10 Wrestlers Who Didn't Peak In The WrestleMania Main Event

1. Randy Orton

Randy Orton Triple H
WWE.com

WrestleMania main event:

'Mania XXX was great, absolutely, but remember the furore when it was actually going to be Randy Orton Vs. Batista? It was Bryan's match. Orton played his role very well in it, and took an awful looking bump to get it over, but it was Bryan's match. Orton was the parody version of Orton at 'Mania 25. Actually, he might have been worse than the shoulder-shrugging, not particularly motivated Orton because his autopilot tends to make a very dry sense that seeks to guarantee the big pop for the RKO. It's functional, in-house stuff, but at 'Mania 25, the psychology of the storyline demanded a fury-driven, violent blowoff. Instead, Triple H faced losing the WWE Championship in the event of his being disqualified. What were fans expected to feel?

"Play by the rules, Triple H, we really want you to to calm down and win fairly!"

REALLY peaked as a performer at:

It's quite sobering, really, that Orton wrestled his best match 16 years ago. His selling for Cactus Jack was tremendous, and derived brilliantly from what a piece of sh*t he was in the wider storyline. At such a tender age, Orton grasped and almost perfected the art of catharsis in the heel role. He was exceptional in his series with Christian, too. This Edge storyline has serious potential. He has been sensational in his role thus far.

This is his best opportunity in years to prove that he didn't peak before his wrestler's prime.

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!