The People’s Column: Why Randy Orton Didn’t “Turn”

Columns, Features, Top Story

Here we go again ladies and gentlemen! We have survived the draft and are anxiously awaiting the first post-draft Raw. I would like to take this opportunity to inform you all about my blog where I share my thoughts about wrestling and possibly some other things. It is itswilltime.wordpress.com. We are also on the verge of yet another breakout from one of WWE’s most exciting stars. Who would have thought a year ago that the hottest heel in the business would end up being the most surprising babyface of 2010. The gentleman that I speak of (in case you did not see the title of the column) is Randy Orton.

Over that last month we have seen something reminiscent of the beginning of the phenomenal run of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. There has been a certain backlash against these character developments from many members of the Internet wrestling community. They have said that Orton was never really turned face and that WWE is just expecting people to cheer for him. That is simply not true. Randy Orton’s character does not need to change.

Perhaps the announcers are being kinder to him now, but this behavior started long before they were kind. At the Royal Rumble there was an odd heel versus heel match between Orton and Sheamus. Of course this was used to extend Sheamus’ championship run and to begin the breakup of Legacy. The fans were expected to be silent during this match, but everyone watching at home was stunned when Orton was cheered unanimously.

This may not seem so odd in itself, but this is the first time in a very long time that the fans have had the opportunity to dictate a character turn themselves. It was the fans who decided that Orton would be “their guy.” This was truly apparent in the Legacy breakup storyline. It was rumored for months that Ted Dibiase would be receiving a strong turn into a main event level face at the conclusion of Legacy’s run. Fans were ready for it in October, but it seemed that they just had to wait too long. They made a decision to back Orton and story lines were rewritten accordingly.

The thing I love about the Orton turn is that he is still “The Viper.” He is not sucking up to the fans or other “good guy” wrestlers. He is a character that fans know is capable of doing anything at anytime. Monday’s Raw was a great example of this. The RKO to Wayne Brady was a huge shock to the fans in attendance and at home. Orton is still unpredictable and surprising.

The immediate consequences of this are a very top-heavy Raw roster with a lot of old programs that can be new again. Orton’s turn has opened up a whole new world of rivalries, beginning with a long-awaited program with Edge.

When Rated-RKO broke up in 2007 the WWE was not ready to turn either man face. Because of this, there was no long program between them. Edge was quickly called upon to use the Money in the Bank panic button and move to Smackdown, where he become one of the cornerstones of that show. Since then, these two men have been separate and deadly entities. Now that the Edge face turn experiment has failed, he is ready to go against his former partner. Monday’s Cutting Edge segment paved the way for both Edge and Orton to go forward with a rivalry three years in the making.

A face turn for Randy Orton would have been against the very core of his character. He will never be the smiling babyface, but he can be the rebellious viper (which somehow reminds me of a rattlesnake) that the fans love. John Cena said it best last year in an interview when he said that Orton is “the best in this generation” and that he is a star that just keeps breaking out and getting bigger.

On a completely unrelated note, TNA is moving back to Thursday nights. I wonder what they were thinking when they decided to go to Mondays in the first place. They did so with minimal promotion in WWE’s hottest season of the year. Maybe if they had lined up a solid build and great promotion for the last three months and chose to go for Monday nights now, they would have a different story to tell. Their show this week was very poor and a great example as to why they did not work on Monday nights.

That’s all for me this week folks! Please check out my blog as itswilltime.wordpress.com and make sure to comment!

Will is a 23 year old graduate student at UC Irvine. He is going to school for Stage Management and has always been passionate about pro wrestling. He began writing "The People's Column" in 2009. In 2010 he started his own wrestling blog, which is growing at an alarming rate. He is married to a beautiful woman (pictured on his profile) who accompanies him to most wrestling events that he goes to. Will is thankful for everyone who reads and interacts with him on Pulse and on his blog.