Orton lovers read no further.
I've long said Orton is overrated. It's been blatantly obvious WWE is trying to recreate "The Rattlesnake" with "The Viper" and I think it's been uber lame. Not knocking Orton's actual athletic prowess cause I think he has tons of potential, I just don't think he's lived up to that potential at all. For one, his gimmick sucks. People cheer him because he's been made a celebrity, not because he's over as a true face. You may ask what is the difference oh great Kamatose? Well, it's quite simple. Let's take a look at what a heel is; an antagonist, they cheat, use dirty moves, say mean things. Orton hasn't changed at all from his heel persona. His moves still completely reflect heel tendencies aimed at maiming and crippling his opponents. "But other faces have used heel tactics when they've turned!" Yes, they have, but those faces were goddamn legends like Ric Flair and Roddy Piper. Yes, those two. Take a look at most faces and you won't see cheap move sets. "Well, he's not a face, he's a tweener." And you're a goddamn moron. I won't get into the tweener debate because it doesn't exist and neither does that stupid question.
My point being, whether Orton knows any in ring psychology is debateable, but he doesn't show any. If it's WWE's idea for him to remain acting like a heel but pushed like a face then they are completely idiotic. I'm sure it works for casual fans that cheer him solely because they "like" him and the 13 year old girl (and probably some boys) populace that have a crush on him who screams at the top of their lungs (some live on these boards), but real wrestling fans can or at least should be able to see through the smoke and mirrors and vomit a little in their mouths each time they see him on television. ...
As far as the movesets, he needs new ones and face ones at that. I think too often it's come down to trying to replicate someone else's success, ie ankle lock (angle=swagger), Thesz Press (austin=orton), Olympic/Angle Slam (angle=orton) I think occasionally these things can be done if a wrestler will add their own special twist to it. I will give Orton kudos on his Garvin Stomp which he mustered into a great heel move, Garvin was a great face and the move had a lot of fan fare when he did it. but yea, stealing a move just for the moves sake doesn't make the greatest amount of sense unless you place your spin on it.
