In wrestling, we’ve seen our childhood heroes grow old. Their bones and muscles and structure end up not working like they used to. Those heroes and villains you watched in awe still tried to put on a good show, but it’s clear they cannot possibly have that consistency from before. Like your family and older friends, that feeling makes the feeling sting just a bit more.
It’s different when you see it happen to someone you grew alongside. It’s different for me when I look back on Randy Orton so far. Those memories of The Viper will stick with me for a long time.
Debuting in the early 2000s, I first grew wary of Orton as I was slowly approaching my preteen years as he was ranked among the members of Evolution and when he was the Legend Killer. Seeing him go against the greats of the time and of before, I despised him for always antagonizing the stars I watched in earlier years of my life. I wasn’t the type of fan who was ready for new things.
It wasn’t until I left and came back to professional wrestling in 2017 that I began to truly appreciate the man with voices in his head. Catching up with him, I felt twinges of regret for my time away and for not appreciating him earlier.
My fellow Missourian was still here all these years later, whereas most retired, left, or pursued acting. As I changed my views of wrestling and began accepting the wrestlers I was not used to, he was that vessel of familiarity. I was able to decipher who I could get behind and who I couldn’t based on what he did for them.
When you watch a Randy Orton match, you get something unique to him. Some may call it slow and plodding, others will see it for the longer stretches of psychology and chess. While the former is understandable in times where others can work that style and styles that are faster, explosive, and robust, he is not that action film. He’s the slow-building terror, time invested to a payoff.
In essence, he’s food on a platter that takes time to eat and appreciate the flavors within, and he uses that to slow his peers down It’s not a style that suits everyone, but with the right dance partners, Orton can make magic and in this, he can help make or break a talent. To my knowledge, his best foes of this era have been the likes of Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Kofi Kingston, and Mustafa Ali.
It speaks a lot to his performance and character that the company would trust him to be the first rival for Edge following his return in 2020, with both men not being the spry chickens from half a decade ago, but for what they were given, they told an excellent story. It was a compelling drama of a feud, as the Rated-RKO members made a story of the past so compelling (albeit with some ridiculously long matches during the dull pandemic era. In this, the two showed just how much they learned, particularly Randy.
From a promising upstart to a veteran who has lived and learned in the ring and outside of it, Orton has lived a career that most wish they could have. And a lot of that could be due to how he was handed the keys at a young age due to his heritage, he’s used pro wrestling genetics to ensure that he absolutely belongs. He’s lived his life in the squared circle. He’s had his falls and he’s learned from them to help others as he’s begun to age out.
From 2021 to 2022, he has since spent his time in a tag team, RK-Bro, where the veteran teamed with a rookie – and the pair brought on a level of energy that kept fans tuned in. In the current landscape of 2023’s WWE tag team scene, I sorely miss that energy he brought. In 2022, Randy was absolutely one of the best hot tags in the business. That in itself brought a wonderful wrinkle to his character, where it was hard to not get excited as the match worked to the point where he could just burst with a faster version of his typical wrestling style.
The reason we haven’t seen Randy Orton on our screens, as you no doubt already know, is that he’s had a long history of injuries. Frankly, to see him at the top as long as he’s been there, it’s a wonder he’s stayed there as frequently as he’s been hurt. This is due in part to his hypermobility in his shoulders, making things as simple as posing in the ring or taking out the trash a risk. In late 2022, RK-Bro lost the titles to The Usos and Orton has spent time on the shelf ever since.
Whatever the status of Randy’s health is, his fans continually wish him the best, myself included. We’d be happy if he lived the rest of his life doing okay, even if he would be unable to wrestle ever again. The industry would be a different place, that’s for certain, but he could spend the rest of his life sitting back and reflecting on the decades of work he had while seeing the influence he’s left in wrestling.
With time, however, maybe he could heal like fellow icons such as Sting, Steve Austin, Edge, and Christian. Only time will tell when, or if, he can add to his legacy.
It could be soon. It could be later. It could be right now; straight out of nowhere.
