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Randy Orton is a legend of the sport. He's been around forever has won multiple championships throughout these years. He's headlined WrestleMania and almost every other PPV in the book but recently we've seen Randy Orton move away from all of that and not really take part in the feuds involving the World Championships.
He's got involved in feuds involving Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio and these feuds have been going along at a tangential line to the WWE Championship with there being hardly any chance of the paths clashing between the two.
What's the reason behind Randy all of a sudden disappearing from the Main Event picture? Why did all of a sudden Randy take up the role of a mid-carder and not feud for the WWE Championship?
Here are four possible reasons could be why Randy has not featured in a WWE Championship feud for a while.
#1 He's already a 13-time World Champion
Randy Orton has been around for a long long time and he's held the title and been the man at various junctures as well. To an extent that is why Orton finds himself in the current situation.
Randy Orton is already a 13-Time World Champion in WWE. Who are still ahead of him on that list? Only these three gentlemen, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair and John Cena at a tied 16 World Championships and Triple H at 14 World Championships.
Getting even one more championship will have implications for Randy Orton as it will put him level with Triple H on 14 championship wins. The question that arises here is that whether WWE (to an extent, these days that's Triple H himself) is ready to put him on the same pedestal as the "King of Kings"?
There is also a question of when WWE wants to pull that trigger as well he will equal Triple H and possibly go beyond that.
#2 Working on a Lighter Schedule
Randy is not getting any younger and after the amount of damage his body must have taken in all these years. It might be the case that Randy is looking to ease off the burden a little bit.
AJ Styles in his latest interview also alluded to the extra burden of appearances that one has to carry when they're the World Champion. Randy has made a markedly fewer number of appearances this year and has gone for a slightly less strenuous schedule.
But this schedule does come with a price apparently. Being a WWE Champion means following a very tight schedule year round and with Orton not in a position to do that he has slipped into a mid-card role where he can get away with a few sporadic appearances.
#3 He wants to try something different
There is also a possibility of Randy Orton getting bored of doing the same thing of fighting for so many years. It could be a case where Orton is trying to create a different legacy of his own by doing something out of the norm.
It's pretty evident that Randy has changed his persona in a very subtle way and uses the term "R.K.O" as the three most dangerous letters in WWE. He's also showing a very vicious side of him where he's seen attacking the other wrestlers in a way he's actually never done before in his career.
He's inserted a screwdriver through Jeff Hardy's earlobe again and again. He's ripped off Rey Mysterio's in their match on Smackdown. Maybe this switch from Randy Orton is his way of making a change in his character which is portrayed to have a very vicious side to him.
#4 WWE looking at the future with other talents
At 38 years old, you can't expect Randy Orton to stick around for that many more years. Maybe WWE has decided that it's about time they give the opportunity to the young blood to establish themselves in the company.
Roman Reigns was backed like anything for a long time in WWE. In due time Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Drew Mcintyre are all going to get a run at the title. The biggest things going for them is the age and because you can expect them to stick around for a while and not leave the organization in just a year or two.
Randy Orton might himself stick around for a while but with a reduced workload and age not on his side it's tough to really envision him to be a reliable choice as the face of the company.
