First of all, have you all enjoyed the Queen's jubilee? It's been four days of spectacle that has, in truth, dragged on. Still, the Queen deserves it, sixty years isn't to be sniffed at. To tell the truth, I only watch these royal events to see the Duchess of Cambridge, she is one of the most beautiful women in the world and Kate or Katherine, whatever you prefer to call her, is one of the best things about this country.
Now, onto business, we're not here to talk about the Queen or the furutre Queen, we're here to talk about wrestling. And the breaking news coming from WWE is that Randy Orton could be released by WWE sooner rather than later. Bigwigs inside WWE (remember them? The people who think they know better that actually know sod all?) are fighting to get Orton, one of the best wrestlers of the 20th century, fired from WWE becuase of his suspension.
I know that what Orton did was stuipd beyond belief (he was suspended for 60 days for testing positive for marijuana and the steroid Dianabol - Orton was also fined $2,500), but does it really warrant his release? Especially at a time when WWE has slim to no top stars left who people are willing to pay to see? I smell a hypocrite somewhere inside WWE. Apparently, Orton, who now has two warnings and two suspensions against his name is one more suspension away from being fired from WWE. Yet Rey Mysterio who has more suspension for testing positive for illegal substances (and who is currently serving his own 60 day suspension for testing positive for an illegal substance) than most in WWE is allowed to serve his suspension and just return to WWE, no mention of him losing his job.
Can someone please see sense in that fucked up business? Mysterio has much more responsibility than Orton. Mysterio is the second highest merchandise seller behind John Cena. Children around the world adore him and love him and he's dabbling in the illegal side of substances, knowing that millions look up to him. Yet he can walk away untarnished when Orton's future hangs in the balance.
The other point WWE know nothings are trying to barter with, is that Orton is on a high earning contract, which sees him signed with WWE until 2019. When he comes back from his suspension, if he comes back from his suspension, Orton would have to be restarted in mid-card and does not warrant the money WWE are paying him (though Rey Mysterio eanrs more than Orton and you can bet will be dropped straight back into the main event on his return). Bollocks! Orton is worth every penny! Every penny! WWE are looking for a scapegoat, someone they can make an example of and Orton gave them that. I have no evidence but I'm pretty sure that Batista was on something, I know for certain that John Cena used to use other materials to achieve his body, Shawn Michaels freely admits to being on drugs through most of his 1988 - 1998 WWE career, plus many others who never even got caught and if they did WWE brushed it under the carpet. So why is Orton the exception?
The answer, is Triple H! It's not secret that Hunter and Orton really do not get on in real life. It stems from the early days of Evolution, when Orton defeated Chris Benoit in a cracking match to become the World Heavyweight Champion at SummerSlam 2004, and one month later Triple H decided to to piss on that bonfire and make himself the main star, putting out Orton's rising star for a few more years. Orton wouldn't have minded, but after that Triple H made a conscience effort to make Batista a star both on and off the camera - casting Orton aside. You can see why Orton really doesn't like Triple H. Hunter made his friends successful millionaires at the expesne of Randy Orton and others.
Now, WWE and Randy Orton held a meeting which by all accounts was 'Hositle'. I'm pretty sure that Randy Orton is the kind of person that will tell WWE to stick their jobs should WWE tell him they no longer require his skill. If that happens, then there's a chance that Randy Orton may not be able to wrestle again until 2019, what a travesty that would be. All that skill wasted. Should Orton negotiate so he can wrestle again, then TNA would have him in a blink of an eye. Maybe Randy Orton in TNA could be the making of that company, instead of Hogan hiring friends and family (Brooke Hogan, Hulk's daughter, is the new head of the Knockouts division - yep, nepotism is a wonderful thing) then Hogan would be onto a goldmine hiring Orton.
Personally, I think this is all hype. Randy Orton is too precious to WWE to let go. He has a great many fans who wouldn't take kindly to Randy Orton being fired for only his second suspension and Rey Mysterio getting away with it time and time again. Neither would a percentage of the WWE Universe look favourably on Orton, a man with all the talent in the world, being fired and John Cena, a man with no talent whatsoever, being pushed down our throats.
Yes, it's Orton's fault he's suspended, but then it's Rey Mysterio's fault he's suspended as well. I don't see anyone saying 'Rey Mysterio doesn't deserve to be in WWE', I have heard many saying 'Randy Orton doesn't deserve his spot', if that's you, then you're wrong. Dead wrong! It's not one rule for Orton and one for everyone else. Mysterio didn't even get fined (WWE are worried that if they fine Mysterio then he'll quit WWE and go back to Mexico to wrestle, then WWE will lose the millions in merchandise he brings them). If it's a choice between Mysterio going or Orton going, then I'll quite happily start a whipround for Mysterio's air fair back to Mexico.
I do wonder though, when these people will learn. Just recently, not even a fortnight since Orton's suspension, Cody Rhodes failed a drug test and tested positive for an illegal substance. Unlike Orton, Rhodes escaped without a suspension or fine. A few months ago, Evan Bourne was the latest name. That's four wrestlers in six months (Randy Orton, Evan Bourne, Rey Mysterio and Cody Rhodes) who have all failed drug tests, only three of them have been suspended. These people have seen their friends die around them from using the kind of shit they've been suspended for.
Chris Benoit, Crash Holly, British Bulldog, Test, Crush and Eddie Guerrero are just a few names in a very long list of which have died, one way or another, because of the drugs they used over the years. Two of them were Rey Mysterio's best friends. Four of them, Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes knew personally and wrestled.
Is it going to take a major wrestler to drop dead from a drugs overdose to really get the message through? Or is it going to take Randy Orton's firing to really make the business stand up and see that they can't keep doing this to themselves? Either way, I know WWE are really trying their best to eradicate this from the sport and full credit to them for that. Is the answer really firing one of your best wrestlers? If they do that, then they have to fire Rey Mysterio! They have to fire Evan Bourne and they have to fire anyone else who fails in the future. Otherwise Randy Orton will be in his rights to sue WWE for firing him and no one else.
And can WWE really afford to lose Orton? The roster is threadbare as it is.
Whatever comes from all of this, I think Randy Orton commands such power in the business, with the fans at least, that WWE may find their PPV and T.V ratings dropping even more if Orton was to depart. Those who watch it just for him (and there are quite a few) would go with Orton, as they went with Hogan to WCW back in the day. Saying that, WWE's loss could be TNA's gain.
Onwards and Upwards...
