Son, nephew and grandson of wrestlers, Randy Orton still served in the military but ended up following in the footsteps of his family members, eventually becoming one of the most successful wrestlers of all time in WWE.
Born April 1, 1980, Randal Keith Orton made his in-ring debut in 2000 with the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Association-Southern Illinois Conference Wrestling (MMWA-SICW), but the following year he signed with the then World Wrestling Federation (WWF), having started for developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he coincided with John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Batista.
In April 2002, he debuted on the WWE main roster and, a few months later, in January 2003, he joined one of the most dominant factions in the promoter’s history, Evolution, which also had Triple H, Ric Flair and Batista as members.
However, Orton began to proclaim himself as the Legend Killer, having experienced in the years that followed a series of matches against some of the greatest legends in pro wrestling, such as Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan.
In parallel, he won his first title in December 2003, the Intercontinental Championship. Months later, in August 2004, not only did he become world champion for the first time, he set a record by becoming the youngest ever world champion in WWE, at age 24, by dethroning Chris Benoit.
In the nearly two decades that followed, Orton became world champion 13 more times, having won the United States Championship once and tag team titles on three occasions. In 2009 and 2017 he won the Royal Rumble.
It is therefore worth recalling the ten best fights of Randy Orton’s career, in chronological order.
Backlash 2004
Hardcore match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship:
Randy Orton (c) vs. Cactus Jack
It all started nearly a year earlier when Mick Foley was honoured on June 23, 2003, Monday Night Raw. After the ceremony, Randy Orton and Ric Flair attacked him backstage and threw him down the stairs. Six months later, on the December 15 episode of Raw, Foley returned to television to replace Steve Austin as co-general manager and gave himself a shot at the intercontinental title held by Orton. However, Foley abandoned the match and did not face the Legend Killer after he spat in his face. The following month, Foley entered the Royal Rumble match and eliminated Orton before eliminating himself.
The feud between the two continued, and on the March 1 episode of Raw, The Rock teamed up with Mick Foley to rejoin the Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection and challenge Orton and two other Evolution members, Batista and Ric Flair, to a handicap match at WrestleMania XX. In the biggest event of the year, Evolution won after Orton landed an RKO and subsequent settlement on Foley. However, two weeks later Foley challenged Orton to a Hardcore match for the intercontinental title at Backlash and brought back his more violent alter-ego, Cactus Jack.
Vengeance 2004
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs. Edge
In mid-2004, Edge returned to action after more than a year of absence following neck surgery and appeared to be on a mission to take down the dominant faction on Raw at the time, Evolution. Initially, Edge teamed with Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit to defeat Batista, Randy Orton, and Ric Flair in a six-man tag team elimination match on the June 14 episode of Raw, with Chris Benoit ending the feud as the sole survivor.
A week later, Edge speared Orton, but the Canadian and Chris Jericho lost to Batista and Orton in a tag team match that night. The following week, in the rematch, Edge and Y2J emerged victorious. Finally, on the June 5 episode of Raw, Edge confronted and attacked Evolution, promising to defeat Randy Orton at Vengeance.
SummerSlam 2004
World Heavyweight Championship:
Chris Benoit (c) vs. Randy Orton
A champion since WrestleMania XX, Chris Benoit was able to retain the world title in the following months, having defeated Shawn Michaels and Triple H at Backlash, Kane at Bad Blood and Triple H at Vengeance and on the July 26 episode of Raw.
Randy Orton had ended his long reign as intercontinental champion on Vengeance by losing to Edge but redeemed himself on the July 26 episode of Monday Night Raw by winning a 20-man battle royal to determine the main contender for the World Cup. Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. Some fighting ensued that involved Benoit and Orton. On the August 2 episode of Raw, Orton gave Evolution ( Orton, Batista, and Ric Flair) the victory over Benoit, Edge, and Chris Jericho by netting the world champion after an RKO . A week later, Benoit defeated Orton and Triple H by disqualification in a handicap match.
Backlash 2007
WWE Championship: John Cena (c) vs. Edge
vs. Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels
At the 2007 Royal Rumble, Shawn Michaels was one of the final two participants in the Royal Rumble match but was eventually eliminated by The Undertaker. However, Michaels got a shot at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 23 after defeating Randy Orton and Edge in a triple-threat match. However, HBK was defeated in the biggest event of the year by John Cena, who made him fold with an STFU.
On the April 9 episode of Monday Night Raw, Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton faced off in a match to determine the new title contender, but the match ended in a no contest due to a double pinfall. That same night, Edge argued that he should be considered as the new lead candidate, prompting Honorary General Manager Michael Pena of the Make-a-Wish Foundation to announce a fatal four-way match for Backlash.
Monday Night Raw (April 30, 2007)
Randy Orton vs. Edge
Randy Orton and Edge had a match scheduled for the Monday Night Raw episode before Backlash, but the long duel between John Cena and Shawn Michaels, which lasted about an hour, forced the postponement of the match between the two former members of Rated- RKO for the following week, the day after the pay-per-view in which Cena retained the WWE Championship by beating Michaels, Orton, and Edge in a fatal four-way match .
No Mercy 2007
Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship :
Triple H (c) vs. Randy Orton
Six days before No Mercy, John Cena suffered a chest injury during a match with Mr Kennedy and was forced to surrender the WWE Championship, having been cancelled against Randy Orton at the pay-per-view. However, WWE President Vince McMahon announced that he would be crowned a new WWE Champion at No Mercy.
At the start of the pay-per-view, Vince McMahon and Raw General Manager William Regal awarded the WWE Championship to Randy Orton, who was told he would have to defend the title that night. That said, Triple H went to the ring and challenged Orton to a title match, a challenge Orton rejected. However, Vince McMahon accepted Triple H’s proposal and scored the match, which ended with The Game’s victory and subsequent title conquest, after a roll-up.
However, moments later Vince McMahon informed Triple H backstage that the match The Game had scheduled against Umaga would stand, with the added stipulation that the WWE Championship would be on the line. And Triple H won, following a Pedigree.
After the match, while Triple H was icing his ribs, Vince McMahon informed him that Randy Orton had triggered the rematch clause and scheduled a Last Man Standing match for that night, once again with the title on the line.
Breaking Point (2009)
“I Quit” match for the WWE Championship :
Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
(Randy Orton would lose the title if someone interfered on his behalf)
On the July 27, 2009, episode of Monday Night Raw, guest host Shaquille O’Neal revealed that Randy Orton would defend the WWE Championship against the winner of a Beat the Clock challenge, which featured Mark Henry, MVP, Triple H., Jack Swagger and John Cena. Cena was the fastest, beating The Miz with the fastest time.
At SummerSlam, Randy Orton retained the title by beating Cena after an RKO, following interference from a spectator, having already caused his disqualification twice, with Vince McMahon having to intervene and order the match to restart. on both occasions.
On Raw the following night, Vince McMahon gave John Cena one more shot at the WWE Championship, in an “I Quit” match, and decreed that Orton would forfeit the title if anyone interfered in his favour.
Over the Limit 2011
World Heavyweight Championship:
Randy Orton (c) vs. Christian
At Extreme Rules 2011, Christian beat Alberto Del Rio in a ladder match to win his first WWE World Title, while Randy Orton defeated CM Punk in a Last Man Standing match at that same event . However, on the following episode of SmackDown, which aired on May 6, the Canadian was defeated by Randy Orton, who thus became the new holder of the World Heavyweight Championship. A week later, it was announced that Christian would invoke his rematch clause against Orton at Over the Limit .
WrestleMania XXX
WWE World Heavyweight Championship :
Randy Orton (c) vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan
At SummerSlam 2013, Randy Orton cashed in the Money in the Bank on Daniel Bryan after he beat John Cena to win the WWE Championship and after Triple H, who had been a guest referee for the match, pedigreed Bryan .
After the event, Triple H explained that sabotaging Daniel Bryan’s reign was best for the business because Bryan was not the type of fighter the company wanted him to be champion. So Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, later known as The Authority, designated Randy Orton as the face of WWE. In the months that followed, The Authority plotted Daniel Bryan’s constant attempts to win the title. At Night Of Champions, Bryan went on to defeat Orton for the WWE Championship. Still, Triple H withdrew the title from Bryan on the following night’s Raw because he considered referee Scott Armstrong had counted the settlement too quickly.
At Battleground, a title match between Bryan and Orton, which was vacant, ended in a no-contest after Big Show, who had been manipulated by The Authority, attacked both men. However, the two met again at Hell in a Cell, with Randy Orton winning the title after Triple H and special guest referee Shawn Michaels attacked Daniel Bryan .
However, at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Randy Orton defeated world champion John Cena in a TLC match to unify the two titles into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. In January 2014, Batista returned to WWE after a four-year absence and won the Royal Rumble, earning him a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX .
At Elimination Chamber, Randy Orton successfully defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in an Elimination Chamber match after interference from Kane, who was also owned by The Authority.
Frustrated by the constant interference in their title matches, Daniel Bryan challenged Triple H to a match at WrestleMania XXX. Triple H initially refused, but later eventually accepted, including the stipulation that Bryan would be included in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match if he beat The Game, which he eventually did.
Hell in a Cell 2020
Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Championship :
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton
On the July 27, 2020, episode of Raw, Randy Orton took to the ring, listed all of his career achievements and stated that he wanted to win the WWE Championship again, which led to challenging champion Drew McIntyre to a title match. at SummerSlam. That same night, Orton RKOed the Scotsman after a match between McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler.
At SummerSlam, McIntyre retained the title via a backslide pin.
On the following night’s Raw, the champion bragged about having achieved a victory over the self-proclaimed “greatest wrestler ever” with a wrestling stunt and announced that he knew Orton wanted a rematch. As he left the ring, McIntyre was attacked by Orton, who delivered two Punts. In that same episode, Keith Lee debuted on the main roster and challenged Orton to a match, which would take place moments later, with Orton winning via disqualification, after interference from McIntyre, who was then kicked in the head again. by Orton and ended up staying two weeks out of the ring.
Randy Orton and Keith Lee fought back again at Payback, this time with victory smiling at Lee. The night after the pay-per-view, Randy Orton won a mini-tournament of sorts to determine who would face Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at Clash of Champions, but on the same episode of Raw, he suffered three Claymore kicks from the Scotsman. The following week, McIntyre announced that the match between the two would be played under the rules of an Ambulance match.
Randy Orton still had his presence on the pay-per-view in doubt, but he even faced McIntyre in the Clash of Champions, having lost once again. However, the following night Orton warned McIntyre that the war between the two was not over and moments later attacked Big Show, Ric Flair, Christian and Shawn Michaels. The Legend Killer struck again. A week later, Randy Orton challenged Drew McIntyre to a Hell in a Cell match at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view and the champion accepted.