10 Reasons Randy Orton Is "Mr. Survivor Series"

After an unprecedented three-year streak of being the sole survivor, Orton hit a snag in 2006, when his team was swept clean by D-Generation X's squad. However, Randy would get his revenge on Shawn Michaels by defending his WWE Championship the next year.

In lieu of a standard WWE-style main event match, Orton and Michaels instead opted for a much more psychologically-driven, mat-based affair. With HBK barred from using Sweet Chin Music, he was forced to get creative when wrestling Randy. The result was a ground-driven offense focused heavily on headlocks and knees to the head designed to weaken the 'Legend Killer'. In turn, Randy was forced to apply his wrestling chops and keep up with one of the best in-ring performers in company history. It was a deliberate subversion of the typical format of WWE title matches, and as a result, it was a refreshing change of pace, especially for Orton, who even today is derided for his rather predictable matches.

Despite Michaels' best efforts, Orton still managed to keep pace with the Hall of Famer, ending up with the RKO out of nowhere for the clean victory. Not only did this match prove another notable Survivor Series appearance for Orton, but it proved that he was coming along as one of the elite in-ring competitors in the company.