Ever since he came onto the scene in 2002, Randy Orton’s greatest move has always been the dreaded RKO. The RKO literally comes out of nowhere – Orton can strike like the viper that he is at any time and any place with this devastating finisher. The RKO is so popular that there are videos made spoofing people’s falls as if they got the finisher.
Over the years Orton has fine-tuned the finisher and has come up with clever ways to catch his opponent off guard. Some of these were unanimous crowd pleasers, leaving them exploding with applause and awe.
There were many victims in Orton’s fourteen year WWE career, but some of his best RKOs happened in the last six years. This list hopes to detail them.
#5 TLC 2011 to Wade Barrett
Orton had some great feuds in 2011, and the year ended in grand fashion with this match against Wade Barrett. The brief feud was intense, and I feel it should’ve gone on a lot longer than it did.
The feud culminated after this match, which was a Tables Match. So, it was no surprise that Orton used that to his advantage, catching Barrett in a brutal RKO through the table to win the match.
#4 WrestleMania 29 to Seth Rollins
Even though the Shield was able to oust the team of Orton, Sheamus, and Big Show, the Hounds of Justice weren’t able to escape the wrath of the RKO. Seth Rollins was the sacrificial lamb, flying right into the move.
But as it would turn out, sometimes the RKO can be a disadvantage too. Right after Orton RKO’d Rollins; Roman Reigns saw the opportunity to Spear him, securing the three count for The Shield’s first WrestleMania win.
#3 SummerSlam 2011 to Christian
In this No Holds Barred Match, Orton and rival Christian tore the house down in a brutal battle of Los Angeles.
Emotions ran high for that night, as it had been such an intense rivalry all summer. Christian knew how to push Orton’s buttons; disrespecting him and even going as fas as spitting in his face at one point during the match.
However Orton got Christian back before long though, surprising him with a devastating RKO onto the steel steps.
#2 WrestleMania 31 to Seth Rollins
Here we are again with Rollins as the victim. This was arguably the best RKO Orton executed on the WrestleMania stage.
Rollins attempted the Curb Stomp, but was thrown through a loop when Orton, who was bent over, pushed himself up quickly and caught the Money in the Bank winner with the RKO. It was an amazing end to a fantastic match.
#1 Raw to Evan Bourne
On the July 12, 2010 edition of Raw, Orton was in a match with Edge when he got distracted by Chris Jericho.
Edge would go on to pick up the win but then got attacked by Jericho. Orton got payback with an RKO to Jericho, but the best RKO was yet to come.
Evan Bourne came out to the ring and proceeded to kick Orton down to the mat. Bourne quickly went to attempt the AirBourne, only for Orton to pop up from the mat and deliver his most gasp-of-disbelief-inducing RKO in recent memory.
What makes your list?
