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Over this past year, Randy Orton has been doing some of the best work of his career. His feud against Edge featured some great storytelling and The Viper's momentum carried forward into the summer. Orton may have lost a couple of matches to Drew McIntyre, but he is now the WWE Champion.
Up next for The Apex Predator is a 'Champion vs. Champion' match at Survivor Series against Roman Reigns, one he is likely to lose. Randy Orton is also being targeted on RAW by several Superstars, including McIntyre. The Fiend is also lurking in the shadows and ready to pounce on Orton.
The next few months are crucial for the WWE title, with the company needing to book The Viper's reign perfectly. He shouldn't hold the belt for too long if it is detrimental to others, even if WWE wants it to be up for grabs between Randy Orton and Edge.
There have been quite a few instances in the past where Orton was booked to win a match that he probably shouldn't have. Whether it would have been for the benefit of his opponent, or the story, the 14-time WWE World Champion should have put some of them over. It was the right thing to do in these moments.
Here are five times Randy Orton won a match he shouldn't have.
#5 Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Cody Rhodes (WrestleMania 26)
Following Randy Orton's ascent as a permanent main-eventer, he was tasked with leading a group of second-generation wrestlers. Being a third-generation Superstar, he seemed like the perfect man to help various young talents live up to their respective family's legacy, and to an extent, it did work.
Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, the sons of Dusty Rhodes and 'The Million Dollar Man' respectively, were paired with Orton, with the three of them being known as Legacy. The expectation was that the two youngsters would grow under the guidance of The Viper and break out to become much bigger stars, but that didn't happen.
Instead of Rhodes and DiBiase standing up to their controlling and abusive leader, it was Orton who turned babyface. The group imploded in time for WrestleMania 26 and it seemed like WWE would put Ted DiBiase over in the subsequent triple threat, making him a bigger star in the process.
However, Randy Orton soundly won the match and moved on as a good guy. Meanwhile, Rhodes and DiBiase were stuck in the midcard. The former eventually became a huge star outside WWE, while the latter isn't even in the wrestling business anymore.
#4 Randy Orton vs. Rusev (SmackDown 7/11/2017)
The tale of Rusev in WWE is an unfortunate one. He was genuinely one of the most over Superstars in the company, but Vince McMahon seemingly dismissed his support as the fans mocking him. Several things probably should have gone Rusev's way, particularly in 2017. His feud with Randy Orton was not well-booked.
The Bulgarian Brute lost two pay-per-view matches to The Viper, with the only good coming out of this angle being the birth of 'Rusev Day'. This should have resulted in a big push for him soon after, as there was an opening in the SmackDown men's team for Survivor Series.
Rusev would have largely benefited from being in the team, but it did not happen. He had to beat Randy Orton, who was already in the team, to join. Rusev should have won this, even if it wasn't clean. John Cena ended up taking the final spot on Team SmackDown.
It was quite exciting at the time, but Cena's role in the match was minimal and he was eliminated without much fanfare at all. Rusev could have used this spot to further develop his character and improve the story of the match. Instead, WWE went for an impulsive injection of star power.
#3 Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston (TLC 2009)
The infamous angle between Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton ended up preventing the Ghanaian-born Superstar from entering the main-event scene for nearly a decade, with a botched spot in the ring causing The Viper to repeatedly call him 'Stupid'. One month before that, the two had a solid match at the TLC pay-per-view and it seemed like Orton would put Kingston over like he had done a few weeks ago at Survivor Series.
Unfortunately, Randy Orton won the match and severely dented his opponent's momentum. He proceeded to pin Kingston another couple of times on RAW, culminating with that in-ring incident in a January 2010 episode of the Monday night show. This would be rectified over nine years later.
Kofi Kingston was primarily in the mid-card and tag team scene during the 2010s, becoming a part of the incredibly successful New Day. But once the opportunity arose, he entered the WWE Championship picture and ended up winning the belt at WrestleMania in 2019 thanks to the support of the fans.
This decade-long wrong finally had the chance to be righted, with Randy Orton challenging Kingston for the title over the summer. The Viper rightfully put him over this time around, but it doesn't change the fact that Kofi Kingston would have been much better off in 2009 had he beaten him in singles competition.
#2 Randy Orton vs. Christian for the World Heavyweight Championship (SmackDown 6/5/2011)
Christian had to wait over a decade to finally win a world title in WWE and even if it came about due to Edge's sudden retirement, it was well-earned. However, his first reign didn't even last a week. It ended at the hands of Randy Orton, who had just been drafted to SmackDown from RAW. The match was good, but it was massively disappointing to see.
Christian and Randy Orton did go on to have an excellent feud over the World Heavyweight Championship, spanning over four pay-per-views. With a feud so long, it would have been better to see Captain Charisma hold the big gold belt for at least a few weeks before initially dropping it to Orton.
While he did win the title again, the victory did not pack the same punch as it was via disqualification. The Viper won the entire feud, defeating Christian in a brutal No Holds Barred Match at SummerSlam. That was the right decision, but the Canadian's time with the belt during the program was much shorter than one would have hoped.
Every single match between Christian and Randy Orton was extremely well done, but the first one probably should have ended on a No Contest, simply to prolong Christian's measly five-day title reign (two, without considering SmackDown's tape delay).
#1 Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship (WrestleMania 33)
It has been well-documented that Bray Wyatt's WrestleMania record is hardly the most flattering. Before his stunning Firefly Fun House Match against John Cena this year, The Eater of Worlds lost at three consecutive 'Manias. Defeats to Cena and The Undertaker cemented Wyatt beneath the main-event level. Would things change against Randy Orton? No.
Optimism was sky-high for Bray Wyatt, as he entered WrestleMania 33 as the WWE Champion. Orton challenged him for the title after infiltrating the Wyatt Family and destroying it from the inside. The Viper even burned down Wyatt's house, a plot point that has been recently brought up on WWE TV once again.
This should have led to Wyatt keeping the WWE title for a little while longer, as he had tremendous potential as the Champion. A win over Randy Orton would have been a great WrestleMania moment for him, but WWE squandered this by booking the veteran to win in a mediocre contest.
The match wasn't good and knocked Bray Wyatt down several steps, as he lost his house, his 'family', and his title. Randy Orton's subsequent reign wasn't even meaningful, with the sole purpose of putting Jinder Mahal over. WWE and SmackDown would have been better off if Wyatt was still the Champion.
The worst part is that Orton did all of those dastardly things and remained a babyface, instead of WWE pulling off a bold double-turn. It does look like the company will rectify this, with The Fiend going after the current WWE Champion. Hopefully, Bray Wyatt finally gets his revenge over Randy Orton. It is nearly four years in the making.
