10 Unthinkable Origins Behind Famous Wrestling Moments
6. The Inventor Of The Cutter
The RKO is the most quintessential move in modern WWE.
It almost defines this era of the company; as drab as it gets, and it gets drab for very long stretches of time, they're still capable of popping you, sometimes when you least expect it. Orton is a divisive wrestler - is he an all-time great, or does the ability to work above the *** standard in his sleep make his career an underachievement? - but he knows how to pick his spots.
He devised his best catch RKO variation in years the other week when, minutes away from capturing the RAW Tag Team Titles, he drove Chad Gable's head into the mat off a moonsault. It capped off his renaissance as the best hot tag in the company. The move is still over after executing it for two full decades because he knows when to do it. That's the secret of pro wrestling drama. Orton gets it as well as anybody. That, or his singles matches are so routine that fans are just relieved to get to the good bit.
The move was actually invented by notorious imbecile John Laurinaitis, who could either really go in the 1990s, or worked extensively with the Four Pillars of All Japan Pro Wrestling. His execution was less spectacular, but it was snug and very tightly applied.
So somebody who had the fortune of presiding over a monopoly for almost 20 years inspired the RKO.
Perhaps that origin isn't so unthinkable...