STOP LIVING IN THE PAST: Thoughts on Randy Orton vs. Triple H hype for WM 25

[The Naitch]

I missed out on WM 24, 25, 26, but I was just trying to catch up on that and stumbled upon the promo for WM 25. Seems like they executed this feud perfectly. I wish I was around to see it for the entire RTWM build-up. But here it is

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[Juan]

One word: Disappointed

That word gets tossed around a lot here and I hate to use it, but that match was a huge let-down imo.

[The Naitch]

One word: Disappointed

That word gets tossed around a lot here and I hate to use it, but that match was a huge let-down imo.

Because Triple H retained? It reminds me of WM2000. Triple H walks in with the title, and walks out with the title, only to drop it to the guy at Backlash

[XCaliber]

Because Triple H retained? It reminds me of WM2000. Triple H walks in with the title, and walks out with the title, only to drop it to the guy at Backlash

It was a letdown mainly due to the fact that it followed Taker vs HBK which was a stellar match whereas this main event was pretty much a squash right at the end.

[TheAdamEvansFan]

Naitch, THANK YOU.


That's the best fucking video I've ever seen.

I just jizzed in my pants at the 3 McMahons coming down to face off against u Ortons Crew.

[Rammsteinmad]

It wasn't so much the fact that Triple H retained, just that the match in general sucked.

Plus it came after the Undertaker/Michaels match which had everyone pretty much exhausted everyone.

But yeah, the match was pretty dull and the ending was god-awful.

[Wolfpack423]

Because Triple H retained? It reminds me of WM2000. Triple H walks in with the title, and walks out with the title, only to drop it to the guy at Backlash

I think that's why alot of people were disappointed with it. The match really wasn't as bad as people make it out to be. Orton was on fire and should have won but Triple H winning didn't bother me as much as everyone else. I felt that Batista could have returned at Mania and turned heel there instead of later on in the year and cost HHH the belt with the Batista Bomb and as he recovers gets nailed with the RKO and Orton gets the pin and the belt, that probably should have been the finish. They waited til the next night to bring Batista back. Vince and Shane could have reversed Vickie's stipulation as well since they're the owners.

[Splaya]

Just watched that promo. this is basically when the Evolution of Orton started

[Londoner]

It wasn't so much the fact that Triple H retained, just that the match in general sucked.

Plus it came after the Undertaker/Michaels match which had everyone pretty much exhausted everyone.

But yeah, the match was pretty dull and the ending was god-awful.

Pretty much this, sadly.

[The Naitch]

My roomate who thinks wrestling is dumb was marking out when he saw that promo of Orton kicking ass and raping Stephanie. He thought it was like the coolest thing

[Juan]

Because Triple H retained?

No. I'm no HHH hater, but the match just didn't do it for me.

[Razzamajazz]

i was hoping for at least some blood in that match, because the build up was fantastic and triple h needed to completely destroy orton, but like it was already mentioned it was horribly disappointing

[Team Sheep]

I was there and it was such a let down. The match was so poor and the crowd was so dead, I kept glancing up at the ramp waiting for Stephanie or Vince or Batista, anyone to come down and make it interesting. But nothing. Couldn't believe it when Triple H celebrated with the title and the closing credits came on the tron and that was it.

[RiX1024]

Nice build-up....naff match.

[Fox]

It was disappointing for a lot of reasons.

Randy Orton, while playing the heel in this feud, was on a Stone Cold-like rise at the time, and a win here could've actually been an inadvertant double-turn much like Stone Cold turning face after the Alliance ended at Survivor Series 2001. He was young, hot, finally on the verge of becoming a true main eventer, and a victory at WrestleMania would've truly cemented that.

Additionally, the whole idea of Orton being the heel because he's beaten down all of Triple H's in-laws was a stupid concept from the start, and one that had the opposite effect that was intended: instead of Triple H looking like the angry face who deserves revenge, it made Randy look like a renegade, who gives a shit, fuck the boss-type of bad ass and got him more over as a face. Who the fuck cares if Triple H wins at Mania for the sake of Vince and Stephanie? How many awful things have they done in their "careers" in the WWE? These are not sympathetic characters.

And finally, the fact that they were touting it as this gigantic event, the "25th Anniversary of WrestleMania" and all that, it just felt like another merit badge on Triple H's boy scout sash to get the big win at "the historic" WrestleMania 25. He didn't need the win that night as it didn't do anything for his career, while a win for Randy would've been a huge mark in his. Sure, Orton retained the belt at WM 24, but that was a non-main event, extremely short triple threat match, as oppososed to a main event victory over Triple H at "The 25th Anniversary of WrestlEMania." It would've meant the world for his young career, much like Cena's win over HHH at WM22 meant huge things for him.

WM25 was awful with the exception of the Hardys match and Undertaker/Michaels, and HHH/Orton was the feather in the shit-hat. Also, starting out a match with both men hitting their finishers? Nice idea but horrible execution.

[JimmyMess]

I remember the hype being pretty solid. And then the match was just a boring beatdown of Orton by Triple H and the crowd and IWC all going "WHaaaaaaaaaa?"

[The Naitch]

The match highlights

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[Mr. Pierre]

This match should have been booked as a "singles match" but break down into a No DQ match. It made zero sense to me, and the match came off very flat. And WTF was with them hitting their finishers within the first 2 minutes? The crowd was like "umm..."....

[Flash Funk]

I actually like the finishers at the beginning part, but I was pissed that Orton lost..maybe I should go back and watch it again..

[Lara Emily]

It was disappointing for a lot of reasons.

Randy Orton, while playing the heel in this feud, was on a Stone Cold-like rise at the time, and a win here could've actually been an inadvertant double-turn much like Stone Cold turning face after the Alliance ended at Survivor Series 2001. He was young, hot, finally on the verge of becoming a true main eventer, and a victory at WrestleMania would've truly cemented that.

Additionally, the whole idea of Orton being the heel because he's beaten down all of Triple H's in-laws was a stupid concept from the start, and one that had the opposite effect that was intended: instead of Triple H looking like the angry face who deserves revenge, it made Randy look like a renegade, who gives a shit, fuck the boss-type of bad ass and got him more over as a face. Who the fuck cares if Triple H wins at Mania for the sake of Vince and Stephanie? How many awful things have they done in their "careers" in the WWE? These are not sympathetic characters.

And finally, the fact that they were touting it as this gigantic event, the "25th Anniversary of WrestleMania" and all that, it just felt like another merit badge on Triple H's boy scout sash to get the big win at "the historic" WrestleMania 25. He didn't need the win that night as it didn't do anything for his career, while a win for Randy would've been a huge mark in his. Sure, Orton retained the belt at WM 24, but that was a non-main event, extremely short triple threat match, as oppososed to a main event victory over Triple H at "The 25th Anniversary of WrestlEMania." It would've meant the world for his young career, much like Cena's win over HHH at WM22 meant huge things for him.

WM25 was awful with the exception of the Hardys match and Undertaker/Michaels, and HHH/Orton was the feather in the shit-hat. Also, starting out a match with both men hitting their finishers? Nice idea but horrible execution.

Yeah that promo and the whole angle basically screams Orton needs to win. He started out to get revenge and instead what loses again? Instead of coming full circle it just went down the same straight line.

[dablackguy]

Because Triple H retained? It reminds me of WM2000. Triple H walks in with the title, and walks out with the title, only to drop it to the guy at Backlash

This is part of it. The feud was booked both perfectly and poorly at the same time. The buildup was great but for the 'good guy' to be triumphant and defend the honor of his family, he had to beat Orton who was on fire at the time. The correct outcome from a storytelling sense was the incorrect decision from a business point of view. Additionally, the way Orton lost made him look like a non threat to HHH.

He did get the momentum back but it did take almost a year to do it.

[RGWhat316]

Yeah that promo and the whole angle basically screams Orton needs to win. He started out to get revenge and instead what loses again? Instead of coming full circle it just went down the same straight line.

Yeah that is the main reason why I hated it. They changed the storyline in the middle of the feud. HHH even said it himself that Orton needed to face him at WM to avenge the moment in 2004 when Trips turned on him. Then Orton starts attacking the McMahons, and now its HHH has to avenge the McMahon family. So HHH got what he wanted, and I felt he buried Orton in the process. Orton needed that win and was on such a hot streak at the time, but who else but HHH had to ruin that.

[James Steele]

Oh fuck off with the bitching about Triple H.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker was so awesome that this decent match was made to look like complete fucking shit.

The match itself had a great build up especially since it was originally supposed to be Triple H Vs. Chris Jericho.

[Schlomey]

My opinion on Orton vs HHH


The feud started out amazingly. It carried steam for a good while and added new variables often. However, by the time Mania rolled around I was soooo over it. The fact that it was drug on too long in addition to it having to follow Taker vs HBK part 1 made it one of the biggest let downs in feud blow off history.

[Damian Rey]

I don't think Orton winning was neceassary for the match. With all they hype being built around Hunter avenging his family, and Legacy having such a large involvement in the angle, it seemed inevitable that there would be a large clusterfucked ending. And that's how it should have been.

Orton was built like a monster going into this fued. He seemed near unstoppable, and people were digging the change in character. Sans a few moments here and there (the home invasion), Triple H did not look like a threat during the build, and he should've been getting his ass handed to him throughout the match.

The end should have seen the McMahons, as a strong united group, overtake Legacy and Orton in helping Triple H scratching out a win. The moral could have been that a strong family bond could overcome anything, and Orton would not have lost momentum from losing seeing as it took a household to topple him.

Instead, like stated, we got a mildly paced, mediocre match with zero outside involvement and a less than stellar finish. I was very underwhelmed after this match.

[Schlomey]

I think the biggest problem aside from card placement is that the whole feud seemed to be very fast paced. It was def. not a slow burn type of feud. It was running on high octane all the way through so it was hard for a crowd to keep that kind of momentum as long as it lasted.

[James Steele]

Come on now, you know everybody would have bitched if WrestleMania 25 ended in a clusterfuck brawl. The babyface always wins in the main event of WrestleMania.

[Damian Rey]

Come on now, you know everybody would have bitched if WrestleMania 25 ended in a clusterfuck brawl. The babyface always wins in the main event of WrestleMania.

I have zero problem with a Triple H win. Believeable or not, I wouldn't book a guy who had been getting his family destroyed for a month to lose. I just would've liked to see everyone get involved somehow. Have Legacy and Orton beating down H. The have Vince and Shane take out Legacy and feed Orton to H for the win.