Orton Randy

The following is information and pictures of WWE wrestler Randy Orton. Randy Orton is one of the biggest starts in the WWE
(Credit to Slam Sports)


A third-generation professional wrestler, Orton comes from a family of professional wrestlers, ranging from his grandfather, Bob Orton, Sr., to his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton. His uncle, Barry O, was also a former wrestler.

This latest addition to the Orton wrestling clan was given a solid background before he entered the professional ranks. After competing in amateur wrestling in high school in St. Louis, Mo, (making it to the Danny Hodge World High School Championships), he learned the basics from his father. Traveling with his father also gave the younger Orton a taste for what life was like on the road.
A stint in the Marines left Orton, briefly, in trouble with the U.S. military for going AWOL. But at the age of 19, Orton was signed to a WWE contract in 2000. Like a lot of the up-and-coming stars of today, Randy put his time in with the WWE's developmental territories in Memphis and Ohio Valley Wrestling, beginning in May 2000. Orton trained and wrestled under the tutelage of trainer Danny Davis and talent scout Jim Cornette.
During his time in Ohio Valley, Orton would face the likes of Rico Constantino and the Prototype (later known John Cena), and team with veteran Bobby Eaton in the Ohio Valley tag team title tournament. By the early summer of 2001 he was a two-time OVW Hardcore Champion, defeating Mr. Black on February 14th, 2001 and Flash Flanagan on May 5th 2001.
Orton's time in the territories earned him enough attention to be named Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Rookie of the Year for 2001. By April 2002 he was wrestling in the WWE full time. Originally, he was part of the Smackdown roster, starting with a program against Hardcore Holly. On May 31st, he received a WWE title match against The Undertaker.
In September, 2002, Orton jumped from Smackdown to Raw, defeating Stevie Richards in his debut on the show. However, soon afterwards, Orton went down to a shoulder injury and had to have surgery. Ironically, the injury helped with his heel turn, as "special bulletins" would interrupt Raw broadcasts so that Orton could inform all his fans as to the progress of his recovery.



As 2003 began, so did, in earnest, the era of a new wrestling supergroup. However, it wouldn't be until that spring that Orton, back from both the shoulder injury and a foot injury, joined forces with Triple H, Ric Flair and Dave Bautista to form "Evolution". Much like the Four Horsemen and the nWo before them, Evolution seemingly took on everyone in the WWE, with Orton seeing action against Goldberg, the Dudleyz, Shawn Michaels and Scott Steiner.
With Evolution's help, Orton quickly rose through the WWE singles ranks, even getting a chance to participate in the "Elimination Chamber" event at SummerSlam 2003 for the WWE title. By year's end, Evolution would hold all the gold in the WWE, as Orton defeated Rob Van Dam at Armageddon '03 to win the Intercontinental Championship.
Meanwhile, Orton was developing his "Legend Killer" gimmick which started after he defeated Shawn Michaels atUnforgiven in September 2003. Orton would also defeat such legends as Sgt. Slaughter and attack others including the Fabulous Moolah and Harley Race.
But Orton's "Legend Killer" gimmick would really pick up steam when he crossed paths with legend Mick Foley. After spitting in Foley's face, Orton was stunned with the "hardcore legend" simply walked away from their impending match. After weeks of gloating and hounding Foley, Orton would have to put his money where his mouth was when Foley returned to the WWE. After an Evolution attack, Foley would recruit the Rock to challenge Orton and his Evolution partners, Flair and Bautista to a match at Wrestlemania XX. In a bit of a surprise, it was Evolution that came out on top during that match.
By July, Orton had begun bragging that he was the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion in seven years, having held the title for seven months, defeating everyone from Rob Van Dam to Shelton Benjamin to Chris Jericho. However, he could not overcome the challenge of Edge at July's Vengeance pay-per-view and Orton's title reign came to an end.
Two weeks later, however, Orton would win a Number One contender's battle royale to win the right to face World Champion Chris Benoit at SummerSlam where the world was stunned (although rumours had persisted for weeks prior) when Orton defeated Chris Benoit and became the WWE Champion at the age of 24. However, Orton's joy was short-lived as he was unceremoniously dumped from Evolution the next night on Raw. A few weeks later, Orton's title reign would end at WWE Unforgiven at the hands of Evolution leader, Triple H.
Undaunted by the title loss, Orton took aim at regaining the strap and bringing down Evolution. He first went after Ric Flair, defeating the Nature Boy in a Steel Cage match at Taboo Tuesday, but a few weeks later,with the help of Batista, Flair got revenge, ensuring Orton never got a title shot during Triple H's then-current reign.
At Survivor Series, Orton took Guerrero's place on "Team SmackDown!". Orton became the sole survivor of his team for the third year in a row, pinning HBK to win the match for "Team SmackDown!". As Orton celebrated following the match, The Undertaker made his return, chasing Orton from the ring and indiscriminately attacking several other members of the SmackDown! roster.
On a special live episode of SmackDown! on November 29, Orton placed The Undertaker in the trunk of one of Eddie Guerrero's lowriders and reversed the car through the SmackDown! stage, setting it on fire. The Undertaker retorted by playing mind game on Orton over the next several weeks, leading to a Hell in a Cell match between the two being scheduled for Armageddon 2005. On December 16, Orton lured The Undertaker to the ring by declaring his "retirement". When The Undertaker entered the ring, one of the druids who typically accompanied him to the ring remained at ringside. The Undertaker was distracted as a reslt, enabling Orton to attack him and deliver an R.K.O. The "druid" then revealed themselves to be Bob Orton, and gave Orton The Undertaker's signature urn to strike him with. At Armageddon, The Undertaker defeated Orton after delivering the Tombstone Piledriver to both Orton and his father.
Two weeks after Armageddon, Orton agreed to represent an injured Booker T in the fifth match of his "best of seven" series with Chris Benoit over the WWE United States Championship. As Booker T had won three of the matches already fought, Orton only needed to beat Benoit once to win the series for Booker. Orton lost to Benoit following botched interference from Booker T's wife Sharmell. He faced Benoit the following week, but lost once again after Orlando Jordan, interfered on Benoit's behalf. On the January 13, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, Orton defeated Benoit, thus winning the United States Championship for Booker T and finishing the series four-three. The following week saw him face Orlando Jordan in a match because Orlando had interfered with Booker and Sharmell's celebration by attacking him in the middle of the ring. Orton won the match by a distraction from Booker and Sharmell which allowed him to hit the R.K.O. for the win.
After the match, it was announced that the following week Orton will face off in a no holds barred match against Chris Benoit.


Randy Orton Quotes
• "In this business it is about making an impact."
• "My accomplishments are endless."
• "Get a look at greatness."
• "I pride myself on being a legend killer."
• "There's no stopping Randy Orton!"
• "Greatness has entered the ring!"
• "It is my Destiny!"
• "Follow the IC Champ, we're going for a walk!"
• "I'm a third generation superstar"
• "I entered this ring Randy Orton, legend killer when all was said and done I left as Randy Orton, Legend."
• "Not only am I better looking.....I'm just plain better. "
• "The only true phenom.....is me."