Randy Orton got a positive reaction in Toronto against Chris fucking Benoit. The guy is boring as fuck now, but back then, he was a prospect with a lot of potential. I'd personally have let him de-throne Benoit, then have him either lose the belt back to Chris Benoit when Triple H "accidentally" cost him the match, or Orton beat Benoit with Evolution's help, and then got beaten down by them and forfeited the belt back to Triple H the following week.
A tease of a World Heavyweight Title reign (while making him the youngest World Champion of all-time), and planting the seeds for Triple H vs. Randy Orton, this would have been the way to go, in my opinion.
Now, I really don't think Randy Orton should be above the mid-card. The same goes for Bobby Lashley. Hell, even John Cena would still be racking up IC and US Title wins back in the day. John Cena doesn't make enough money to truly warrant the WWE Title run he's been given.
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