WWE: All is right in the world – Randy Orton is a heel

Randy Orton set to thrive in his new heel role and help current babyfaces ascend the ranks to grow WWE Monday Night Raw in 2020.

All is right with the world. The XFL is back and Randy Orton is a heel.

Ok, judge me. I deserve the eye rolls on the XFL, but bad guy Randy Orton is pleasant for our collective pro wrestling psyche.

We all know Orton is a unique star saddled with a B-minus track record due to his inconsistent and passionless performances throughout the last five years. We also know that when invested, Orton can briskly turn B-minus work into A quality wrestling art. Being a heel is the key to that quality work, an invested Orton, and business success for WWE in 2020.

Listen to and look at all the biggest pro wrestling stars in history. That beautiful picture shows a vast array of characters and gimmicks, but one constant flows between all of them. Each one is an extension of their personality. Their personality with the volume turned up to an 11. Heel Randy Orton is the same way.

Orton looks like he’s been chiseled out of granite. His smirks and smiles naturally invite a response that makes you want to slap him. He can be dismissive in public situations, does what he wants without a care in the world, and generally carries himself as if he’s more important and above the regular world peons. What’s likable about that?

Nothing! And therein lies the point. Each of those specific characteristics fit a heel character in wrestling. When Randy Orton is playing a babyface role, he must fight all of those natural tendencies that are ingrained in his personality.

That makes for a disingenuous character that crowds can easily see through and ignore. As a heel, Orton plays into and uses those natural traits. The result is a believable character that can be openly and easily hated by fans.

Raw has a lot of balls in the air right now. Its successful reboot after Survivor Series of last year was rooted in characters falling into heel or babyface aisles based on the reaction the audience gave them. Throughout that time, Orton has played the face role safely, but the show needs Orton as a heel to enhance the babyface side of the product.

In the immediate present, that starts with the return of Edge. The euphoric shock of his surprise return at the Royal Rumble led to questions of “what’s next” for the WWE Hall Of Famer. Enter Randy Orton.

Who’s better to manipulate that euphoric crowd reaction and turn it into a viable angle with dark emotions? The answer? Nobody.

The nostalgia around Edge and his return to the ring had an expiration date. Randy Orton intensely, dramatically, and effectively turning heel the way he did gave Edge something to sink his teeth into in his post-nostalgia world.

Down the road, a heel Randy Orton means big business for Drew McIntyre. McIntyre is in the middle of a push to the top main event tier of Raw and has a WrestleMania main event championship match against Brock Lesnar looming in the shadows. If WWE’s calculations come to fruition, McIntyre will take over as the face of Raw when the smoke clears and WrestleMania 36 is in the books.

A heel Randy Orton gives a newly minted Drew McIntyre a suitable and credible opponent to work with. Think Daniel Bryan coming off of his Mania win, or Stone Cold Steve Austin coming out of WrestleMania 17. Even Becky Lynch after WrestleMania 35 just last year.

Those stars were crowned at those events, but stalled coming out of them due to not having suitable opponents lined up waiting in the wings.

McIntyre shouldn’t have that issue. If WWE plays their cards right and stick with Orton as a heel long term, Drew and Randy will both be firmly planted in their lanes and colliding head on with loads of momentum when the Mania dust settles.

This feud is important for McIntyre. A win over Randy Orton is meaningful and will help keep him hot after winning the championship from Lesnar.

Successful pro wrestling art is rooted in listening. The crowd tells us everything we need to know. Regarding Randy Orton, the audience is louder and more engaged with him when he is a bad guy. Just this week we saw it on display.

Orton stood in the ring for nearly 15 minutes, barely said 10 words, and had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand.

You just wanted to slap him didn’t you? That’s the idea.