10 Worst WWE Wrestlers Of 2019

4. Randy Orton

Lacey Evans
WWE.com

In 2019, Randy Orton, once among WWE's best performers, lived down to a Bruce Prichard-ism. Hilarious on social media and scathing in his assessment of AJ Styles - "In 2005, AJ was down in Florida getting a tan with Dixie Carter while I was here facing the Undertaker at WrestleMania" - Orton was on fire as a personality.

And then the bell rang.

And when that bell rang, tedium and silence followed. It is law to state that everything Randy Orton does "makes sense", as if the psychology prescribed by WWE in 1984 is a classic text to study, but holy hell was it profoundly boring. That match against AJ Styles drew only chants of "We can't see," as entire sections were blinded not by star power but rather the punishing lights of WWE's obnoxious production set-up. Orton shifted into a programme with Kofi Kingston, in a bid to revisit their 2009 rivalry, and Orton took the brief all too literally by reviving also the glacial, methodical pace of a bygone time. Before this, he conspired to work a nothing mini-series with Rey Mysterio Wikipedia had to remind me of.

In 2019, Randy Orton was tasked with getting people over as a living 'Legend' character, and he couldn't see 2015 John Cena.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!