Randy Orton is supposed to be the bad guy in his WWE feud with Cody Rhodes, but there’s one problem — nobody seems interested in booing him. With the two set to collide in a Last Man Standing match at Crown Jewel, Orton’s popularity could make things difficult for WWE, especially with the event taking place in Saudi Arabia.
Orton has been working as a heel against Rhodes, who remains positioned as one of WWE’s top babyfaces. The company wants the crowd behind Cody, but Orton has reached a point in his career where turning audiences against him isn’t nearly as easy as it used to be. And that’s becoming a problem for the story WWE is trying to tell.
During the November 2 edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed the upcoming match and pointed out that the Saudi Arabian crowd could make Orton’s heel presentation even harder to pull off.
“They’re in a smaller building. So that’s, that’s, that’s actually a positive. It’s probably better indoors than outdoors. Course in that sense, you know, the, one of the, one of the problems in this one is Randy Orton’s gonna get cheered like crazy.”
Meltzer explained that Orton has become so established with audiences that getting people to turn against him is a challenge, regardless of how he’s presented on television. He even argued that Orton is better as a heel, but that doesn’t mean the crowd is willing to treat him like one.
“And he’s going to work as a heel. So it’s kind of, I mean, look, they may have, they may go out there and have a great match, but it’s just, you know, I, I was actually talking to somebody this morning about Randy and it’s like nobody wants to boo Randy Orton, you know, no matter. And he plays heel and he’s a better heel than he is a baby face.”
And that’s where things get tricky for WWE. Orton has spent so many years as one of the company’s biggest stars that audiences aren’t necessarily interested in seeing him get what’s coming to him anymore. Even when he’s doing everything possible to play the villain, people still want to cheer him. Meltzer believes Orton’s age, legendary status, and history with WWE have made him particularly difficult to position against someone like Rhodes.
“But the fans want him to be a baby face and he’s, you know, once you’re 45 years old and you’re like a legend and they’ve seen you for so long, you know, they’re not going to boo you Very easily, you know, and we’ll see.”
The situation could become even more noticeable at Crown Jewel. Meltzer pointed out that Orton tends to receive even stronger reactions when WWE travels internationally, meaning Rhodes could find himself sharing the ring with a heel who is getting a massive babyface reaction.
“And Cody, you know, Cody’s role is supposed to be a big baby face. And you know, it’ll be. Be. It could be interesting especially. But when they go out of the country, Randy Orton’s an even bigger baby face than in the country and they sing a song, which they will do and all that. They’ll sing Cody’s song too, though.”
There are also questions about how the Last Man Standing match will play out. Bryan Alvarez suggested the stipulation could lead to a lengthy, slower-paced match, while Meltzer acknowledged that both Orton and Rhodes could end up getting significant time given the limited number of matches scheduled for Crown Jewel.
Still, Meltzer wasn’t suggesting that Orton and Rhodes would have a bad match. His concern was more about how the audience would react to WWE’s intended roles for both men, especially with Orton continuing to receive such strong support.
WWE can book Randy Orton as the villain all it wants, but getting people to actually hate him is another story. At 45 years old, Orton has become the kind of wrestling legend who can do just about anything and still get cheered. And if the Saudi Arabian crowd decides to get behind The Viper instead of Rhodes, WWE could end up with the exact opposite reaction it’s looking for.
Do you think Randy Orton should continue working as a heel in WWE, or has he reached the point where audiences will cheer him no matter what he does? Let us know your thoughts and leave your feedback in the comments below.
