10 Most Shocking WWE Betrayals

In hindsight, wouldn't this whole storyline have worked better for Randy Orton had he wised up to the fact that Evolution were never going to let him be the group's leading man, and accordingly dumped them before they got the chance to dump him?

Granted, there is something pretty adorable about the idea of the runt of the litter naively thinking that his superiors would be proud of his becoming the youngest-ever World Heavyweight Champion - but it was also the mark of a complete idiot.

Small wonder, then, that RKO sharply failed to establish himself as one of Monday Night Raw's main event players after cutting ties with Triple H and co following SummerSlam 2004. It would take a further three years before his obvious potential could be finally realised.

That said, there's no doubting this segment's ability to shock and awe. Evolution's "thumbs down" shtick, whether it was with Orton here or Batista a few months later on the eve of WrestleMania 21, rarely failed to draw a big response from the crowd. Though he outstayed his main event welcome, The Game was undeniably a heel like no other.