The Total Package

What the hell does where the Rock was at any point in his career have to do with Randy? They are two completely diff people and what works for one probably won't work for the other...WWE made the decision to push the hell out Randy so soon so it stands to reason it is their fault...could he have done a better job, most likely..Evolution should have stayed intact for at least 2-3 years as far as I am concerned..They never really had a chance to get some momentum or solid, long lasting feuds set up..Maybe he would be more over if everyone quiet trying to compare him to stars of the PAST all the time..

Y2J The King Of The World

Blitzkrieg hit the nail on the head. Orton was a fantastic heel on the mic. He was arrogant, ****y, and interesting. But, that's a prime example of why I'm a firm believer that it's much easier to get over as a heel than as a face. It's easier to do heelish things that are treated heelish than to do heelish things that are treated face-like (let's face it, nobody wants to see a babyface do babyface things - that's way too 80's). Why was the Rock so over as a face? Because he did heelish things in a babyface manner. Same for Y2J's initial face run (they've killed his character since he turned back to face). Same for Austin.

An example of my "theory": HHH is a really good heel - regardless of what influences keep him as a top heel, he is very good at it. But, when he returned from his quad tear, he tried to be the same character he was as a heel who did babyface things, and he sucked. The Rock, on the other hand was a great heel, as was Y2J, and Austin was good until they made him completely insane (What? What? What?).

Orton was a heel who was getting babyface pops. WWE recognized this and pulled the trigger before finding a target. They had no babyface character for Orton in mind. Apparently, neither did he. He became as generic as he was when he first came into WWE. That killed his heat, and he's been on a downward slide ever since. The only thing they can do at this point is to turn him back heel. That was where his strength lied, and then, when the time's right, he can be a face again.

Who's to blame? Both.

Tyler Durden

WC Hall Of Famer

I'd blame the writers for it simply because I have no idea how much stroke a young guy like Orton has there. Maybe he didn't want to turn? He is an excellent natural heel.

vixxxen

If only the WWE would learn to use the talent properly. Orton has plenty of talent (and looks) and could go far, but, let's face it, he's dull on the mic and was much more entertaining when he was heel.