The greatest heels in WWE history - No. 10

In this series, we look back at the 10 biggest heels from the Vince McMahon Jr. era, and we kick things off with number 10. There are very few wrestlers who are born into wrestling families, and get out of their father’s shadows to make a name for themselves in the business. It is hard to be a second or third generation superstar, as you’re often compared with your fathers and grandfathers. There were the Bret Harts and The Rocks who were successful in getting out of their fathers’ shadows, and stamped their mark in the business, and there is one other superstar who will be put beside them. This young superstar was always destined for greatness. He had the look, the confidence and the arrogance to make it big in the wrestling industry, and he goes by the name of Randal Keith Orton, better known to the fans as Randy Orton.

Orton was always seen as someone who would make it big in the business, but the only question was ‘when’. After he was hired by the WWE and was sent to the main roster, Orton’s initial run with the company came to a premature halt when he was injured, and had to wait for months to come back and perform in the WWE. When Orton returned, he became a part of ‘Evolution’, a stable which consisted of the past champion, the present champion and the two guys who were being moulded to be future champions. As a part of the stable, Orton won his first major singles title in the WWE, when he won the Intercontinental title. He took on the moniker of ‘Legend Killer’, as he began assaulting legends and veterans in the business.

Randy Orton’s biggest asset was also his biggest weakness. Orton only cared about making it big in the business, and this led to him being cocky and arrogant in real life, which also projected onto his character. During his ‘Legend Killer’ gimmick, Orton was successful in defeating most of the legends in the business, such as Shawn Michaels and Mick Foley. But Orton’s biggest night came in 2004, when he defeated Chris Benoit at Summerslam to win the World Heavyweight Championship, and by doing so, at the age of 24, he became the youngest World champion in the history of the business. Orton’s time as a main-eventer began, and he turned face when he was unceremoniously removed from Evolution, thus starting a feud against his former mentor, Triple H. Orton lost the title soon afterwards, and he began feuding against the other members of Evolution for the remainder of the year.

Orton is a natural heel, and failed in his attempts to be a good face. There are certain people who are meant to be heels, like the Pipers and Triple Hs. He once again turned heel during his feud with The Undertaker, for a match at WrestleMania, which The Undertaker won. Randy Orton has since then won the WWE title on many occasions, as well as the World Heavyweight title. And when you’re successful in the business, the bad comes along with the good. Orton has been suspended twice in his tenure with the company, and has been at the receiving end of many questionable antics, which didn’t do much good for his already dented reputation in the company. There is a famous story in the WWE, about how Randy once disrespected Shawn Michaels, and Chris Benoit took it upon himself to teach the young kid a lesson. And by doing so, Randy learnt about respect the hard way.

But there is no denying the fact that Orton has been the number 2 guy in the WWE for a good part of 3 years, and has been the go to guy for the officials on many occasions. A former multi time world champion and a Rumble winner, Orton has cemented his name as one of the finest young athletes in the business. Whether you like him or you hate him, you have to admit that Randy Orton has been one of the best heels in the past decade, and that is no small feat. Whether it be as the leader of ‘Legacy’, or all by himself, Orton has been able to cement himself as the number 1 heel in the company for a better part of 3 years, which is impressive. Perhaps, the best thing about Orton was the way he adapted to the situation when the fans were bored of his face run.

Randy adopted the ‘Viper’ gimmick, when he realized that the fans weren’t buying him as a face. This led to many memorable instances, and top tier feuds. This also enabled Orton to use his signature finisher, the ‘RKO’ in many different styles, thus bringing some truth to the ‘Viper’ aura. He had also teamed up with ‘The Rated R Superstar’ Edge, and won the world tag team titles on multiple occasions. Randy Orton may not be the most likeable person, but he definitely is one of the brightest talents who came into the WWE in the past decade. He has since changed his gimmick once again, becoming the ‘Apex Predator’ in the WWE. There is no doubt that Randy will win WWE/World titles many more times in the coming future, and that will only add to one of the most illustrious careers in the company’s history.

Read other articles in the series here: Greatest Heels in WWE History