411’s WWE Rivals Report: Undertaker vs. Orton

-I watched the two hour Bio on Dusty Rhodes and I teared up several times. I hit the DVR for the later showing and I am going to try to find time to do a recap of it. For now though we continue with season two of Rivals. Last week there was no episode due to WrestleMania, but we are back this week with Taker and Randy Orton. Let’s get to it!

-Freddie Prinze Jr is at the round table and is being joined by D-Von Dudley, Natalya, JBL, and Booker T.

-They head back to 2005 where The Undertaker was the man and respected by everyone. JBL notes that everyone who was a star at the time had to have a dance with The Undertaker. Randy Orton was seen as the future of the business and looked like a star.

-The Undertaker says you can see someone early on and tell if they have it. His job was to help bring up the next generation and they show him battling a young Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and the famous ladder match with Jeff Hardy. Prichard notes that if you could hang with Taker, you could hang with anyone else.

-Randy says it never hit him, “that what my dad did for a living was pretty fucking cool.” We get a history of Bob Orton Jr and Bob Orton Sr. Randy talks about OVW and how he did a show where he faced Rico and The Undertaker was there to face Batista.

-April 25, 2002: Randy Orton makes his WWE TV debut with Vince McMahon and Hall of Famer, Stacy Keibler. Orton notes he had a good 2003 and then a great 2004 where he worked with Mick Foley and became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion. JBL notes that Randy had unrealistic high expectations and topped them.

-The Legend Killer: Randy loved the idea and we see him drop The Fabulous Moolah with the RKO. Then he just ran through legend after legend and it happened that The Undertaker was next on the list. Taker apparently looked for younger talent to work with to get them to the next level and help make them a superstar. It was Taker’s choice to work with Randy Orton and the pitch was for them to have a match at WrestleMania 21.

-They started to play into The Legend Killer gimmick even more and let Randy ate them up on the road to WrestleMania. They bring up that Orton was the first one to bring up the idea of ending The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak, and that is true. It had been noted he was undefeated at Mania before that, but nobody ever went into the show looking to be the one to end his streak. At this point Taker was 12-0 at WrestleMania.

-Randy talks about being a prick and he loved doing things like slapping The Undertaker. Taker puts over that the slap had to be hard as it was the thing that was setting off this feud.

-Commercials!

-WrestleMania 21: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA: Taker’s entrance that night was pretty sweet! They have a really good match that if I remember right was the 3rd best match on the show. The show was stolen by Shawn/Angle in one of my favorite matches of all time and then Money In The Bank I, which set the stage for everyone MITB match that followed. Bob Orton Jr gets involved in the match as a cool surprise and Randy notes he got to see his dad smile like he had never seen him smile before because he was back in a wrestling ring. Taker goes for a chokeslam that gets turned into the RKO and it was awesome! That was the first time of note that Orton countered something with the RKO. Kevin Owens notes he was in the building for that show and he was cheering for Orton. Taker notes that Randy delivered that night even in a loss. Booker talks about how Randy won even with a loss and this was just the start of the feud.

-SummerSlam 2005: MCI Center, Washington DC: This was the show that was headlined by Hogan/Michaels. Randy Orton gets his win back thanks to Cowboy Bob coming in (in makeup) from the crowd as a “fan.” Orton hits the RKO off the distraction and gets then win and then poses with his dad. Randy notes his daughter could have done a better makeup job as it still looked like his dad. Taker laughs and says they have come a long way in special effects and that it was pretty awful.

-We jump to SmackDown where The Ortons present Taker with an oversized check for just over a thousand dollars for his retirement fund. Taker uses his special powers and sets the check on fire. I’ve never seen that until just this moment.

-Commercials!

-No Mercy: The Undertakes takes on The Ortons in a handicap casket match. I don’t remember this at all either. Randy notes this was the first casket match of his career. Bob gets tossed in first, but uses a fire extinguisher to blind Taker and The Ortons put him in a casket and get the win. They lock the casket and takes a page out of Kane’s book and set it on fire. Orton mentions he does a awful job with the kerosene and spills it everywhere including on his boots. He stepped back just in the nick of time and it missed the tips of his toes by a few inches. Taker notes that the fans know he was coming out of the casket eventually and there will be hell to pay.

-Commercials!

-Survivor Series: The talking heads tell us what a Survivor Series match entails and in this one Randy Orton gets the win for SmackDown. The rest of the roster mid-card celebrates with him and then we hear THE DONG! Orton is terrified and we see the casket on fire. Taker kicks it open and notes he was worried he caught himself on fire. Taker returning from a flaming casket is pretty dope. Taker eats up all the mid-card guys in the ring and I believe this is where Matt Hardy caught heat for rolling to the floor instead of feeding Taker.

-We jump to SmackDown where Orton beats Taker with a tire iron from Eddie’s lowrider. Orton notes the show was taped so only the crowd knows that he flooded the engine. That was edited out of the TV broadcast and instead it’s just Orton flying in reverse with Taker on the trunk and running the car through the SmackDown set. Orton tells us he only had a few inches on either side to hit the mark and says he had angels on his side. Taker says he didn’t think about anything bad happening and was only concerned with making moments.

-Taker returns again a few weeks later and he challenges Orton to a match inside Hell in a Cell.

-Commercials!

-Armageddon: Hell in a Cell: At this point the feud had been going on for nearly a year and this was the proper blow-off. Taker: “It’s Hell in a Cell. The violence has to be violent.” Orton talks about the adrenaline of feeling blood pour down his face with the crowd going to crazy. Taker bleeds and so does Cowboy Bob and referee, Nick Patrick. Orton talks about reversing The Tombstone and hitting Taker with his own move. Taker notes it is strange to take his own finish as it is an unnatural feeling.

-Commercials!

-Next week it’s Hogan vs. Piper! YES!

-Back to Hell in A Cell as Taker kicks out of The Tombstone. Bob takes a Tombstone and then Randy to give Taker the win and close the book on this rivalry. Taker says he knew they just blew off a great story and he was feeding off the crowd and decided to celebrate on top of The Cell. Heyman notes Randy was the perfect example of what the new generation was going to be and Taker proved he could still hang. JBL says this feud set Randy off on the right foot. Orton says working with dad against The Undertaker is one of the most memorable things he has done in his career.

-Owens calls Randy the ultimate locker room leader and he was turned into that. We see him talking to the younger guys and girls. He goes back to where he started and how none of this happens without The Undertaker. Randy takes us back to 2005 where he was a prick and he partied too long and missed rehearsal for Hall of Fame when his dad was inducted. Orton says he was an asshole and thanks Taker for not beating his ass for screwing that up. Letting Taker and his dad down that day is one of his biggest regrets.

-We go to Hall of Fame last year when Taker gets inducted and he has a moment with Randy Orton. Taker says he was told in WCW nobody would ever pay to see him and here he is 30 plus years later.

-This was fine and there was a portion of this rivalry I missed as I wasn’t watching SmackDown as much as I remember having to work nights when it aired. Each man has had more famous rivalries, but it was still a good run between the two. They were able to stretch the thing out 10 months and then gave us the proper blow-off and both men went on to other things. Thanks for reading!