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Randall Keith "Randy" Orton (born April 1, 1980 in
Knoxville, Tennessee), is an American professional wrestler, currently working
for the RAW brand of World Wrestling Entertainment.
Orton is a third-generation professional wrestler;
his grandfather, Bob Orton, Sr., father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, and uncle, Barry
"O", were all professional wrestlers.
****
Ring name(s) Randy Orton
Height 6 ft 4 in (194 cm)
Weight 245 lb (111 kg)
Born April 1, 1980
Knoxville, Tennessee
Resides Atlanta, Georgia
Billed from St. Louis, Missouri
Trained by "Cowboy" Bob Orton
South Broadway Athletic Club
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Debut 2000
****
Early
career
After graduating from Hazelwood Central High
School, Randy Orton made his professional wrestling debut in 2000 with the
MMWA-SICW in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. In MMWA-SICW or South Broadway
Athletic Club as it is known in St. Louis, he was trained by such wrestlers
there as Ron Powers, Gary Jackson, Mark Bland, Jeremy Lightfoot, Phil E. Blunt
and promoter Tony Costa as well as his father, Cowboy Bob Orton. This is an
organization that was an off-shoot of the old Wrestling at the Chase headed by
Sam Munchnick between 1950-1983. Randy Orton then had a match with another St.
Louis group, Central Championship Wrestling, with O.G. Stevie B. Not long after,
he signed a developmental deal with WWE and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling.
World
Wrestling Entertainment
2002
Orton trained at Ohio Valley Wrestling in
Louisville, until he was brought up to the main roster. Orton debuted on WWE
programming on the April 25, 2002 episode of SmackDown!, defeating Hardcore
Holly. 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-centered attitude gradually turned the fans against him.
2003
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. The stable was briefly disbanded
shortly thereafter when both Orton and Batista were sidelined with injuries, but
reconvened in May 2003. At this point Orton was given the gimmick of "The Legend
Killer" which saw him defeat or humiliate numerous "legendary" wrestlers and
celebrities. 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.
2004
On the July 26, 2004 episode of RAW, Orton won a
twenty-man battle royal last eliminating Chris Jericho 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 RKO 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.
After successfully defending the belt against
Benoit on RAW the next night, Orton and Evolution celebrated the win. During the
celebration, Batista had Orton on his shoulders and Triple H gave him a
thumbs-up; which then turned into a thumbs down. Orton was then brutalized by
Batista, Flair, and Triple H. He was thrown out of Evolution the next week on
RAW after he refused to hand his World Heavyweight Championship over to Triple H
when requested, instead spitting on Triple H and striking him in the face with
the belt. Orton became a face as a result, and began using new entrance music,
"Burn in My Light" by Mercy Drive. He feuded with Triple H over the World
Heavyweight Championship for a month before losing to Triple H on September 12,
2004 at Unforgiven 2004.
After losing the World Heavyweight Championship to
Triple H, Orton continued to feud with his former stablemates. After he was
scheduled to take part in a match in late October that would see him prohibited
from challenging Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship if he lost,
Orton had an added incentive to see Triple H lose the title.
Orton, along with Maven, Chris Jericho and Chris
Benoit, emerged victorious 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 in the belief that this would ensure that
Triple H lost the title. 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 World Tag Team Championship against La Résistance, pitted
Jerry Lawler against Ric Flair in a "legend versus legend" match, and scheduled
a lingerie contest between several RAW Divas.
After the World Heavyweight Championship was
vacated on December 13, Orton was chosen to face Triple H, Chris Benoit, Edge,
Batista and Chris Jericho in an Elimination Chamber match at New Year's
Revolution 2005 on January 9, 2005 to determine a new champion. Triple H managed
to win the match, thus keeping their feud active for a longer period of time.
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2005
Orton was unsuccessful in his attempt to win back
the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H at the 2005 Royal Rumble on
January 30, 2005. 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.
This feud saw Orton hitting the RKO on Jake "The
Snake" Roberts, who had warned him about facing The Undertaker. Just two weeks
before WrestleMania, Orton cemented his heel status by knocking Stacy out with
the RKO. 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 21 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.
In storyline terms, a match with Batista on the
night following WrestleMania aggravated Orton's shoulder problems stemming from
the previous night (in actuality he was sidelined for several months while
recuperating from his third genuine shoulder injury). While injured, Orton
appeared on the May 16, 2005, episode of RAW, declaring his intention to gain
revenge on Batista by defeating him for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Orton claimed that he could not be drafted to SmackDown! as a result of his
injury, but was informed by Vince McMahon that he was in fact an eligible
candidate for the draft.
Orton returned to WWE television on the June 16,
2005 episode of SmackDown!, attacking The Undertaker and announcing that he was
the second SmackDown! pick in the 2005 draft lottery. He made his in-ring return
on August 11, 2005, fighting Kamala to a draw. Orton went on to defeat The
Undertaker at SummerSlam following a distraction from his father, the returning
Cowboy Bob Orton, who was disguised as a fan. After SummerSlam, an overconfident
Orton announced on the first episode of Friday Night SmackDown! that he was
opening a retirement fund for The Undertaker. However, The Undertaker made his
return by setting the oversized check ablaze with a mysterious bolt of
lightning.
After losing to The Undertaker on an episode of
SmackDown!, Orton and The Undertaker began taunting each other using caskets.
This led to Orton and his father facing The Undertaker in a handicap casket
match at No Mercy 2005. The Ortons defeated The Undertaker after Bob Orton
blinded The Undertaker with foam from a fire extinguisher, enabling his son to
strike him with a chair. After sealing The Undertaker in the casket, Orton set
the casket on fire and struck it with an axe.
On November 11, 2005, Orton faced Rey Mysterio in a
match with a place on "Team SmackDown!" (a group of SmackDown! employees
scheduled to face a rival group of RAW wrestlers at the 2005 Survivor Series) on
the line. Mysterio won the match by disqualification after Bob Orton interfered.
However, the death of "Team SmackDown!" member Eddie Guerrero led to Orton being
added to the team without having first won a qualification match. One week
later, Orton was scheduled to face Guerrero and Batista in a triple threat match
for the World Heavyweight Championship. However, as a result of the sudden death
of Guerrero, Batista and Orton instead fought one another in a no holds barred
match. The match again ended in disqualification following interference from
members of "Team RAW". During the Eddie Guerrero RAW tribute, Orton lost to WWE
Champion John Cena in a non-title inter-promotional match by disqualification.
At Survivor Series, Orton took Guerrero's place on
"Team SmackDown!". Orton became the sole survivor of his team for a third time,
pinning HBK to win the match for "Team SmackDown!". As Orton celebrated
following the match, The Undertaker made his return, chasing Orton from the ring
and indiscriminately attacking several other members of the SmackDown! roster.
On a special live episode of SmackDown! on November
29, 2005 Orton placed The Undertaker on the trunk of one of Eddie Guerrero's
lowriders and reversed the car through the SmackDown! stage, setting it on fire
and the car to "explode". The Undertaker retorted by playing mind games with
Orton over the next several weeks, leading to a Hell in a Cell match between the
two being scheduled for Armageddon 2005. On December 16, 2005 Orton lured The
Undertaker to the ring by declaring his "retirement". When The Undertaker
entered the ring, one of the druids who typically accompanied him to the ring
remained at ringside. The Undertaker was distracted as a result, enabling Orton
to attack him and deliver an RKO. The "druid" then revealed himself to be Bob
Orton, and gave Orton The Undertaker's signature urn to strike him with. At
Armageddon 2005, The Undertaker defeated Orton after delivering the Tombstone
Piledriver to both Orton and his father, finally ending their nine-month-long
feud.
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2006
Two weeks after Armageddon, Orton agreed to
represent an injured Booker T in the fifth match of his "best of seven" series
with Chris Benoit over the WWE United States Championship. As Booker T had won
three of the matches already fought, Orton only needed to beat Benoit once to
win the series for Booker. Orton lost to Benoit following botched interference
from Booker T's wife Sharmell. He faced Benoit the following week, but lost once
again after Orlando Jordan, interfered on Benoit's behalf. On the January 13,
2006 episode of SmackDown!, Orton defeated Benoit, thus winning the United
States Championship for Booker T and finishing the series four-three. The
following week saw him face Orlando Jordan in a match because Orlando had
interfered with Booker and Sharmell's celebration by attacking him in the middle
of the ring. Orton won the match by a distraction from Booker and Sharmell which
allowed him to hit the RKO for the win. The following week, Orton lost to Benoit
in a no holds barred match.
Orton took part in the 2006 Royal Rumble match on
January 29, 2006. Despite entering at number thirty, Orton was eliminated by the
second entrant, Rey Mysterio. On the following SmackDown!, Orton challenged
Mysterio to put his title shot on the line at No Way Out 2006, with Mysterio
accepting his challenge. In the weeks preceding No Way Out, Orton made several
controversial remarks about Eddie Guerrero. At No Way Out, Orton defeated
Mysterio, earning himself a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship at
WrestleMania 22. However, on the following episode of SmackDown!, General
Manager Theodore Long readded Mysterio to the match, turning it into a triple
threat match between Orton, Mysterio and World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle.
Orton protested the decision but was told by Long to accept it or lose his own
shot at the title. On April 2, 2006 at WrestleMania 22, Angle lost his title
after Orton was pinned by Mysterio.
On April 4, 2006, WWE stated that Orton was to be
suspended for sixty days for "unprofessional conduct." On April 7, 2006, in an
interview with WWE.com, Orton stated, "my conduct was unbecoming of a champion,
which is what I will be again when I return." However, this interview has since
been removed from the site. [1] On April 12, 2006, WWE stated that Orton had
suffered a broken ankle at the hands of Kurt Angle during the previous night's
SmackDown! taping, shortly after losing to Angle in a King of the Ring first
round match. Orton returned from his suspension on the June 5, 2006 episode of
RAW, attacking Kurt Angle and accepting Angle's open challenge for a match at
ECW One Night Stand 2006. Four days before One Night Stand at the WWE vs. ECW
Head to Head event, Orton announced that his contract with SmackDown! had
expired, and that he was once again a member of the RAW roster. Orton went on to
lose to Angle at One Night Stand 2006, but would win in a rematch at Vengeance.
Throughout July 2006, Orton complimented the looks
of Brooke Hogan, the daughter of Hulk Hogan, eventually challenging her father
to wrestle him at SummerSlam 2006.
In
wrestling
Finishing and signature moves
RKO (Jumping cutter)
Super RKO (Elevated cutter or cutter from the top
rope)
O-Zone (Overdrive) - in 2002
Elevated DDT
European uppercut
Gutwrench elevated neckbreaker
Frog splash style flying crossbody
Knee drop
Standing dropkick
Stretch backbreaker
Wrenching rear chinlock
Nicknames
"The Legend Killer"
Championships and accomplishments
Although Orton is the youngest World Heavyweight
Champion in the history of WWE, he is only the fifth youngest person to hold a
version of the World Heavyweight Championship. Lou Thesz won the NWA World
Heavyweight Championship at the age of 21, Chris Candido won the NWA World
Heavyweight Championship at the age of 22, The Giant won the WCW World
Heavyweight Championship at the age of 23, and Kerry Von Erich won the NWA World
Heavyweight Championship at the age of 24 years and three months in May 1984 (as
opposed to Orton's 24 years and four months at the time).
Ohio Valley Wrestling
OVW Hardcore Championship
Defeated Mr. Black on February 14, 2001 in
Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA
Lost to Flash Flanagan on March 31, 2001 in
Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA
OVW Hardcore Championship (2)
Defeated Flash Flanagan on May 5, 2001 in
Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA
Title is abandoned in October 2001
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
PWI Rookie of the Year Award (2001)
PWI Most Improved Award (2004)
World Wrestling Entertainment
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Defeated Rob Van Dam on December 14, 2003 in
Orlando, Florida, USA
Lost to Edge on July 11, 2004 in Hartford,
Connecticut, USA
World Heavyweight Championship
Defeated Chris Benoit on August 15, 2004 in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Lost to Triple H on September 12, 2004 in Portland,
Oregon, USA
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
2004 Most Improved Wrestler
Personal life
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 separate occasions, the first time
for eighty-two 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 was put into a military prison for thirty
eight days. As this was before the law changed in 2002, Orton did not become a
felon as a result.
While on RAW, Orton was accused of harassing fellow
WWE employees Amy Weber and Rochelle Loewen, leading to the departure of Weber
from the company, while Loewen was transferred to SmackDown! (she was later
released). Loewen claimed that he vandalized her possessions and directed racist
remarks towards her, calling him "an animal."[2] It should however be noted that
Orton's friend Mark Jindrak refuted several of Loewen's accusations in an
interview with Voice of Wrestling, and claimed that Orton had apologized to
Loewen at the time of the 2005 Royal Rumble, and that fellow Diva Search
contestant (and eventual winner) Christy Hemme denied what she knew of the
allegations in an interview with The Sun. [3]
In November 2005, Orton announced his engagement to
long term girlfriend Samantha Spino. [4]
Orton suffers from hypermobile shoulders. [5]
References
1 Randy Orton responds to being suspended
2 WWE Diva Rochelle Loewen talks about hazing from
Randy Orton, claims he hated her
3 Hemme is Christy clear
4 Randy Orton Interview
5 An interview with Randy Orton, conducted by
Silvervision
* *
* *
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