Randy Orton Is Not Ready for a Face Turn in WWE

Re-Published from Bleacher Report

Randy Orton is The Viper, one of WWE's top heels and a featured star in the company.  He is currently headed for a showdown with longtime rival John Cena at the Hell in a Cell event on Sunday, October 26.  Considering their long history together in the ring, the match should be a good one.

However, some fans are not really focusing on this match that much.  For many of Orton's supporters, the time is long overdue for him to turn babyface once again, but the problem is that he is just not ready for that.

It seems like an easy proposition, one that should readily happen anytime the company wants to do it.  After all, guys switch sides all the time, which is not only a fact of life in WWE but in professional wrestling as a whole.

Turns can reinvent characters, updating them for the crowd and making them fresh for a new day.  This opens up possibilities for newstorylines and different perspectives while hopefully keeping the talent in question relevant with the current product.

That is what many fans want to see with Orton.

credit: wwe.com

Orton cashes in at SummerSlam

The Viper's heel turn went into full effect at SummerSlam in 2013 when he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Daniel Bryan.  Bryan had just defeated Cena and was in the midst of celebrating when Triple H shocked the world by delivering the Pedigree, opening the door for Orton to get the win.  The moment gave Orton a tremendous amount of heat, which continued throughout the next 12 months.

The irony is that Orton's heel turn was a much-anticipated moment for fans who had been clamoring for him to switch sides.  Many of them likely felt at the time that The Apex Predator had grown stale and needed a serious shot in the arm to get back on track once again.

Evidently, a smiling, happy Viper was not the character the WWEfaithful wanted to see.

But the times have changed, and the desire to realize Orton's possible future as a babyface has come into play.  The need to keep him as a top heel, to hate and loathe him as the premier antagonist, has apparently come and gone.  Many fans are now ready for a change.

Maybe WWE is as well.

credit: wwe.com

Brock Lesnar

The biggest reason for that is the somewhat abysmal state of thebabyface main event roster currently in the company.  Bryan is still on the shelf with an injury, Roman Reigns is out for the same reason and CM Punk has not been seen in a WWE ring since leaving in January.  Add to that the fact that Chris Jericho is gone once again, and the roster's upper crust has practically crumbled all around WWE.

The champ is nonexistent at this point, as Brock Lesnar is just not on TV and evidently not much of a priority for WWE right now.  His return likely hinges on the amount of viable competition he has for the title, and other than Cena there does not seem to be many names who fit that description.

But that is where Orton comes in.  The Viper has a prime opportunity to reach the top spot once again. A win at Hell in a Cell gets him a shot at Lesnar's WWE World Heavyweight Championship.  That is where a face turn comes in—Orton remaining a heel while pursuing such a vicious heel like Lesnar seems like a losing proposition for everyone.

Fans want to see Lesnar get his.  They may appreciate him and respect his ability in the ring, but the more time that goes by, the more the desire grows to see him lose that championship.  They would likely want nothing more than to see a full-time Superstar get the belt back, to keep it in-house instead of off the radar.

But Orton may not be the guy to do that right now.  The truth is that when a talent makes the turn, there are often telltale signs he is going to.  Those signs may include a string of promos or several consecutive events in which he appears to be changing his attitude.  It could even be just one promo, one particular event that plants the seed for change.  

No matter what scenario is considered, the fact is that none of them have happened with Orton.  His character is just not ready to move.

As recently as October 20, Orton was in full heel mode.  It was on that edition of Raw that Orton was working in full cooperation with The Authority and showed no signs of being unhappy with them.  Indeed, his biggest problem has been Seth Rollins, but the heat between them has been more of a competitive nature than a vindictive one.

Is that enough of a reason for him to turn face once again?  Barring an unforeseen rift between him and Triple H, the truth is that Orton's character really has no reason to go anywhere else.  He surely wants to be the top guy, but at this rate he would do so as a heel, which makes little sense versus Lesnar.

The fact is that many fans do not want to see Cena get the nod to face The Beast Incarnate once again.  That means Orton is the next-best choice, so if he goes over at Hell in a Cell, then the wheels should start turning pretty fast on his program with Lesnar.

But if he is to be successful in that role and fully get over, then he must turn babyface first. He cannot go into that match without the transition having taken place. He needs the full support of the fans as the primary protagonist against Lesnar.  That will cause more fans to care; it will surely cause more fans to want Orton to win.  

Lesnar needs a top face, a very strong hero to play off.  Cena was that hero.  The Undertaker was that hero. Punk was that hero.  Orton must be that hero as well, and the time to make the change is now.