the youngest all-time to win such an accolade.
Along with Kane and Chris Jericho, Randy Orton holds the record for the number of wrestlers a single competitor eliminated in the Royal Rumble (ten).
Orton started his training and made his professional debut at the above mentioned MMWA-SICW or South Broadway Athletic Club as it is known in St. Louis. This is a organization that was a off-shoot of the old Wrestling at the Chase headed by Sam Munchnick between 1950-1983.
His entrance theme music (called Burn In My Light) is performed by Mercy Drive. His entrance theme made it's debut a week after spitting in the face of Triple H when he refused to surrender the World Heavyweight Championship