20 WWE Superstars And Their 80s Counterparts

7. Randy Orton/Jake Roberts

Luke Harper and Bruiser Brody
WWE.com/Gerweck.net

There are many similarities between the careers of Jake “The Snake” Roberts and “The Viper” Randy Orton, and I don’t just mean those of a reptilian nature.

Both Roberts and Orton are masters in the ring (well, when Randy wants to be) and have spent their respective careers flipping from good guy to bad guy and back again, delivering intense promos when given the chance and also both struggling with their own personal demons at times. 

Additionally, despite being viewed as fantastic talents, neither of them were ever really viewed as the man. No matter how hot Jake got in the 1980s, he was just never allowed to surpass Hulk Hogan as being the main guy, despite fans even cheering the heel Roberts when up against The Hulkster, brother.

As for Orton, regardless of the collection of World Championships that he has at home, he's never gotten close to touching the levels of superstardom reserved for John Cena.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.