10 Ups And 14 Downs For WWE In 2015 (So Far)

7. Randy Orton€™s Stop/Start Routine

If the first half of the year is any indication, 2015 is not going to be the Year of Orton. In fact, Randy Orton has spent almost as much time away from WWE television as he has on it. Orton was written out of storylines in November 2014 and didn€™t return until WWE Fastlane, missing January and most of February. He battled the Authority and defeated Seth Rollins at WrestleMania XXXI, but he lost title matches at Extreme Rules and Payback and failed to capture the Money in the Bank briefcase. Orton disappeared after Payback for two weeks and again after MITB, only returning last week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsbvZd0UG2Y These gaps, which amount to about 11 of the first 26 weeks of the year, prevent Orton from gaining traction. He might be slotted in top matches when he€™s around, but you get the feeling Orton isn€™t factoring into WWE€™s long-term plans, just filling in as a top guy. It would be nice to see a long-term story arc involving the Viper€ and hopefully not a four-month feud with Sheamus.
Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.