WWE Rumors: Is Randy Orton Turning Face?

By Nicholas A. Marsico @nickmarsico on October 3, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recent reports have stated WWE has been considering turning Randy Orton face at some point during the build to WrestleMania. After this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW, there may be something to that rumor, and it may be a very good thing. Orton’s last successful run — both from a WWE standpoint and by way of positive critical reviews — was all the way back in the summer of 2011 when he held the World Heavyweight Championship and had a series of fantastic matches with Christian on TV and PPV. Orton also wrestled Mark Henry and dropped the title to him in a match far better than anybody expected. For a guy who was losing a lot of support, 2011 became the year it appeared Orton was turning things around. He was playing the baby-face character exactly the way that so many people desired. He changed nothing from his successful heel run and the only difference was the wrestlers he took on in the ring.

That was the true genesis of The Viper; a nickname Orton continues to have bestowed upon him even though it has not been true for a long time. I’ve spoken previously about how the last couple years have seen Orton go from fearless and remorseless to a cowardly lackey. Every time The Authority tells him that he needs to “go to that place” that Michael Cole always talks about, but never reveals the location of, Orton might act that way for an episode of RAW or two, before going right back to being the classic droppings in a henhouse heel. Then we rinse and repeat. Triple H tells him he needs to dig down and find that merciless viper, he sort of does, then he acts like a coward. A few weeks later, Stephanie McMahon tells Orton he has to get that killer instinct back and he does… until he walks out of The Authority’s office and goes on to do nothing of the sort.

In another reference to fowl, because you can never have too many of those, Randy Orton has been a lame duck for quite some time. He may have been the guy who unified the two World Titles and may have ruined Daniel Bryan’s moment at SummerSlam 2013 to become ostensibly the top heel in the company, but that’s only because Triple H isn’t a full-time active wrestler. For over a year now, Randy Orton has been the Damien Mizdow to The Miz’ Triple H. He is simply a puppet. Orton is the stand-in for Triple H and hasn’t had his own voice in a long time.

Henceforth, maybe that is where the face turn will be coming from. He is sick and tired of being the lapdog of the boss’ daughter and son-in-law and having to take care of the business that other people start but don’t finish. That has to be where the current storyline is going. Kane and Orton have been complaining for weeks and weeks that they have had to clean up all of the messes and put out all of the fires that Seth Rollins has started.

That brings us back to the point I started to make at the beginning of this article. Randy Orton was extra aggressive at the end of this week’s RAW. He had that deadly gaze in his eyes and didn’t hesitate for a second to do what needed to be done. He didn’t run away when the two men in the ring had clearly gained control of the squared circle. He slithered in, nailed a devastating RKO and left Dean Ambrose laying and prone to a Rollins curbstomp. If this attitude finally sticks, it’s only a matter of time before Orton switches his allegiance and realizes that being aligned with The Authority has done nothing but give him busy work and dirty work. None of it has been to his benefit. Let him take it out on them as the Texas Rattlesnake-esque Viper and we have a career rejuvenation on our hands.

Nicholas A. Marsico is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickmarsico and Like him on Facebook!