'The Viper' has always been better as a heel, but this current version is fast becoming the best work of his entire career.
As it turns out, somebody that appears to be a bit of a sleaze has quite a deft touch when asked to portray a sleaze. The sheer satisfaction the 'Apex Predator' exudes when engaging in some hideous act or another on a blue brand babyface is infectious, more so than the the "10" chant he robbed from Tye Dillinger when he attacked his fingers.
That's been the inherent beauty of Orton's awfulness. He rammed a screwdriver through Jeff Hardy's ear as if to sadistically punish him for getting a piercing big enough in the first place. He bullied a tech staffer into replaying clips of his attacks just because he could.
This, brilliantly, is the Randy Orton people believe is real, and the one they've been waiting years to love to hate.
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
