5 things Randy Orton should do before his WWE career ends

With 13 world title reigns, two WrestleMania main-event appearances and two Royal Rumble triumphs, Randy Orton is one of the most decorated WWE Superstars of his generation.

Throughout his 16 years on Raw and SmackDown, “The Viper” has won almost everything there is to win and achieved almost everything there is to achieve.

However, aged just 38, the likelihood is that he will still be around on our screens for the next few years – so what’s next for the man formerly known as “The Legend Killer”?

In this article, we take a look at five things that the future Hall of Famer should do before his WWE career comes to an end.

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#5 Heel turn

Randy Orton is a much better heel than a babyface

Let’s start with the most obvious suggestion: Randy Orton has to turn heel again – and the sooner he does it, the better.

Ever since he returned from an injury in early 2015, the former WWE champion has played a babyface character, which has worked well at times (his WrestleMania 31 match with Seth Rollins springs to mind) but not so well on other occasions (the Jinder Mahal rivalry, for example).

In recent months, Orton has been involved in United States Championship storylines with Bobby Roode, Rusev, Jeff Hardy and Jinder, but his 28-day run with the title was largely meaningless and it feels like he’s being wasted on SmackDown Live.

Everybody knows that the vindictive heel who has psychopathic tendencies and hears voices in his head is a much more captivating character than the one currently being portrayed on television, so it’s about time WWE finally switched Orton back to being a bad guy.

#4 Reduce his TV schedule

What's the point in using Randy Orton in mediocre storylines?

With the obvious exception of a few long-term injuries, Randy Orton had been a full-time WWE Superstar from the time he made his main-roster debut in 2002 until the summer of 2017, when he began working a limited schedule for live events.

Since then, it feels like WWE has compensated for his lack of live event dates by using him (or, rather, misusing him) more frequently on television in underwhelming rivalries that come across like a demotion for somebody of Orton’s calibre.

Losing in three straight PPV title matches to Jinder Mahal? Not good. Doing Shane McMahon’s dirty work for him against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for no real reason? Not good. Losing the United States title just four weeks into his first reign? Again, not good.

If WWE really wants Orton to stay relevant for as long as possible, perhaps they would be better served using more of his dates on live events and only put him on television when there’s a storyline befitting of his character.

#3 Introduce a new finisher

The RKO is the best finisher in WWE right now – for a babyface

Randy Orton’s RKO is one of the most popular finishers in WWE history, which is great for when "The Viper" is a babyface, but it’s not so great when it remains his go-to move as a heel.

WWE often tweaks characters when they turn from babyface to heel, and vice versa, to avoid good guys receiving boos and bad guys receiving cheers (Shinsuke Nakamura, for example, recently had his sing-a-long music altered after he turned heel).

However, during Orton’s last heel run between 2013 and 2015, he continued to use his crowd-popping RKO finisher and even now, six years after it was banned for being too dangerous, he has never replaced his punt kick move, which was previously used as an alternative finisher.

We’re not advocating the return of the punt – it's obviously a big concussion risk – but it would be nice to see Orton mix up his move set with a new finisher if he turns heel.

#2 Form a new alliance

Randy Orton was previously part of Evolution, Legacy and The Authority

Randy Orton went from student to teacher when, just three years after he was still a relative rookie as part of Evolution, he became the leader of his own Legacy faction, which helped bring Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase through the WWE ranks.

Fast forward to the present day and there’s a never-ending list of potential stables that WWE could put together over the next few years, but would any of them have a better, more experienced leader than a 38-year-old Orton?

If WWE decides to go down that route, there’s a whole host of talent in NXT who could step up and become part of a group with “The Viper”.

As a heel trio, how about Orton, Tommaso Ciampa and Lars Sullivan? As babyfaces, perhaps Aleister Black and Pete Dunne could work?

#1 Evolution Triple Threat

Batista was due to face Randy Orton at WrestleMania XXX

The original WrestleMania XXX main event between the returning Dave Batista and WWE champion Randy Orton was doomed from the very start.

The majority of fans wanted to see Batista come back to WWE as a heel rather than a babyface, while everybody was so desperate to see Daniel Bryan headline ‘Mania that the company was left with no choice but to add him to the main event.

From a storyline perspective, there’s still some unfinished business between “The Animal” and “The Viper”, stemming from the way Batista walked away from Evolution after their back-to-back defeats to The Shield in 2014.

If the WWE Superstar-turned-movie star ever returns to the squared circle, he’s made no secret that he would like to face Triple H in a retirement match, but why not add Orton to the mix and make it an Evolution Triple Threat?

Avengers 3 was just as great the second time around! Who knows maybe I could headline #WrestleMania with #drax @DaveBautista someday 🤔

— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) May 11, 2018