WWE: Randy Orton’s current turn is uninspired and problematic
Randy Orton has been booked in a decidedly babyface role for the last few weeks on WWE Raw, which is a questionable decision given his history within the company and some recent events.
The current feud between Randy Orton and AJ Styles is an interesting case study on how WWE designates good guys and bad guys at the moment. Styles is clearly the antagonist in this program, which means the fans are meant to cheer for Orton.
However, “The Viper” is hardly the guy the company should try to push on their audience right now for various reasons.
First, Orton is just not an interesting good guy. That may seem a little harsh, but he has floundered in the role over the last few years. In 2017, he turned face to challenge Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 33. The results left much to be desired.
In short, Orton was so bland that many fans welcomed Jinder Mahal as the opponent who defeated him for the title two months later.
We were supposed to root against Mahal, by the way. That doesn’t mean “The Maharaja” wasn’t a convincing villain. After all, his heelwork was part of what made Styles’ second WWE Championship win feel so rewarding.
Orton’s 49-day reign was proof that a portion of the WWE Universe has a hard time buying into him as an protagonist. He was much better when he returned to the sadistic character that worked so well when he was “The Legend Killer.” Yes, his material was just better when he turned heel, but it’s also clear WWE doesn’t know how to read their crowd sometimes.
We covered this before when looking at some of the Superstars they inexplicably dropped the ball with as top babyfaces. In some of those cases, the company didn’t seem to understand how much viewers love them. In Orton’s case, they don’t seem to understand many fans just don’t like him because of some of his behavior outside of wrestling.
See, the biggest issue with this current attempt to make him a good guy is it’s just poorly timed. After all, Orton just recently dropped a racial slur on a livestream, as seen in this social media video reposted by Cagesideseats.
In response, WWE hasn’t addressed it publicly at all. So, imagine how fans, who are aware of it, feel when they’re expected to cheer for him on their programming.
It not only sends the message that they don’t care enough to reprimand him; it makes it seems like they are rewarding him.
If that’s not their intention, that’s certainly how this appears. It’s hard to even give them the benefit of the doubt on the subject because they’re preparing to give Hulk Hogan a second Hall of Fame induction, as originally revealed by ESPN.
Not to change the subject, but reinstating Hogan and going further to induct him a second time, when it’s blatantly obvious many of their fans and some Superstars aren’t ready to forgive him, is tone-deaf.
Pushing Orton as a good guy, who helped Rey Mysterio vanquish AJ Styles, without even asking him to make amends for his use of the n-word is just as insensitive and problematic.
This recent incident isn’t even his first offense. Randy Orton has also been accused of sexual misconduct by former WWE personnel like Ken Anderson and ex-writer Court Bauer in allegations that wound up being investigated by WWE in Aug. 2018 according to Bleacher Report.
No follow-up information has ever been provided, suggesting that these allegations were never proven, but the allegations themselves are damning enough to paint him as someone who isn’t a role model. That isn’t to say he is guilty of anything he’s been accused of. However, in the age of the internet, perception is everything.
This just isn’t a good look for WWE and it set Orton vs. Styles up to receive a muddled crowd response.
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There is some credence to the idea that fans should be able to suspend disbelief and enjoy Raw despite what we know about some of their performers. But that isn’t applicable in this situation.
Furthermore, it’s hard to do that when the company can’t even bother to alleviate our disgust in someone like Randy Orton. In fact, they’ve shown us that they still believe he deserves our adulation.