December 12, 2020 / By mobanmarket
Welcome, one and all, to the glorious debut of the Rajah Debates! For years, the best and brightest minds of the Rajah forum have done battle with words about a myriad of fascinating topics from the wrestling world, seeking to answer the questions that plague the wrestling community. Is John Cena actually a good wrestler? What’s the greatest wrestling show of all time? Is anyone as good as Bobby Lashley? (No.) But for the first time ever, we’re bringing the debates to you and letting you guys act as judge, jury and executioner.
The way this works is simple. Each match will involve a maximum of 3 350 word posts from each participant going in order. At the end, you guys and our panel of judges will vote to see you moves on to the next round to get one step closer to Rajah immortality. Over the course of the next month you’ll grow to know and root for these brilliant weirdos until we eventually crown a grand champion.
Sound good? I thought so! So let’s jump right in!
The coin toss dictates that KOTRE will go first.
Ah, the bastard child of Mr McMahon one of the biggest balldrops in the history of WWE. Instead of taking the chance to elevate a superstar that could have carried them into the future they chose to make a cheap joke and then pretend it never happened. But it didn’t need to be that way, they had the perfect choice. A man with the talent, charisma and mind for the business to pull it off a man called…
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
No, not you. You’re a fuckup.
This man, the half McMahon, half amazing superstar MVP is the only sensible choice. At this point he’s shown he can carry a programme in and with Mediocre… sorry, Matt Hardy and hung in the ring with legends like The Undertaker, Kane and Benoit with wins over the latter two. From day one he’s been presented as a star and demonstrated throughout his run that under the spotlight, he can shine. He also fits into the McMahon brood from a character perspective. He’s an arrogant, self obsessed, money hungry asshole… just like Daddy. Giving MVP that storyline impetus following his great title reigns gives him the boost to the top rather than eventually getting bogged down in a losing streak that costs him his heat – one of the biggest mistakes WWE made in this era.
But more than that, who else is there better than MVP Punk? At this point in 2007 Punk is still proving himself against Morrison. If the reveal had been a few months into his ECW title reign sure. But ECW Punk neither fits the role and constantly inches away from a bigger political fireball than Vince’s limo
Shelton Benjamin? If athleticism was the same as star quality, sure. But there’s a reason he never got over no matter how hard WWE tried.
Bobby Lashley? He’s a bigger Shelton Benjamin who can’t even PRONOUNCE bastard.
Jeff Hardy? Yeah, like WWE were going to take the chance on him in 2007
John Morrison? Now listen, this ain’t no make believe, c’mon open your eyes and see, that JoMo McMahon isn’t to be.
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So WWE is in a state of shock after the Chris Benoit murders which resulted in the Vince McMahon murder story being cancelled. As part of that story the illegitimate son was going to be a feature anyway so they simply wiped out the part where the will revealed this and instead shoe-horned it in with a lawyer presenting this. Of course we all know Mr. Kennedy….Anderson was meant to be the guy to run with it culminating in a feud over the WWE with HHH at WrestleMania 24.
Now of course Ken got himself suspended (then later fired) so he was out so who was there in place who could run with this angle on short notice, a guy who has the credibility to go into one of the main events of WrestleMania and hang with HHH, a guy who would be able to draw heat from the angle and use it to further cement his place on the top of the roster and a guy who has a past with Vince and HHH to make this a circular blood feud. There are many guys on the roster who could have slithered into this spot but not many who could have slithered in, say like a VIPER!
Yes, Randall Orton was the perfect guy to take this place. Not only was he earmarked to take the title of Cena after a year long run but he was also pegged down to run with the title for the next several months which would only have elevated the angle. Not only do you have the despicable heel winning the title but he also gets the company – who couldn’t want to see that guy get his comeuppance.
An unhinged Randy Orton with the title, with Vince and with the company in his pocket not only elevates him but adds spice to the Jericho, Michaels, Hardy, Cena and HHH feuds which would also rub off on all of them as much as it would Randy and make this story the apex of WWE in 2007/8 rather than the joke it was!
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Randy Orton? Thats… an interesting choice and certainly not someone I, or pretty much anyone else would have chosen. Props for your originality.
However, having an original idea does not make it a GOOD idea. There’s three major reasons why Randy is an inferior choice to my man MVP. The first is the most obvious:
We know who Randy’s father is, he’s been on screen with him. That is a minor issue though. Vince would be cheating on his own wife, he’s not going to give a damn if he’s cheating with Bob’s wife. However it is something that would need addressing.
Problem 2 is a problem with the company. Giving Orton this role would be admitting that they failed from very early on in Randy’s career they’ve been trying to make him the man. From Evolution, to being ‘the legend killer’ to his then current Viper gimmick. Everything about Randy’s career has been about making him the man to carry the company. Making him Randy McMahon wouldn’t be WWE investing in their future, it would be them showing they have no confidence in Randy to get ‘The Viper’ over, and a sign that maybe he’s not the next big thing. That’s something WWE shouldn’t do with a man, who is, as you claim the future.
Problem 3 is how much of a waste that reveal would be. Seriously, you’re thinking that the best choice for a high profile angle that could make a new star to carry the company into the future is this guy?
A man who has spent his career working with HHH and Cena, who has been given every tool possible and still barely succeeded? I think not. MVP is a man who got to where he did without the aid of nepotism. He achieved because of his talent, charisma and a gimmick he handcrafted from the ground up. With this angle. MVP would turn lemonade into hard lemonade.
MVP isn’t just the right choice to make a star. He’s the man who’d take the ball and score a slam dunk with it because he’s…
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I have to admit, I think MVP is a great choice but I don’t believe he is as good a fit as Randy. Not every feud or story has to be about elevating someone up the roster, it can also be about maximising the stars that you have and cementing them as bona-fide draws for the future. You have to remember at this point in time Orton wasn’t the star he is now, this was a time when he was entering his second championship reign and when WWE wanted to give him the ball and see if he could run with it so I don’t see this as a admittance of failure, more of a pat on the back and proclaiming this guy as the man:
What better way to get that guy you really want over in a top position than to put them in the top feud culminating at a mega match at WrestleMania?
The next point that there are some issues to solve here – sure but those can tie in beautifully. Vince sleeping with an employees wife ties in with the corporate socio-path that his character is. It would also help give more reasoning of the change of Randy’s character from cocky jock to dangerous psychopath, imagine the stress of that, no wonder Randy is a lunatic.
It also ties in with Vince helping Randy get title shots in the months before, Randy getting a spot in Evolution, pushed as a star of the future from the get-go due to Vinces conscience – not only would it all tie in but knowing the future it would make it even better when Randy targets their family a year later. Vince playing emotional games with Randy like a puppet for his own satisfaction gives credence to Randy’s vile behaviour over the coming year onwards.
As I said I like MVP but WWE didn’t see him as a star, even if he does this and makes it to WrestleMania he loses and goes back into the mid-card obscurity, with Orton we know he’s going to the moon.
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First things first, I feel I have to correct you on your timeline. Vince McMahon’s son was revealed on September 10, with the angle starting a month beforehand. This means that Orton’s title reign wouldn’t begin until a month AFTER the reveal. This means the age of Orton is a non-factor at this point. His legacy at this point consists of a failed title reign after Evolution and being carried by Edge in Rated-RKO. What Randy does after this point is irrelevant to this debate. WWE is acting without foreknowledge. They don’t know that Randy will target the McMahons in a feud with Triple H in 2009. To consider the future as it unfolded in a different timeline is an absurd line of argument.
You are correct that Randy Orton is not yet the man he would become. He’s a man reansitioning from legend killer to psychopath. His only legacy is being carried by Evolution, then a failed title run, then being carried by Edge in Rated-RKO. This is his second chance as a solo star, being given the chance to work with Cena and see if he can hold his own. He’s also working on a new character that would lay the foundations for that ‘Age of Orton’ promo you posted. Putting him in the McMahon clan sends a message. However, it’s not a message that Orton is to be the man, it’s a message that they don’t think he can get heat without the help of someone with more charisma – taking the spotlight away from his flaws by sharing it. It’s not a pat on the back, it’s a kick-me sign.
MVP doesn’t have the baggage that Orton does. He doesn’t have the history of disappointment and failure on his own. Sharing the spotlight with Vince isn’t a relegation from a top level solo programme. He’s a new star being given more exposure, and an invaluable chance to learn from Vince.
WWE don’t HAVE to use McMahon’s son to make a new star. It was however their original intention and would, still be the best choice possible.
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That video was an example of WWE showing Orton as THE man and not as you said ‘admitting to failure.’ The timeline is irrelevant but it shows that Randy can take this on and add it to a course that we know WWE was heading in, Randy would get his big push whilst MVP languished in the mid-card – the natural timeline shows that WWE saw MVP as a mid-carder at best.
MVP does this angle and he may flirt with a run near the top but ultimately he is always going to fall behind Cena, Randy, HHH, Edge, Undertaker, Batista etc so putting this angle on him would only serve as a transition to pushing the aforementioned. Randy runs with this and then when its over he is made and then he runs with The VIPER in all his own glory already as the top star he was destined to be. So I ask the question what do you want from the biggest angle of that time? – a mid-carder getting a short run up the card or a main event level star running it as the huge angle it was meant to be?
Personally I believe they should run it as the biggest angle it could be and that for me is Randy Orton. You say Randy has baggage, I disagree, his past up till this point was well storied and he was building his way as a star, his title reign was nothing but a dig at Lesnar, his real title reign was to come, right now – he’d ran with the legend killer and ran with Evolution and was very successful, some of the best matches and feuds in this era were from Randy.
MVP doesn’t have the baggage Orton has because he is not near the level of Orton, he can’t hold Randys bags and this is why at the culmination HHH v Randy Orton makes more sense than HHH v MVP – that is a midcard feud if ever there was one, this angle was deserved of better than that. It deserved to be the APEX!
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