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Profile: Randy Orton
After being dishonorably discharged from the US Marine Corps for disobeying a commanding officer and twice going AWOL, Randy Orton became a third-generation wrestler, trained by father "Cowboy" Bob Orton amongst others. He continued training at Ohio Valley Wrestling after being signed to a WWE developmental contract.
He made his full-time WWE debut in April 2002 as a bland babyface, before separating his shoulder. During recovery, he began turning heel with arrogant "Randy News Network" vignettes providing updates on his injury, often interrupting exciting parts of Monday Night Raw. When he returned in January 2003, it was as a member of Evolution, joining Triple H and Ric Flair to represent the future of the business along with Batista.
During his time in the heel faction, Orton adopted his "Legend Killer" gimmick, which saw him disrespecting, assaulting and/or defeating famed veterans. During this time he enjoyed a long Intercontinental Title reign, and entered a heated feud with Mick Foley. At WrestleMania XX, Orton, Flair and Batista defeated The Rock 'n' Sock Connection, with Orton pinning Foley, and at Backlash they battled one-on-one in a hardcore match, with Orton victorious despite suffering a back full of thumb tacks.
His time in Evolution came to an end however when he became WWE's youngest ever World Heavyweight Champion at SummerSlam 2004, pinning Chris Benoit. Jealous of his subordinate's ability to do what he couldn't, Triple H ordered a beatdown of Randy the next night on Raw, turning the champion babyface. Orton feuded with his former mentor over the following months, losing the gold to him at Unforgiven.
In early 2005, Orton began his second heel turn, challenging SmackDown's Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania 21, and attacking his own on-screen girlfriend Stacy Keibler with an RKO to prove how ruthless he would be against Taker. Randy was unsuccessful at 'Mania, but recruited his father Bob to aid him in a prolonged feud after being drafted to SmackDown, scoring tainted victories at SummerSlam and No Mercy, before losing in a Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon.
As 2006 got underway, Orton set his sights once again on the World Heavyweight Title, goading Royal Rumble winner Rey Mysterio into putting his WrestleMania 22 title shot on the line by insulting his late friend Eddie Guerrero. He went on to defeat Mysterio at No Way Out, but SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long allowed Rey to keep his shot as well, making the WrestleMania contest a triple threat match between the two of them and champion Kurt Angle. Mysterio won the title by pinning Orton.
Following 'Mania, Orton was issued a sixty-day suspension by WWE for unprofessional conduct, later admitting that he had been smoking marijuana backstage at a SmackDown taping, though on-screen his absence was explained by a "broken ankle" caused by Kurt Angle. Upon his return, this time back on Raw, he briefly traded victories with Angle who had by then joined the new ECW brand. In July and August, The Legend Killer feuded with Hulk Hogan over flirtations with Hogan's daughter Brooke, before losing to The Hulkster at SummerSlam.
In October, Orton aligned himself with Edge to form the team Rated-RKO, united by their goal to rid the world of D-Generation X. They feuded with Triple H and Shawn Michaels over the next few months, defeating them at Cyber Sunday with the help of guest referee Eric Bischoff. During the feud they would win the World Tag Team Titles from Ric Flair and Roddy Piper, and put the gold on the line against DX at New Year's Revolution 2007. During the match however, Triple H suffered his second quadriceps tear, leading a desperate Michaels to get himself disqualified with the wild use of a steel chair. Michaels would then begin teaming with WWE Champion John Cena in the build-up to their singles match at WrestleMania 23, and relieved Rated-RKO of the tag belts at the end of January.
Further unprofessional conduct has continued to plague Orton's career, resulting in several clean jobs by The Legend Killer. Once hailed as the future of the business, Randy now faces an uphill battle to cleanse his reputation and earn his spot at the top of WWE.
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