Bruce Prichard Reveals Major Mistake WWE Made With Randy Orton In 2004
It's been nearly 18 years since Randy Orton went from a mid-card talent and heel member of Evolution to one of the greatest all-around performers in WWE history.
At SummerSlam 2004, Orton became the youngest World Heavyweight Championship ever at the age of 24 — a record that still stands today. On the ensuing episode of WWE Raw, Evolution leader Triple H revealed his sour feelings towards Orton for holding the title that he wanted back. The Game, Batista and Ric Flair betrayed Orton and viciously attacked him to close out the show, thus reducing the Evolution stable to three members.
This led to the first major singles push of Orton's young WWE career. He entered a lengthy program with Triple H that saw the latter defeat his longtime project via pinfall to become the new World Heavyweight Champion at Unforgiven 2004. Orton's short-lived babyface run was widely regarded as a disappointment, and you can add a longtime WWE executive to the list of those who were let down by it.
Speaking on a recent edition of Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard (h/t WrestlingInc.com), the current Senior Vice President of WWE discussed why he thought it was a giant mistake for WWE to make Orton a babyface following his victory at SummerSlam 2004.
"In hindsight, it was too soon," Prichard explained. "I would’ve loved to have Randy have a run as the heel champion with Evolution behind him and continuing to help him stay champion for a while so that you build that up even more. Evolution’s in control with Randy Orton as the champion and then Evolution would have the argument that we made you champion, we kept you champion and now it’s time for you to do the right thing and let (Triple H) be the champion.
"Hindsight I wish we would’ve run with it a little bit longer instead of going right into Hunter and Randy and turning Randy. I think Randy still needed a little more time on the heel side for people to truly accept him as a babyface."
RELATED: Has Randy Orton Ever Fulfilled His Potential In WWE?
Orton lost a series of subsequent title rematches to his former mentor, and he quickly went back to a heel character to feud with The Undertaker for a WrestleMania 21 program. Triple H would enter a feud with Batista, who betrayed Evolution after winning the 2004 Royal Rumble.
The Phenom would go on to defeat Orton to keep his perfect WrestleMania record intact. Batista defeated Triple H in the main event of the show to earn the first world championship of his career.
Everything Worked Out For Randy Orton
Fortunately for Orton, the brief babyface and World Heavyweight title run did not derail his career. Fast forward to 2022, and he remains one of the WWE's most valuable and beloved stars. A surefire Hall of Famer, Orton is a 14-time World Champion who played an instrumental role in helping WWE move out of the Ruthless Aggression Era and into the PG and Reality Eras. Maybe his 2004 babyface run didn't go as many had hoped, but it was only a small chapter in what would later become an illustrious career.
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