10 Times WWE Wrestlers Were WAY Better Together Than Apart

7. Rated RKO

Edge Randy Orton Rated RKO
WWE.com

Edge and Randy Orton were responsible for some scandalous skullduggery during their embittered spell as a tag team, primarily formed to craft a more effective villainous fightback against the 2006 D-Generation-X reunion of Shawn Michaels and Triple H.

'HBK' and 'The Game' had comfortably destroyed the Spirit Squad and The McMahon Family, and done so with little care for the endless hours of television time and attention their hinjinks swallowed up. Edge's reasoning to Randy on an October 2006 edition of Monday Night Raw that his career failings were entirely down to Triple H rang remarkably true, and the pair galvanised their bitterness into a glorious heel unit that committed brutal acts of atrocity, leading them to tag team gold and some outstanding matches with the degenerates.

It helped erase memories of a desperately boring 2004 feud that occurred during Orton's accelerated rise up the card and Edge's personal struggle finding babyface footing after a lengthy absence through injury.

The future 'Rated-R Superstar' had stuttered since his return, picking up additional injuries he was able to work through, but lacking a connection with an audience that was, by then, over his wannabe rockstar act. Randy was Evolution's jewel, but their arc and eventual payoff made both seem underwhelming prospects for future title supremacy. Only two years later, they'd disprove doubters with their devilish doubles dalliance.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett