Randy Orton

A born superstar, Randy Orton is the third generation wrestler coming from the family of most fierce and rugged wrestlers – his father ‘Cowboy’ Bob Orton being the WWE Hall of Famer, grandfather late ‘The Big O’, and his uncle ‘Barry O’ Orton.

He was signed up with WWE in their developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he was groomed under Triple H and Ric Flair who added him to their elite faction – The Evolution stable.

Soon after setting his feet in the ring, Orton started attacking the WWE Hall of Famers and was acknowledged as ‘The Legend Killer’ of the company. At the mere age of 24, Randy Orton registered himself as the youngest World Heavyweight Champion, defeating Chris Benoit. Following his first remarkable victory, Orton left Evolution and made a tag team with Edge named the Rated-RKO, winning and holding the World Tag Team Championship before the Rated-RKO disbanded in mid-2007.

From the moment he had set foot in the wrestling world, Randy Orton has been destined for stardom at the stage of WWE.

Randy Orton – Training And Early Wrestling Career

Born on 1st April 1980, Randal Keith Orton had always known the hardships of life as a wrestler, with his father warning him that life in the ring actually means a life on the road and away from the family before he decided to choose wrestling as a career.

Before he was signed up with OVW for WWE, Orton was enlisted with the Marines in 1998. However, a year later, Orton received a bad conduct discharge in 1999. He was tried and convicted under a special court-martial, subsequently spending 38 days in the brig at Camp Pendleton.

Orton started his wrestling career in 2000 at the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Association-Southern Illinois Conference Wrestling in St. Louis, Missouri. There he was trained under his father Bob Orton Jr. and the staff of the promotion.

Following this, Orton was signed up with WWF and was assigned to its developmental territory, the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in 2001. A year later, Orton was called up to join the main roster of OVW Class of 2002, along with John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Batista.

There he defeated the likes of Rico Constantino and won the OVW Hardcore Championship – twice. Orton defeated Stevie Richards on his flagship show debut after which he was drafted to Raw in September 2002.

Evolution and ‘The Legendary Killer’

Within weeks of his debut on the Raw, Orton fashioned a shoulder injury which left him on the sidelines for months. However, even while in recovery condition, Orton would still appear on Raw in his own segment – Randy News Network (RNN) where he would talk about his recovery.
Following his recovery, Orton would join The Evolution stable that comprises of Ric Flair, Triple H, and Batista.

The four of them were then pushed to the front on Raw while they reached the apex of their wrestling career at Armageddon 2003. By this time, all the men’s titles on the flagship show were possessed by the four Evolution members.

Orton joined his stablemate Triple H in an Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. Although he was eliminated by Goldberg, Orton’s help ushered Triple H to eliminate Goldberg and retain his title.

And soon, he started proclaiming himself as the ‘Legend Killer’ for eliminating WWE’s most decorated veteran wrestlers. He defeated Rob Van Dam for the Intercontinental Championship at Armageddon in December 2003 and held the title for 210 days, recording the longest Intercontinental Championship reign in seven years.

Evolution Split

The following night on Raw, Randy Orton defended his title against Benoit after which Evolution threw him a mock celebration. His stablemate Triple H loathed Orton for stealing his spotlight. After giving a thumbs-up to the third-generation superstar, Flair, Batista and Triple H attacked him in the ring – effectively throwing him out of The Evolution.

The Viper didn’t have a long run with the title, dropping it to Triple H at the next pay-per-view, Unforgiven. Meanwhile, he continued feuding with his former comrades for the remaining 2004, Orton turned heel in 2005 while unsuccessfully attempting to end the winning streak of The Undertaker at WrestleMania 21.

He was subsequently drafted to SmackDown in order to resume his program with The Deadman for the rest of the year.

Randy Orton – WWE Championship

At No Mercy 2007, Randy Orton had his next taste of silverware when he defeated Triple H in a Last Man Standing match to win the WWE Championship. The title was declared vacant after John Cena was forced to relinquish it when he suffered from a pectoralis major muscle injury. Orton held the title till Backlash 2008 where he was defeated by Triple H in a 4-way elimination match, including Cena and JBL.

The following month, Orton sustained a collarbone injury and took a brief hiatus before returning in September 2008. Upon his return, the Missouri native formed a stable with Ted Dibiase Jr and Cody Rhodes which was then known as the Legacy. The trio started feuding with the McMahon family in January 2009 and received a major push as Orton assaulted Vince and his daughter Stephanie McMahon.

The Viper even won the Royal Rumble that year but was unsuccessful in his attempt at winning the WWE title from Triple H at WrestleMania. However, Orton redeemed himself at the next pay-per-view, Backlash, by winning the title from his former mentor after an emphatic punt to the head.

Early in 2010, Orton lost the match WWE Championship after the interference from his stable-mate Rhodes. This strained the relationship between Orton and the Legacy (Rhodes and DiBiase). On the February 22 episode of Raw, in a six-match tag team match, Orton attacked both, Rhodes and DiBiase, turning face for the first time.

Randy Orton – World Heavyweight Championship

After the Legacy disbanded, Orton feuded against Cena, Edge, and Sheamus in a fatal 4-way WWE Championship, winning it after the interference from The Nexus. After this, at the Night of Champions, Randy Orton won his sixth WWE title in a six-pack challenge elimination match. He defended Sheamus, Wade Barrett, John Cena, Chris Jericho, and Edge.
Orton successfully defended the title against Sheamus in a Hell in a Cell match at Hell in a Cell.

However, on the November 22 episode of Raw, Orton lost the championship against The Miz who had successfully cashed in Money in the Bank.

At the Summerslam 2013, Randy Orton returned to the main event scene as he cashed in the Money in the Bank contract on Daniel Bryan. Later at the WrestleMania 30, Orton, unfortunately, lost the title to Bryan.

Top Face

In the 2016 WWE draft, Randy Orton was revealed as the members of Team SmackDown for Survivor Series, while he got involved in a storyline with the Wyatt Family.

It culminated in Randy Orton successfully challenging the Eater of Worlds for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 33 after winning the Royal Rumble.

Frequently asked questions

What does Randy Orton’s RKO stand for?

RKO is Randy Orton’s finishing move in the WWE. It stands for Randy Keith Orton.

What is the net worth of Randy Orton?

The current net worth of Randy in 2020 stands at $11 million.

Has Randy Orton done movies and TV shows?

Randy Orton Films

Year	Title	Role
2011	That’s What I Am	Ed Freel
2013	12 Rounds 2: Reloaded	Nick Malloy
2015	The Condemned 2	Will Tanner
2016	Countdown	Himself
2019	Long Shot	Christopher Brooks
2019	Changeland	Martin

Randy Orton Television Shows

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Deal or No Deal	Himself
2016	Shooter	James Richards	Episode: “Recon by Fire”
2018	The Thundermans	Nick Thunderman

Does Randy Orton have kids?

Yes. Randy Orton has two kids. Both are daughters. Alanna Marie Orton and Brooklyn Rose Orton are the daughters of Randy Orton.