The Orton ship has sailed: How would you re-invent him

[The Naitch]

His Legend Killer schtick seems to be useless right now, since he's never really killed off anyone (lost to Taker twice) and now I'm not buying him as a real threat. He should be main eventing but I see him as a midcarder still

How would you re-invent Mr. RKO?

[Jeritron]

He can't be a face. I firmly believe that. It'd be a bit of a rehash, but his best bet to get over is to go against some kind of super face as a "corporate champion" with Vince.

[The Naitch]

I agree. He's best when he's in a large stable (by large I mean 2 or more but no more than 5)

I like the Corporation-esque idea.

If he were to go face, it would have to serve a purpose at the end (turning)

Rated RKO is pretty boring to me.

[thedamndest]

He's coming off as Edge's bottom. The matching outfits, and now from last night:

"Winning the tag team titles with Edge has been one of, if not, the crowning achievement of my career."

You were a World Champion, for fuck's sake!

Speaking of which, the team of Kenny and Chris Masters totally looks like they met in a Jersey dude club.

[Jeritron]

It was a good team up, but they've run their course. They both have too much importance to be stuck together as a tag team.

I'd love to see Orton as a heel fued with a returning face Chris Jericho. You could have Orton become a huge heel with a corporate stable, which Jericho would shit all over.

[Avenger]

JERICHO IS NOT COMING BACK

[Jeritron]

I was suggesting a scenario that would be entertaining dude

[Arnold HamNegger]

Now that he's lost the Tag Titles, I would have him snap. I would eliminate him from having any promos or speaking. He would just be a brutal, silent, ass kicking machine. You could even have SCSA take him under his wing. (Since he's rumored to comeback anyway.)

The natural rivalry to start off would be with Edge and you could even have Edge bring back Foley. This could set up one hell of a Tag Team match at Wrestlemania with Orton/Austin vs. Edge/Foley.

[The Naitch]

c'mon Arnold, are you fucking serious?

[Arnold HamNegger]

Ok, minus the aliance with SCSA. That part was really stretching.

There's really very few things to do with him IMO. It's near impossible to turn him face because the fans don't buy it. It didn't work before. He's just a natural prick. I basically just think Orton is terrible on the mic. I'd like to see him go silent and violent.

Now that I think about it, that might actually be a good way to turn him face. His first feud is gonna be with Edge probably. Let Edge be the one that cuts the promo's, basically stay the same heel. Have Randy just go silent, focused and destroy Edge. Fans will cheer at seeing Edge get his ass kicked if Randy doesn't fuck it up by speaking. Then have him keep the same focused, silent/violent persona and move into a feud with Cena. Every fan with pubic hair and a dick will probably get behind Orton if he kicks Cena's ass. Again, same philosophy as with Edge. Don't change Cena a bit. Keep him the cartoonish, Marine wanna be. The boo's are starting to come back...especially if he retains at Mania against Undertaker and possibly HBK.

You could have a money pay off championship match with Cena and Orton, with Orton going over and becoming champion. He would be getting HUGE face pops if they string along the feud the right way................AND THEN...........turn him heel with the "Corporate" gimmick you guys mentioned. Possibly have him form a stable of younger wrestlers looking to move up the "corporate" ladder and that could protect Orton to have a long title reign. Possibly Dykstra, Masters, Nitro and Melina.

What do you think?

[Jura]

I would like to see Orton as a face but we all know he is better suited as a heel, just like Carlito. I like the idea of him snapping and becoming ruthless. Just kind of disappear for a while after snapping and add more moves to his list especially some kind of submission since the most intense guys have it. Then have him become a wild card, a rogue, not on the face side but a little on the heel side. He'll just come out of nowhere RKO'ing someone when everyone least expects it. That is if he doesn't mess that up.

Then once that goes over, have him just mostly attack the current champion and start a feud.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I think the main event at WrestleMania should be John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Edge vs. Randy Orton. Maybe throw The Undertaker in there. The only reason I'd want to see this, is because it would allow someone more interesting to challenge for the belt on SmackDown!. I don't know whether it would be King Booker, Kane, Chris Benoit or Mr. Kennedy. Throw in Finlay and you have a pretty interesting scene on SmackDown!.

Anyway, heading into WrestleMania, Randy Orton is the "Chris Jericho" in this four-way feud to John Cena's "Stone Cold", Shawn Michaels' "The Rock" and Edge's "Kurt Angle". Everyone ranks him last on their list of who they expect to win. On the last RAW before WrestleMania, I'd have him show up, RKO all three opponents, and just pose as the show goes off the air. I like Arnold's idea of keeping him silent and violent. Just have him mope about not being the golden boy of the future he used to be considered as.

At WrestleMania, have him take the pin after Edge Spears him. His former buddy is now WWE Champion, and Orton has lost in his second straight WrestleMania main event. Randy Orton comes out to open the RAW after WrestleMania, and he talks about being sick of being considered the bitch. He wants a one-on-one WWE Title Match against Edge. John Cena and Shawn Michaels come out, and they say that they both want shots, because neither of them was pinned. Jonathan Coachman signs John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton in a Triple Threat main event.

Cena and HBK team-up to take out their frustrations on losing on Randy Orton, as Edge stands on the stage laughing, but when it comes time to pin Orton, the other breaks it up and they brawl. Orton then gets a steel chair, and goes crazy with it, and hits an RKO on Shawn Michaels for the pin. The show closes with Edge staring down Orton, with the humour in the situation now faded.

The next week, Edge is facing someone like Jeff Hardy in Non-Title Match, and Randy Orton runs in, attacking Edge, which gives him the disqualification victory. The fans will either get behind Orton for attacking Edge, or they will boo him for still being Orton. It doesn't really matter, as the feud will be told through a story, not through "generic face vs. generic heel" methods.

The face Orton cost the victory (let's just say it was Jeff Hardy, and he was facing Edge in a Champion vs. Champion Match) wants a piece of Orton the next week. He bites off more than he can chew, however, as Orton gets the clean pin over the Intercontinental Champion. JR says he may not like the kid, but he sees a fire in him.

At Backlash, John Cena faces Shawn Michaels in a #1 Contender's Match, which goes sour when HBK swings a steel chair into the face of Cena, breaking the generic babyface respect that would normally be there. John Cena is the #1 Contender, but he has a grudge to settle with HBK, continuing the program into Vengeance.

In the main event, Edge comes out and cuts a promo saying that this match really should have been the opener, because Randy Orton is not World Heavyweight Title material. Orton makes his entrance, but without the flash and flare, he just runs down and attacks Edge. Orton actually controls most of the match, which psyches out Edge, who gets the WWE Title belt, and smashes it in Orton's face, giving RKO the DQ victory, but allowing him to retain the Title. Orton gets a microphone, even though he cannot stand, and is busted open. He says that this isn't going down like this, and he wants this match to continue, even if the referee has to refuse to DQ Edge one thousand times. Edge runs back in, and nails Orton again, and basically beats the shit out of him with foreign objects. JR talks about how heroic this if of Orton, but King says that he has nothing to lose, and any Superstar in his predicament would take the same punishment and remain in contention for the WWE Title, rather than forfeit and go back to the showers emtpy handed.

Eventually Orton makes a comeback, and he nails Edge with a steel chair, and maybe even gives him a con-chair-to. Orton pins Edge, and he is the new WWE Champion.

The following night on RAW, Edge complains that he was screwed at Backlash. The match was never a No Disqualification bout, so when Orton nailed him with a foreign object, Edge should have won the match, regardless of what rights Orton forfeited in the match. Jonathan Coachman comes out, and says that he has to agree with Edge, and he calls out Randy Orton to forfeit the belt. Orton makes his way out, but instead of forfeiting it, he spits on it, and throws it in a trash can. Edge and Coach are offended, and Edge refuses to let that belt represent his WWE Championship reign.

A match is signed for Vengeance between Edge and Orton, this time in a Street Fight, with the winner being awarded a new WWE Championship belt. After a lot of bleeding and a lot of brawling between the two men with ladders, the old title belt (which Orton keeps as a weapon, which John Cena takes offence to), John Cena actually runs in, and gives Orton an F-U (between their feuds, tension grows between them quite rapidly). Edge gets the pin, and retains the WWE Title, and gets a new design for his beloved Championship. Shawn Michaels also gets a pinfall victory over John Cena in the semi-main event.

At Summerslam, we get Edge vs. John Cena (who has kind of turned a bit darker in terms of character since he's been separated from the WWE Title) vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton in a TLC Match for the WWE Title. The story heading into this match is how it corrupts men. Cena and Orton are kind of both portrayed as youth corrupted by the chase of glory. Shawn Michaels is portrayed as the veteran looking to stand tall one last time. Edge is portrayed as the rich young man with everything he needs and everything he wants in life.

I'd go with the surprise, and have Randy Orton climb the ladder and win his second World Championship at Summerslam.

[dablackguy]

We could always have him play the role of a 3rd generation whiny metrosexual

Oh wait..

[Pepsi Man]

I agree. He's best when he's in a large stable (by large I mean 2 or more but no more than 5)

I like the Corporation-esque idea.

If he were to go face, it would have to serve a purpose at the end (turning)

Rated RKO is pretty boring to me.
Naitch confuse the words "large" and "small"?

[Impeccable]

I used to like the stuff he did when he injured his shoulder a few years ago.

The injury updates, with him telling us how far he was from returning. It was a classic example of "How to turn a dude heel" as he was a lower midcard face before he sustained the injury. Just like Vince did with Angle's debut, he shoved Orton down our throats so we wanted to hate him and his smug face. That type of thing doesn't happen anymore.

They need to do something to this effect. Something to make me care. At the moment, I just don't care about Orton.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I guess another idea is to ship him to SmackDown! and have him win the 2007 King of the Ring Tournament. Does he need it? Mmm, hard to say, but it seems a decent fit. Have Orton and Booker then feud heading into The Great American Bash (Booker is pissed off because there is a new King in town), and Orton goes over him before winning the World Heavyweight Championship from whoever at Summerslam.

[The Optimist]

How do you people actually expect some sor to new "Corporation" gimmick to not bore you after a week? Sorry if I'm missing something, but it seems like it just get run into the ground like everything else WWE has ever re-done.

[Jeritron]

Whats remarkable about Kurt Angle tho, is that people legitimately did HATE him at first. Not in a good heel kind of way, but just legitimate disdain and boredom. His first match with Shawn Stasiak at SS 99 was a complete joke and the crowd was vicious. They weren't even going for this, I think they were legitimately trying to hype up him as an olympic hero, wheaties box golden boy. But the fans legitimately resented it.
So they took the same thing, and WWE and Kurt ran with it, spiced it up and turned it into something good.

[The Optimist]

There's no interesting appealing way to be a straight-faced jackass, you can't really spin being a shithead.

[Djscorpion]

I think i would have him fued with Edge leading into WM23 and possibly have a match at WM. They lost the titles now so it could probably be a good time to do so. The match they could have is a #1 contenders match for after WM. In the farther future you could have the MITB winner claim a match against the Champ at the same time as Orton wants to...not saying this should lead to a triple threat but leading to huge conflicts and fueds = ratings

[Djscorpion]

In addition the match with Edge needs to be written AWESOME with Orton going over...

[addy2hotty]

Have Orton 'die' in the ring. He then returns as a zombie called 'Randy Of The Dead'.

A bit like Taker but with more make-up. Have him searching round the locker room for brains. Have him sniff Maria and just walk away. Have him try and bite various people. Have him form a new stable called 'Land Of The Dead', in which Eugene and 'The Worlds Largest Love-Zombie' Viscera are in.

His finisher could be called the RK-Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

[Goulet]

If they end up pulling the trigger on this Orton/Edge fued Edge has to be the face

[HTrain90]

I'd like to see them use Orton to turn Edge face. Have Edge screw Orton out of the WM title shot (so HBK gets it) and then have an Orton-Edge feud.

[Jeritron]

Then how many solid heels do you have on Raw, 1? If that. Those 2 are great heels with great potential, they need to be utilized that way. Theres plenty of good guys, it takes a lot to be a bad guy and Edge is great at it, and its about all Orton can do. So let them be, a brief heel/heel fued is fine but they should do their own thing.

[HTrain90]

I suppose. I think Edge could be a white-hot face. Perhaps elevate Carlito as a heel again. I would just like to see a feud with at least ONE new guy. I'm sick of Cena/HBK/HHH/Edge. Orton would be nice.

My dream would be for Carlito to turn on Torrie and start a badass heel run, going after HBK after WM. Then Carlito would be a solid heel and could feud with a face champ, preferably NOT Cena.

[Con man]

If they end up pulling the trigger on this Orton/Edge fued Edge has to be the face
I agree, Orton is terrible as a face.