Randy Orton

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Randy Orton
Billing information
Ring name(s)	Randy Orton
Nickname	The Viper, Legend Killer
Height	6'4 (1.93 m)
Weight	245.5 lbs (111 kg)
Born	April 1, 1980 (age 40) Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Hometown	St. Charles, Missouri, United States
Billed from	{{{billed}}}
WWE debut	April 25, 2002
Wrestling information
Alignment	Authority(Formerly) Evolution(Formerly)
Finisher(s)	RKO And Punt Kick
Accomplishments	12-time world champion, Royal Rumble (2009)Money in the Bank (2013 – WWE Championship contract)

Randall Kieth Orton (born April 4, 1982) is an American professional wrestler currently wrestling in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he currently holds both the WWE Championship & World Heavyweight Championship. He is the son of Hall of Famer "Cowboy" Bob Orton. Orton is a 8 time WWE champion and 4x World Heavyweight Champion. Orton's WWE debut was on April 25, 2002 on SmackDown in match agaianst Tommy Dreamer. He is a former member of the Professional wrestling stable Evolution with Triple H, Ric Flair, & Batista.

History

WWE Ohio Valley Wrestling (2001-2002)

In 2001, Orton signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was sent to its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in Louisville, Kentucky, where he continued his training. During his time in OVW, Orton wrestled the likes of Rico Constantino and The Prototype and teamed with Bobby Eaton during a tag team title tournament. He won the OVW Hardcore Championship on two separate occasions by defeating Mr. Black on February 14, 2001, and Flash Flanagan on May 5, 2001.

Evolution and World Heavyweight Champion (2002-2004)

One of Orton's first official WWF appearances was March 16, 2002 at WrestleMania X8's Fan Axxess, where he was defeated by Tommy Dreamer. Orton's first televised WWF match was against Hardcore Holly on SmackDown! on April 25, 2002. Soon after, Orton became a fan favorite and was placed in a series of matches with Holly. In September 2002, Orton was drafted to the Raw brand, where he defeated Stevie Richards in his debut on the show. Within weeks of his debut on the Raw brand, Orton suffered a shoulder injury, leaving him sidelined for months. While recovering, Orton still appeared on Raw in his own Randy News Network segment, a weekly vignette featuring him talking about his condition. The show interrupted other segments of Raw programming, which caused Orton to slowly transition himself into a narcissistic and self-centered villain.

After his injury healed, Orton joined the Evolution stable, which consisted of Ric Flair, Triple H, and relative newcomer, Dave Batista. The group was pushed on Raw from 2003 to 2004, with the height of their dominance occurring after Armageddon in 2003 when all of the men's titles on Raw were held by the members of Evolution. In 2003, Orton spent much of his time helping Triple H overcome challenges for the World Heavyweight Championship. Orton joined Triple H in a six-man Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam, involved primarily to secure Triple H's title defense, and was eliminated by Goldberg, but the stable managed to fulfill its purpose and Triple H went on to eliminate Goldberg and thus retain his title.

Afterwards, Orton proclaimed himself "The Legend Killer", a young upstart who was so talented that he touted himself as the future of professional wrestling. He embarked on numerous storyline feuds with "legendary" wrestlers and gained infamy for his blatant disrespect of many older, well-respected names in wrestling history. With the help of his stablemate and mentor Ric Flair, he defeated Shawn Michaels at Unforgiven in the first of many high profile matches billed as "Legend versus Legend Killer." Orton then spat in the face of Harley Race on the April 26, 2004 Raw.

During this time, Orton began using the move that would become his signature finisher, the RKO, a jumping cutter named after his initials. Orton soon defeated Rob Van Dam for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Armageddon on December 14, 2003.With this win, Orton started the longest Intercontinental title reign in seven years, holding the title for seven months.

Orton continued to establish himself as a "Legend Killer" throughout 2004, challenging the semi-retired wrestler Mick Foley. Famed for his hardcore matches and ability to handle excruciating pain, Foley offered Orton a hardcore "Legend versus Legend Killer" match for his Intercontinental Championship. At Backlash, in a bloody match involving thumbtacks and barbed wire, Orton defeated Foley. Two months later at Bad Blood, he retained the Intercontinental Championship from Shelton Benjamin.

In July, at Vengeance, Edge defeated Orton to win the Intercontinental Championship, ending Orton's seven-month title reign. After losing the Intercontinental Championship, Orton became the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship after winning a 20 man battle royal on July 26. At SummerSlam, Orton defeated Chris Benoit for the championship. Orton became the youngest person ever to hold the title in WWE history at the age of 24. Benoit congratulated Orton after the match, shaking his hand for showing the ability to "be a man."

The following night, after Orton successfully defended the championship against Benoit in a rematch, Evolution threw Orton a mock celebration, only to reveal that they were not pleased with his new victory.

While Batista had Orton propped on his shoulders in elation, Triple H gave him a pleased thumbs up and then abruptly changed it to a thumbs-down, which was followed by Batista's dropping Orton to the mat. Ric Flair and Batista attacked Orton in the ring as Triple H revealed his jealousy for Orton's title. He ordered Orton to hand over the championship, but he refused, spitting in Triple H's face and hitting him with the title belt. Orton's break-up with Evolution began a new storyline for him as a crowd favorite when he continued to feud with his former stablemates. A month later, Orton lost his championship to Triple H at Unforgiven. Seeking revenge, Orton lashed out at Evolution members, catching them by surprise during a show by giving them a large cake as a make-up gift, which he came out of to beat and humiliate the group. At Taboo Tuesday, Orton defeated Ric Flair in a Steel Cage match. After this, Orton experienced another push, becoming General Manager of the Raw brand for a week following a match stipulation at Survivor Series where he picked up the win for his team by last pinning Triple H in a 4 on 4 Survivor Series match. He continued to feud with Triple H, using his authority to place his opponents at severe disadvantages during title defenses. Orton was granted another chance at the championship in January 2005, but lost a six-man championship Elimination Chamber match to Triple H at New Year's Revolution. On the January 10 Raw, Orton defeated Batista to earn a match against Triple H at the Royal Rumble for the World Heavyweight title. At the Royal Rumble, Triple H defeated Orton to retain the World title.

Wrestling details

Finishing Moves

• RKO (Jumping cutter, sometimes from an elevated position or used as a counter to a midair opponent) – 2003–presentggvygvtfvftvtfvtfvtfvtfvtfvtfvtfvftvt
• Running punt kick to an opponent's head – used mainly to cause a storyline concussion – 2007–present

Signature Moves

• Corner clothesline
• Dropkick
• European uppercut
• Gutwrench elevated neckbreaker
• Inverted headlock backbreaker
• Leaping knee drop
• Lou Thesz press followed by mounted punches
• Multiple stomps while circling a grounded opponent – adopted from Ron Garvin
• Multiple suplex variations
  • Belly-to-back, sometimes onto the barricade
  • Exploder
  • Side belly-to-belly
  • Slingshot
  • Super – adopted from his father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton
• Olympic slam
• Rope-hung DDT, sometimes from the turnbuckle, or from the top rope
• Snap scoop powerslam,sometimes with a pin.
• Swinging neckbreaker

Managers

• Ric Flair
• "Cowboy" Bob Orton
• Lita
• Stacy Keibler
• Triple H

Nicknames

• "The Legend Killer"
• "The Viper"
• "The Apex Predator"
• "Mr. Money in the Bank"
• "The Face of the WWE"

Entrance Themes

• "Blasting" by Jim Johnston (April 25, 2002 - February 3, 2003)
• "Evolve" by Jim Johnston (February 10, 2003 - June 16, 2003)
• "Line in the Sand" by Motörhead (July 14, 2003 - August 23, 2004; used while a member of Evolution)
• "This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage (March 3, 2006)
• "Burn in My Light" by Mercy Drive (August 30, 2004 – May 5, 2008)
• "Metalingus and Burn in My Light" by Jim Johnston (October 2, 2006 – April 29, 2007; used while a part of Rated-RKO)
• "Voices" by Rev Theory (May 12, 2008–present)

Championships and Accomplishments

First Ever WWE World Heavy Weight Champion , WWE Champion , World Heavy Weight Champion , Intercontinational Champion