Randy Orton's Autobiography

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Being a third-generation Superstar, Randy Orton’s arrival in WWE was seemingly inevitable. After all, he was practically raised in the business that both his father and grandfather excelled in. It’s no wonder he has quickly ascended to the higher echelons of the RAW roster and eventually became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion ever. Part of that success can be attributed to Orton’s use of his finisher, the RKO. Orton has shown the ability to hit the lightning-quick, high-impact move out of nowhere and at virtually any time — confounding opponents who are beaten before they even realize what has happened.

In April 2002, he began his WWE career with an appearance on SmackDown. A few months into his rookie run, an unfortunate injury put him out of action. Refusing to sit idly on the sidelines, Orton continued making appearances on WWE television, going as far as attacking targeted Superstars with his crutches and giving fans constant updates on his medical progress — whether they wanted them or not.

Upon returning to active competition in May 2003, Orton was instantly recruited by

Triple H to join with the legendary “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, and the Animal Batista as part of Evolution. Orton captured his first major championship on Dec. 14, 2003, defeating Rob Van Dam for the Intercontinental Championship at Armageddon. He held on to the championship for an impressive seven months.

Priding himself as “The Legend Killer,’’ Orton has finished off the likes of Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter, Jake “the Snake” Roberts and hardcore legend Mick Foley. Orton also displays no fear and no respect when confronting legends such as Harley Race, asserting his claim as the true legend of sports-entertainment.

At WrestleMania XX, Orton teamed with Flair and Batista to take on the reunited Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection (The Rock and Mick Foley). Orton delivered the RKO to Foley, enabling his team to emerge victorious. At the Backlash pay-per-view, Orton added Cactus Jack to his list of “killed,” pinning Mick Foley in a bloody and memorable Hardcore Rules Match.

At the tender age of 24, Orton became the youngest man to ever capture a World Championship in WWE when he defeated Chris Benoit for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 2004. Orton was so impressive during this match that even his opponent, Benoit, congratulated him after his victory. But Orton’s meteoric rise to WWE stardom came too fast for some. It didn’t sit well with Evolution’s leader.

The very next night, Triple H arranged a vicious beating for his former stablemate and banished him from Evolution. Independence, however, only made Orton stronger and bolder. When Triple H threatened Orton and demanded that he “hand over” the World Heavyweight Championship, Orton just spit in his face. He then went on to “kill” one of the greatest legends of them all: 16-time world champion (and his former mentor) Ric Flair in a fan-selected Steel Cage Match at Taboo Tuesday.

After being advised by another WWE Hall of Famer, Superstar Billy Graham, to make an impact, Orton did just that by challenging Undertaker for a match at WrestleMania 21. Orton was already known as The Legend Killer, but no Legend was bigger than Undertaker and his 12-0 record at WrestleMania. Orton gave it everything he had, including some help from his father, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Deadman from going 13-0 at the biggest event of the year.

Orton was put on the shelf with a shoulder injury suffered during his match with the Undertaker at WrestleMania — only for the injury to be severely aggravated during a match the following night on RAW with Batista for the World Championship. Randy wouldn’t be seen again until he was drafted to SmackDown in the 2005 Draft Lottery. Orton was more focused than ever on burying the Legend of Undertaker. Orton made another impact when he cost Undertaker an opportunity to win the World Heavyweight Championship when he interfered in the Phenom’s No. 1 Contender match with JBL. It was clear this rivalry would not just go away, so the two met in a grudge match at SummerSlam. During the match, an unidentified man entered the ring, distracting Undertaker long enough for Orton to hit the RKO and pick up the big win. The man then revealed himself to be none other than “Cowboy” Bob Orton. The Ortons had outsmarted the Deadman.

It didn’t stop there, though. The Ortons raised money for the “Undertaker Retirement Fund” and presented a check on SmackDown. The mysterious Phenom, however, somehow caused the check to go up in flames as the frightened Ortons fled the scene. The two met up again in a SmackDown clash that saw Undertaker picking up the win. But the Ortons seemed able to get inside the Deadman’s head like no one has before. The Ortons followed that up by holding a mock-funeral for Undertaker’s career, but the Phenom turned the tables and got in the Ortons’ heads this time as he sat up inside the casket that was in the ring and cleaned house.

The Ortons were then slated to face Undertaker in a Handicap Casket Match. Undertaker is nearly unstoppable in Casket Matches, but the Ortons proved to be too much to overcome. After picking up the win, the Ortons chopped a hole in the casket and poured gasoline into it. Then they callously lit the casket on fire. Luckily Undertaker was not found inside after the flames had been extinguished. The Ortons got the last laugh in the Casket Match, but is this really the end of the rivalry?

A genuine blue chipper, Randy Orton entered WWE and in short has become dangerously famous morphing from an up and coming third generation Superstar into “The Legend Killer.” Feasting on crushing legend after legend, Orton has targeted the best of the best and has taken down dozens of top WWE Superstars, Hall of Famers and legends including Harley Race, Sgt. Slaughter, Shawn Michaels and Cactus Jack.

Randy Orton may be one of the cockiest Superstars on the SmackDown roster, but he’s just as determined and effective inside the ring. Orton has sports-entertainment is in his blood. In fact, he’s recently had his father and Hall of Famer, Cowboy Bob Orton, accompanying to the ring for his matches — and it’s been paying off dividends.