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WrestleMania 37 is firmly on the horizon for every member of the WWE roster and every member of the WWE Universe. The showcase of the immortals is WWE's biggest show of the year and has featured some of the biggest and best moments and matches in WWE history.
Current Monday Night RAW Superstar Randy Orton has certainly been involved in several of these high-profile WrestleMania moments and matches throughout his WWE career.
The Viper is a former 14-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion and has competed at 16 different WrestleMania events during his WWE career.
The list of opponents that The Apex Predator has faced off against on the grandest stage of them all reads as a who's who of WWE Hall of Famers, legends and icons.
Let's take a closer look at Randy Orton's five greatest WWE WrestleMania matches.
#5 Randy Orton, Batista and Ric Flair vs The Rock and Mick Foley (WrestleMania XX)
After a stellar first year on the WWE roster, Randy Orton entered a feud with WWE legend Mick Foley towards the end of 2003 on WWE television. Orton, who was a member of Triple H's Evolution faction, had begun to refer to himself as "The Legend Killer" on WWE television.
Randy Orton attacked various WWE legends and Hall of Famers such as Sgt. Slaughter, Harley Race and Shawn Michaels to earn this moniker. Orton then seemingly singled out Mick Foley as his next victim.
Randy Orton regularly attacked and degraded The Hardcore Legend, spitting in Foley's face and referring to him as a coward. The feud between Randy Orton and Mick Foley culminated in a 3-on-2 handicap match at WrestleMania XX. Randy Orton teamed up with Evolution teammates Ric Flair and Batista to face off against the legendary tag team of Mick Foley and The Rock.
Despite being a multi-man match, the encounter was a real viewing pleasure for the WWE Universe in attendance at Madison Square Garden and for the viewing audience watching at home around the world.
Evolution left WrestleMania XX victorious after Randy Orton hit Mick Foley with a vicious RKO to get the shock victory over his opponents. This not only marked Randy Orton's WrestleMania debut, but also his first victory at the event too.
#4 Randy Orton vs CM Punk (WrestleMania XXVII)
WrestleMania XXVII saw Randy Orton face off against the leader of The New Nexus CM Punk.
Several months prior to their match, CM Punk and The New Nexus cost Randy Orton the WWE Championship during The Viper's match against The Miz at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
CM Punk later revealed his sinister rationale for costing Randy Orton the WWE Championship. Punk recalled Orton costing him the World Heavyweight Championship in 2008, cutting short Punk's inaugural World Championship reign after Randy Orton viciously punt kicked CM Punk in the skull. Punk vowed to give Randy Orton a taste of his own medicine.
However, Randy Orton responded by putting all of the members of Punk's The New Nexus faction on the sidelines week by week. As the weeks passed, Randy Orton punt kicked all members of The New Nexus, leaving CM Punk as the last remaining member of the faction.
The feud between Randy Orton and CM Punk reached a boiling point with a match between the two rivals taking place at WrestleMania XXVII.
CM Punk based the majority of his offense around Randy Orton's injured knee, an injury that Punk had caused heading into the match. This calculated offense proved beneficial as Randy Orton was prevented from utilizing the punt kick on CM Punk later in the match.
However, Randy Orton would eventually leave WrestleMania XXVII victorious. In the closing moments of the match, CM Punk attempted a springboard clothesline, only for Randy Orton to counter into an RKO in mid-air. The spectacular RKO led Randy Orton to victory and an impressive WrestleMania moment.
#3 Randy Orton vs Seth Rollins (WrestleMania 31)
WrestleMania 31 saw arguably one of the greatest RKOs in WWE history during Randy Orton's match against Seth Rollins.
Seth Rollins turned on The Shield in 2014, joining The Authority in the process. Billed as the new golden child of The Authority, tensions quickly began to build between Rollins and existing Authority member Randy Orton.
The Apex Predator had become increasingly vocal about the preferential treatment of Seth Rollins by The Authority. Tensions between Rollins and Orton reached a new, violent level on Monday Night RAW in November when Seth Rollins viciously curb-stomped Randy Orton's head into the steel ring steps. The attack led Randy Orton to be kayfabe injured and off WWE television for several months as he "recovered" from these injuries.
After several months away, Randy Orton returned to WWE television at the Fastlane pay-per-view in 2015. Orton attacked various members of The Authority, including Seth Rollins. However, in the coming weeks Randy Orton played mind games with his former teammates. The Viper teased re-joining Seth Rollins on several occasions, before revealing his true plans and attacking Rollins on Monday Night RAW.
This led to Randy Orton and Seth Rollins squaring off at WrestleMania 31. The encounter is best known for its incredible closing moments. Seth Rollins attempted to hit a curbstomb on The Viper, but Randy Orton countered by sending Rollins high into the air and hitting his opponent with a spectacular RKO for the win.
Randy Orton's incredible RKO counter is still discussed to this day as arguably the greatest RKO of all time and a sure-fire WrestleMania moment.
#2 Randy Orton vs Batista vs Daniel Bryan (WrestleMania XXX)
WrestleMania XXX saw one of the greatest moments in WrestleMania history take place, as the WWE Universe witnessed "the miracle on Bourbon Street."
For close to 12 months, Daniel Bryan had been involved in a fierce rivalry with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and The Authority after they only considered Bryan to be a "B+ player."
Despite Randy Orton defeating Daniel Bryan on several occasions for the WWE Championship, the WWE Universe continued to support Bryan. This included rejecting the returning Batista when The Animal won the 2014 Royal Rumble match. Bowing to the pressure from the WWE Universe, the decision was made that the winner of Triple H vs Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX would be added to the main event of Randy Orton vs Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship, making it a triple threat match.
In the opening match of the showcase of the immortals, Daniel Bryan was incredibly able to defeat Triple H, cementing his place in the main event of the show.
During the main event match, Daniel Bryan was dominated by the fresher opponents of Randy Orton and Batista. The former Evolution teammates even teamed up on several occasions to remove Daniel Bryan from the match.
However, Daniel Bryan was once again somehow able to fight back and defend himself against both larger superstars. After locking in the YES! Lock, Daniel Bryan was incredibly able to submit Batista and become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion in the process.
The Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana exploded with cheers and YES! chants as Daniel Bryan completed "The Miracle on Bourbon Street" and cemented one of the most amazing WrestleMania moments in WWE history.
#1 Randy Orton vs The Undertaker (WrestleMania 21)
WrestleMania 21 saw Randy Orton attempt to break The Undertaker's legendary WrestleMania undefeated streak.
After advice from WWE Hall of Famer "Superstar" Billy Graham, Randy Orton announced that he would prove his greatness by ending The Undertaker's WrestleMania undefeated streak at WrestleMania 21.
Over the course of the next few weeks prior to their WrestleMania encounter, Randy Orton was steadfast in claiming that he was unafraid of The Deadman. This included Orton turning heel on Monday Night RAW by hitting his girlfriend, Stacey Keibler, with an RKO.
Randy Orton ignored warnings from WWE legends such as Jake "The Snake" Roberts and his father, "Cowboy" Bob Borton, about taunting The Undertaker.
The rivalry between Orton and The Undertaker came to a breaking point during their highly anticipated match on the grandest stage of them all at WrestleMania 21.
The match featured incredible back and forth action with multiple near falls and false finishes. This included Randy Orton countering The Undertaker's chokeslam in mid-air to hit an RKO for an incredibly close near fall.
The match also saw outside interference from "Cowboy" Bob Orton, who struck The Undertaker with his infamous cast, allowing his son to get another incredibly close near fall.
However, in the closing moments of the match Randy Orton attempted to hit The Undertaker with his own move, the Tombstone piledriver. The Undertaker was able to reverse the move and hit Randy Orton with a Tombstone piledriver of his own, sealing victory for The Phenom. This continued The Undertaker's WrestleMania undefeated streak, extending "The Streak" to 13-0 on the grandest stage of them all.
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