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No words needed to be spoken. No blows exchanged.
Everything – all the shock, the pain, the suppressed rage – everything was written deeply into the lines on their faces. An incensed Triple H knelt beside the limp body of his wife, Stephanie McMahon, and locked eyes with Randy Orton, the man who, moments earlier, had rendered his beloved unconscious with an RKO and slithered from the ring. It was in that white-hot moment that both men recognized that a line had been crossed, that matters between them were now far too personal to ever be the same again.
With that anguish still seared into his conscience, WWE Champion Triple H will face down the challenge of his tormentor as he and Orton meet in a WWE Championship Match at the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania.
A month prior to his RKO on Stephanie, Orton’s path had intersected with his former partner in Evolution at the Royal Rumble during which Triple H faced down the onslaught not only of Orton but also of his “Legacy” henchmen, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase. While The Cerebral Assassin, alone with Legacy, managed to lay waste to two of the second-generation Superstars, the numbers would overcome him, and Orton would emerge victorious, ensuring himself a match at the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania.
Orton’s violent journey toward Triple H would persist as he continued to put one foot in front of the other – his right foot to be precise.
In a fit of unchecked aggression, Orton punted Mr. McMahon in the skull with that punishing foot just as The Chairman appeared ready to fire him. While Triple H and his father-in-law have shared a well-documented contempt for one another over the years, it’s one thing to quarrel with a family member, but it’s quite another when someone else does it.
Ever proud, The King of Kings must have looked upon Orton’s despicable actions as an insult to all that the McMahon family has achieved, all that with which Triple H now finds himself inextricably intertwined.
Orton, however, would not stop there. Seemingly blinded with rage, the Legend Killer then trained his sights on Shane. Understandably livid, the younger McMahon sought to avenge his father, going so far as to agree to a No Holds Barred Match with Orton at No Way Out. Like his father, Shane would succumb to the treacherous dealings of the Legend Killer, who, with help from “Legacy,” dropped the progeny with an RKO.
For weeks afterward, the combustion between Orton and the McMahon family grew ever more intense until finally the flames of animosity were fanned into a rampaging blaze.
Sparked by Orton’s anger, or what he classified as IED (Intermittent Explosive Disorder), the Legend Killer employed Rhodes and DiBiase again during a match against Shane on Raw. As McMahon geared up to go Coast-to-Coast on his opponent, Orton’s lackeys interrupted, pummeling Shane and leaving him dazed on the mat. Unfortunately for Shane, his problems were only just beginning. In a sick rerun of events a month prior, Orton booted Shane in the skull, rendering him unconscious. That’s when a distraught Stephanie rushed to her brother’s side only to find herself leveled with an RKO.
The sight of his wife lying unconscious at the hands of Orton was almost too much for Triple H to bear. The following week, The Game would exact a small measure of revenge. Wielding his always convincing sledgehammer, Triple H punished both Rhodes and DiBiase. For his part, Orton narrowly escaped, finally fleeing the carnage in a car.
While he may have fled, Orton made clear when electing to fight Triple H that he wants to get inside the head of his opponent. The Legend Killer instituted a stipulation by which The Game cannot touch Orton until they meet in Houston unless physically provoked or the match is off. He also threatened litigation and criminal charges were his rival to violate that stipulation.
At WrestleMania, however, there will be no escape. The situation has grown far too personal. While there’s no telling what depths Orton will plumb in order to save himself, there’s also no telling just how far Triple H is willing to go to seek vengeance for those he holds so dear – his family.
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