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On tonight's episode of Monday Night RAW, Randy Orton took things too far with WWE Hall of Famer Edge, and hit an RKO on his wife and fellow Hall of Famer, Beth Phoenix. Orton had targeted Edge following his shocking return at the 2020 Royal Rumble PPV, and the brutal attack resulted in Edge needing medical attention. The Viper then went on to attack Edge's former foe Matt Hardy, and many were fearing for Beth's safety when she was announced for tonight's edition of WWE RAW. Ultimately, Orton did the unthinkable and one can only imagine what will happen when Edge finally recovers fully and confronts Orton in the near future.
Orton made his way to the WWE's main roster in 2002, after a brief stint in WWE's developmental territory, OVW. He embraced the character of The Legend Killer following his inclusion in Evolution, and went on to put down legends one after the other. Orton didn't spare anyone who was in his path, be it man or woman. Interestingly, this isn't the first time Orton has attacked a female Superstar. In the list below, we'll take a look at 5 women Orton has RKO'd.
#5 Beth Phoenix
Orton and Edge were once the best of friends. When DX was reunited back in 2006, Orton and Edge joined forced to form Rated RKO and attempted to put an end to the legendary faction. Their 2020 Royal Rumble reunion gave the fans a dash of nostalgia and many hoped for them to reunite again in the near future. Things didn't go that way though, and Orton attacked Edge to a loud chorus of boos on RAW.
Tonight, Orton made matters personal when he attacked Beth Phoenix and laid her down with an RKO, soon after she slapped him and kicked him in the gut. As the audience watched in utter shock, a string of WWE Superstars and officials checked on the fallen legend.
#4 Trish Stratus
At Unforgiven 2006, John Cena defeated Edge in a TLC match to bag the WWE title, while Trish Stratus defeated Lita to become the Women's Champion, in what was her final WWE match at the time. Randy Orton took on Carlito in a singles contest, and picked up a win over him. Two weeks before the PPV though, these 6 athletes were involved in a 6-Person Tag Team match on RAW. Cena, Carlito, and Trish took on Edge, Orton, and Lita, with the villains coming out victorious in the end.
The climax saw Carlito jumping on Edge, with both Superstars being put out of the ring by the official. As Trish was about to finish things off with Lita, Orton came out of nowhere and attacked her with a devastating RKO, followed by which Lita pinned her and picked up the win for her team. Carlito immediately tended to an unconscious Trish, while a disgusted Cena stared with cold eyes at the victors. Orton's eyes showed no remorse at what he did moments ago.
#3 Nia Jax
The 2019 Women's Royal Rumble PPV was an event Nia Jax won't be forgetting for a long time to come. She came very close to winning the Women's Royal Rumble match, and was eliminated by the eventual winner Becky Lynch, who then went on to throw out Charlotte Flair to win the whole thing. Jax wasn't finished though, and set her sights on the Men's Royal Rumble match.
Jax attacked R-Truth, the No.30 entrant, and took his place in the annual free-for-all. The Superstars who were present inside the ring at the time didn't appreciate this at all. After eliminating Mustafa Ali, Jax targeted Randy Orton, and it turned out to be a pretty bad idea. After some assist from Rey Mysterio and Dolph Ziggler, Orton hit a thunderous RKO on Jax to a loud pop. This was followed by both Orton and Mysterio joining forces to throw Nia out of the ring. This led to many believing that they would get an Orton-Jax feud in the near future, but it ended up being a one-off thing.
#2 Stacy Kiebler
Randy Orton won the World title at SummerSlam 2004, followed by which he was thrown out from Evolution, and suffered a brutal beatdown at the hands of his former friends. Orton lost the title to Triple H soon after, and failed to win it back over the next few months. At the time, Orton got romantically involved with Stacy Keibler, and it seemed like things were getting pretty serious between the two.
As WrestleMania 21 approached closer, Orton set his sights on none other than The Undertaker. On the March 21, 2005 edition of Monday Night RAW, Orton and Stacy Keibler came out, and The Legend Killer made it clear that his confidence was at an all-time high at the time. Orton then stated that he has a message for the fans who think that he will lose at The Show of Shows, and followed it up by hitting an unsuspecting Stacy with an RKO. The fans watched in horror as Orton left the ring, while the officials tended to a fallen Stacy.
#1 Stephanie McMahon
By the time WrestleMania 25 rolled around, Randy Orton had turned into a vicious psychopath who wasn't afraid of doing the absolute worst to prove his point. Orton eliminated Triple H in the 2009 Royal Rumble to win the whole thing, and punched his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania. On an episode of RAW, Orton took on Shane McMahon, and things soon took a turn for the worse, as Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase came out and attacked Shane.
Orton hit Shane with a Punt, which prompted Stephanie McMahon to come out and check on her unconscious brother. As the officials tended to Shane, a tearful Stephanie approached Orton and asked him to explain his actions. Orton responded with an RKO out of nowhere, and left the spot in a hurry as Triple H came out to witness the aftermath of Orton's attack. The Game took revenge on Orton at The Grandest Stage Of Them All, when he hit The Viper with a Sledgehammer and pinned him to retain his WWE title.
