Randy Orton is one of the most popular superstars in the WWE, but he has never been the subject of a home entertainment release until now. This 3-disc set takes an in-depth look at WWE's Apex Predator from Elimination Chamber through the road to WrestleMania and Orton's brutal bout with CM Punk. Along the way, fans learn about the Viper in and out of the ring as he reflects on his career to date. Family and opponents contribute never-before-seen interviews about Orton's past, present, and future. In addition the set is packed with some of Orton's most memorable matches and moments from his career.DISC 1 Documentary
I Am Randy Orton
The Road to WrestleMania Begins
Preparing for the Chamber
Embarking on a Path of Destiny
Training Days
The Elimination Chamber
Facing the Media
The Next Diamond
Signs of Trouble
Dealing with Injuries
The Legend Killer
The Man of Destiny
Punked Out
Coming Home
A Hard Lesson to Learn
Evening the Odds
The Mecca
The Price and Reward of WrestleMania
Making a Difference
Dark Days
Madison Square Melee
Randy's Redemption
Axxess to the Apex Predator
Legacy
The Day Has Arrived...
I Won't Be Your Hero
The Evolution of Randy Orton
DISC 2 Matches
Randy Orton vs. Slick Robbie D
OVW Christmas Chaos January 31, 2001
Randy Orton vs. Hardcore Holly
SmackDown April 25, 2002
Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels
Unforgiven September 21, 2003
Intercontinental Championship Match
Randy Orton vs. Rob Van Dam
Armageddon December 14, 2003
Handicap Tag Team Match
Randy Orton, Ric Flair & Batista vs. The Rock & Mick Foley
WrestleMania 20 March 14, 2004
Hardcore Match for the Intercontinental Championship
Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley
Backlash April 18, 2004
Intercontinental Championship Match
Randy Orton vs. Edge
Vengeance July 11, 2004
Handicap Casket Match
Randy Orton & "Cowboy" Bob Orton vs. The Undertaker
No Mercy October 9, 2005
DISC 3 Matches
Randy Orton vs. Kurt Angle
Vengeance June 25, 2006
Legend Killer vs. Legend
Randy Orton vs. Hulk Hogan
SummerSlam August 20, 2006
Texas Bull Rope Match
Randy Orton vs. Dusty Rhodes
The Great American Bash July 22, 2007
Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship
Randy Orton vs. Triple H vs. John Cena
WrestleMania 24 March 30, 2008
"I Quit" Match for the WWE Championship
Randy Orton vs. John Cena
Breaking Point September 13, 2009
Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Championship
Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
Hell in a Cell October 3, 2010
Randy Orton vs. CM Punk
WrestleMania 27 April 3, 2011
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Randy Orton vs. Christian
SmackDown May 6, 2011
BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVES Matches and Special Features
The Royal Rumble Match
Royal Rumble January 25, 2009
Stretcher Match for the WWE Championship
Randy Orton vs. Triple H
The Bash June 28, 2009
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Randy Orton vs. Christian
Over The Limit May 22, 2011
On the Road with Dad
Randy Orton's Championship Legacy
Randy's Motorcycles
Rhodes Stories
Photo Gallery
The Evolution of Randy Orton's Tattoos
The documentary is setup differently than the usual sit-down interview about his career type that we normally get as it's similar to how Jeff Hardy's "My Life, My Rules" or similar Steve Austin's "Hell Yeah!" where it's based around following him with a behind the scenes look at him during a certain time period while also telling his story. It was the period between the Elimination Chamber & WrestleMania 27 PPV's in this case where we saw Orton on the road, backstage at events, at home with his family, and doing promotional work (radio, Axxess, ect.) while Orton recalls various flashbacks in his career. Orton beings to talk about how he was interested in getting into the business back in 1999 leading to going to OVW developmental territory the same time John Cena & Batista & Brock Lesnar were there along with him having a cocky arrogant attitude that makes Orton himself admit that he was an "jerk." This run in Evolution was discussed from how he was handpicked by Flair & Triple H leading to backstage jealously regarding his spot on the roster before talking about how his own bad attitude got in the way of his success. His successful run as the Legend Killer leading to becoming the youngest World Champion in history was discussed before going back in time to tell the story about how he didn't didn't originally want to follow in his dad's footsteps & the story behind Orton going A.W.O.L. from the military. Orton's drug problem was discussed in heavy detail next from his suspension to what was the one thing that made him turn his life around & how he incorporates elements of this period into his current "Viper" character before going into his run with Dibiase & Rhodes in "Legacy" to being seen as a locker room leader close out the documentary.
Matches Include
vs. Slick Robbie D The video quality here wasn't much as OVW was pretty low budget but it was a quick match to showcase Orton at the beginning of his career.
"OVW Christmas Chaos" Jan. '01
vs. Hardcore Holly This was Orton's WWE television debut that was pretty short & sweet but very impressive for a first showing.
"SmackDown" Apr. '02
[Best Of Smackdown: 10th Anniversary]
vs. Shawn Michaels The was the Orton's first singles PPV match & the beginning of Orton's run as "The Legend Killer." Orton kept getting shown up by Shawn in the beginning causing Orton to attempt to do it himself at one point with his own version of "skin the cat" to get an advantage only for Shawn to return it & gain the momentum back. Shawn ended up hurting his shoulder by hitting the post causing Ric Flair to get his shots in on the outside while Orton also used the ringpost along with working over Shawn's arm with hammerlocks, armbars, and even a single arm DDT. Both men went back & forth with Flair constantly trying to get involved only for Shawn to keep knock him down but unfortunately not out as Flair would get involved towards the end causing a bit of confusion which Orton was able to capitalize on.
Unforgiven '03
vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion vs. Rob Van Dam Mick Foley was not only the special referee in this match but also the co-General Manager at this time while also having his personal issues with Orton dating back months earlier when Orton attacked Foley at Madison Square Garden. RVD was in control during the first half of the match before he "crashed & burned" with a high risk move on the outside for Orton to gain control. Orton grounded RVD with moves like a side headlock before they began to trade momentum with impactful moves like RVD's spinning kick onto Orton on the ringside barrier while Orton later gave a DDT with RVD hanging off the middle ropes. This was a good match that got more competitive overtime.
Armageddon '03
w/Evolution (Ric Flair & Batista) vs. The Rock & Sock Connection (The Rock & Mick Foley) This was The Rock's first match in almost a year while Foley's first in over 4 years. This was just a fun handicap tag match that's not easy to summarize more than to just sit back & watch unfold as everyone here had their moments to look strong as Foley looked like he didn't miss a step, Batista heavily showcased his power, and the biggest highlight being the interaction between Flair & Rock to the point where both men were trading each other's taunts like Flair doing the people's elbow & Rock doing Flair's strut.
WrestleMania XX
WWE Intercontinental/Falls Count Anywhere Match vs. Mick Foley Foley came out under his "Cactus Jack" persona & tried to nail Orton with "Barbie" right away with Orton running for his life before Orton was able to took nail Mick with a trash can to the face multiple times before Orton eventually ended up taking one himself. They took the fight to the ramp where Foley was back suplexed before going back into the ring where more weapons came into play causing Foley to ask the fans if they wanted him to use either "Socko" or "Barbie" on Orton. Foley got more violent as he used "Barbie" to bust Orton open along with using that to give him a legdrop to the groin. Barbed wire boards, cookie sheets, thumbtacks were all used here along with a moment where Orton was thrown off the stage followed by the classic Cactus Jack elbow drop off the stage onto Orton. Foley in this match did what he did for Triple H in 2000 as he heavily put Orton over in his hardcore environment & showed that he can take some serious punishment that most wrestlers can't & still go while telling a good story in the ring as well.
Backlash '04
[Mick Foley's Greatest Hits & Misses: Hardcore Edition]
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match vs. Edge Years before the thought of "Rated RKO," Edge was on a mission to take out Randy Orton & end the longest I.C. title reign in over 7 years. This match had some dull moments (2-3 min. headlocks by Orton) but went back & forth between both guys with an interesting note here being how the fans were divided as half were cheering for Edge while half were getting behind Randy Orton despite being a heel in Evolution.
Vengeance '04
[Edge: Decade Of Decadence & History Of I.C. Title]
Casket Match w/Bob Orton vs. Undertaker As expected in a handicap match situation, the Orton's kept trying to corner & double team Taker while Taker's strategy was to hit & move when both of them were. Taker was able to focus on one man when the other was out of the way for a few moments such as using a chair on Randy while choking out Bob with the triangle choke. Bob resorted to desperate tactics like using a fire extinguisher to blind Taker while Orton was able to knock Taker out with a chair for a victory but it was the aftermath of the match that made the strongest impression on everyone.
No Mercy '05
[Undertaker's Deadliest Matches]
vs. Kurt Angle This was a rematch from the ECW One Night Stand PPV weeks earlier & for those who don't remember, Kurt Angle was part of the ECW brand during this time with WWE treating it as a separate promotion from WWE causing various biased commentary against Angle & ECW from Jerry Lawler causing Jim Ross to even get caught up in it from time to time. Angle outwrestled Orton early to the point where he almost delivered a german suplex from the apron to the floor before eventually just doing it on the floor. Orton attempted to ground Angle with his chinlocks & side headlocks but Angle kept coming with his various suplexes including one off the top rope, repeated belly to belly suplexes, and eight german suplexes in a row. Good match in their series that went throughout the year.
Vengeance '06
vs. Hulk Hogan There really isn't much to say here except this was the typical performance you would get from Hulk Hogan at this "attraction" stage of his career in that he was dominate for a majority of the match with Orton getting somewhat of an advantage by going after Hogan's bad leg for a while & even nailing the RKO at one point but you knew exactly what was going to happen afterwords & who was going to win so this match wasn't much but the politics behind this match (and last year's SummerSlam) also showcase why you hadn't see Hogan wrestle a match or really done much business with WWE since.
SummerSlam '06
Texas Bull Rope Match vs. Dusty Rhodes This was a very short match that served it's purpose in that Randy Orton beat another legend...in this case, the legend who created the event itself. Besides that & Cody Rhodes appearance after the match, nothing noteworthy here.
The Great American Bash '07
WWE Championship Match vs. Triple H vs. John Cena Before I get started, I liked Cena's entrance with the college band playing his entrance music. Well, this was the shocker of the night considering the winner of the match was the person nobody expected just based off 92% of WWE's own poll & a majority the comments in the reviews of Royal Rumble & No Way Out on Amazon itself. As for the match itself, it was your typical triple threat match in which it was non-stop action with each man having their moments at various times along with the various moments of one man stopping another from winning the match before Orton got the biggest win in his championship reign...and for those trivia fans who like to keep score of this type of thing, this was Cena's first WrestleMania loss & the fourth time a heel has walked out of WrestleMania a World Champion.
WrestleMania XXIV
WWE Championship/"I Quit" Match vs. John Cena Due to what happened at SummerSlam, the stipulation here was that Orton will lose the title if anyone get involved. This is one of those matches that's more about "putting over a character" more than actual wrestling quality because the actual physical part of the match itself (haven't seen their matches past this PPV) ranks below their previous two SummerSlam matches but above their other two PPV matches that were also setup to just further a storyline. This match heavily showcased Orton's "Viper" character as being cold hearted & calculating & merciless by just attacking Cena's head with the hanging DDT and weapons like a monitor & steel chair & the steps. Orton also at one point had Cena handcuffed and just beating the hell out of him & so obsessed with having Cena say "I Quit" that he even refused to allow Cena to "get out easy" & passout from the pain while Cena's character was pushed here too as he just kept taking a beating but refused to quit. I'll give credit in that I thought it was a creative way of applying the STF but the finish just came too quick to be believable. In the end, you have to look at this match for what it was in that it was more of a "character driven" match more than anything else.
Breaking Point '09
[Best PPV Matches 2009-2010]
WWE Championship/Hell in a Cell Match vs. Sheamus With their previous matches (Royal Rumble & SummerSlam) not having a clear winner due to disqualifications, this final encounter would determine a clear winner. The match got taken to the outside early with Orton being able to avoid Sheamus' attempt into using steel steps then ramming his back into the cell twice & using the steps on Sheamus himself before Orton ended up feeling the cell himself with Sheamus delivering a shoulderblock that knocked him off the apron into the cell. Sheamus targeted Orton's ribs including dropping him on the steel steps right on his ribs & even countering an attempted RKO with a knee into the ribs. Orton was able to recover with powerslaming Sheamus onto the steel steps & executing the hanging DDT from the apron onto the floor while Sheamus again focused on Orton's ribs using a chair & hitting Orton twice with the Crow Kick. Sheamus attempted a High Cross on the steps but Orton was able to counter with an RKO on the steel steps to finally prove he was the better man in what was definitely the best match in their series.
Hell In A Cell '10
vs. C.M. Punk Orton came into this match with an injured leg & Punk focused directly on it with various stomps, even kicked the steps into his leg when Orton was chasing him on the outside, a modified indian deathlock, and even doing a top rope kneedrop onto Orton who was hanging from a tree of woe. This injury did effect Orton to the point where he wasn't able to push off his legs when Punk had the anaconda vice & even was able to do his punt. Orton was on the defense for most of the match but was able to get offense including an RKO that was one heck of a visual. Good match between both men.
WrestleMania XXVII
vs. World Champion Christian Less than a week after winning the World Championship in a Ladder Match, Christian had to defend the championship here. Orton was in control early with Christian being able to regain control after an Orton clothesline that sent both men over the top rope to the floor with Orton's foot kicking Christian's head on the way down. Both men traded momentum pulling out all the stops as the match went on such as Christian's top rope offense of a missile dropkick & flying crossbody while Orton delivered his snap powerslam & hanging DDT before catching Christian in the middle of one high risk move too many. This was one of the best TV quality matches of the year (so far).
"SmackDown" May '11
(Blu-Ray) Royal Rumble Match This Rumble heavily made up for last years as we got a bunch of welcomed surprises here in terms of either performances or special appearances and at one point, we had the most wrestlers in the ring at the same time during the match that I ever remember seeing. Various highlights include the opening minutes with the young talents getting the spotlight for a while, Cryme Tyme's coin flip, how Mysterio re-entered the ring after being tossed out, the "Rhodes Family Reunion", Rob Van Dam's appearance & "no ring rust" performance including one awesome looking double team move he did with Mysterio at one point, Santino's Rumble performance, "Hi I'm Dolph Ziggler", seeing the 400 pound Big Show "skin the cat" at one point, and the dominance of Randy Orton's Legacy. Great Rumble match overall that delivered.
Royal Rumble 09
(Blu-Ray) WWE Championship/3 Stages Of Hell Match (Regular, Falls Count Anywhere, Stretcher) vs. Triple H Don't let the match "stipulation" fool you as this was really just a stretcher match as the first two falls went by really quick & could have been left out because that ended up hurting this match more than helping in the end. This was your typical Triple H/Orton brawl as it went in the ring, through the crowd, and made it's way onto the stage with a few nice spots with the stretcher with a nice story of Orton focusing on Triple H's bad leg throughout the match. Overall, just like how their WrestleMania match wasn't a bad match but it wasn't at the level you would & should expect for a WrestleMania main event...this was a good stretcher match but a horrible 2 Out Of 3 falls/3 Stages Of Hell match which was the match advertised.
The Bash 09
(Blu-Ray) World Championship Match vs. Christian Both Lawler & Cole left to get ready for their match leaving Josh & Booker to do the commentary. They did some nice early back & forth wrestling with Christian backdropping Orton over the ropes then dropkicking him through the ropes before Orton later came back with a giant suplex from the top rope that ended up hurting his own head in the process. Both men went back & forth with their counters & strikes coming so close with their near falls including one moment with Christian escaping Orton's hanging DDT to later execute a flying headbutt that I haven't seen done since Chris Benoit. The announcers tried to put it over that the crowd was split when you could clearly hear "Let's Go Christian!" as Randy Orton pulled out a new submission in the reverse Boston Crab (or Colt Cabana's "Billy Goat's Curse"). Both men kept blocking each others signature moves & turning them into counters such a Christian's double foot kick in the corner into a hanging DDT, Christian's attempted spear into a snap powerslam by Orton, Orton's punt into a spear, and going back & forth between the Killswitch & RKO. This was definitely the match of the night as these two meshed well together in one of those performances that have both men walking out with more credibility than they did going in as Christian was able to pull more out of Orton than others have been able to.
Over The Limit 11
I like the different approach to the documentary as far as following him on "The Road To WrestleMania" but in doing so, I felt like they didn't cover various & moments about his career like important feuds & things worth mentioning like working with his Dad back in 2005. As for the match selection, I know a bunch of people are upset that his World Title victory over Benoit wasn't on here but we know the stance WWE has in regards to Chris Benoit for the past four years & it isn't going to change so it's really pointless to argue about it but Orton's had close to a decade long WWE career so they aren't going to get every match he's done but some of the matches (Dusty & Hogan) were pointless & could have easily been replaced with more quality matches that haven't been released to a DVD set like the No Mercy '07 "Last Man Standing" match against Triple H. Past those things, I was satisfied with the release overall & it's something Randy Orton fans would enjoy overall.
Buy Randy Orton: The Evolution of a Predator (2011) Now
I don't usually buy WWE Superstar documentary sets these days, I stick to some PPVs thats about it. However Id been waiting to see a Randy Orton set for awhile so today I went to best buy and bought the Blu Ray set and Im in Awe of how good this set really is. the matchlist imo with the exception of missing his SummerSlam 2004 World Heavyweight Championship Match against Chris Benoit (we all know why) is very good but I loved this set for the Documentary part, it goes through all aspects his childhood, school years, Marine situation, early career, mid career, now. His family is on here and you get alot of good interviews with co-workers like HHH, Cena, I beleive Batista. Just a great great set, usually i ebay or trade in the newer WWE dvds these days however this set is an exception and will stay in my blu ray/dvd collection. I recommend Randy Orton the Evolution of a Predator to any WWE fan and Certainly any Randy Orton fan such as myself. In the end it's a good thing they waited until this point to make this DVD they went through his career which overshadowed events and issues he was going through in his personal life, for example when he was world champ in 2004 and could of had the world by the kahones but wasn't "ready" to take advantage of it, so again I beleive they waited until the right point in his life/career to make this set it feels complete. Again Great set and Enjoy.Read Best Reviews of Randy Orton: The Evolution of a Predator (2011) Here
Anyone else think it's weird that the sticker on the front says 3 disk collection but its only 2 disks when you open it. Anyone else see this or am I missing something? I haven't actually watched the movie yet just opened it yesterday and saw it was only 2 disks not 3.Want Randy Orton: The Evolution of a Predator (2011) Discount?
Okay, so I am reviewing this DVD set after watching it yesterday. The documentary portion was well done. They had shown some behind-the-scenes footage of Randy's lives both at home and on the road with WWE. I won't get into too much detail for those of you wanting to find out more for yourself... but he brings up his childhood in the St. Louis area, meeting his future wife Samantha, and dealings with all things WWE. Randy does a good job of describing his feelings and actions at several points during his career (the good and the bad), which you can appreciate. Others connected to the wrestling business, such as Triple H, Arn Anderson, Cody Rhodes, and a lot more share their thoughts on where Randy has gone and where he has been. Very entertaining to see these guys break character and just be themselves for a change. Samantha Orton gives a very honest look at Randy and their relationship together over the past many years, which is another good peek at the whole look inside the world of Randy Orton.I won't go match-by-match, but they are all very solid. Of course, they didn't show the match against Chris Benoit at SummerSlam 2004. That is a shame, but my memories are still very clear from around the time and if you want to see that one, just go look for it somewhere. The rest of them are very good and to me, clearly show the progression from the beginning and middle of his career. Hard to believe that he has been around almost 10 years now... all of us fans hope it will be at least 10 more.
So, I am still giving this RKO collection five stars and it is a must-see for all of WWE fans... not just those of Randy Orton. They did a great job in producing this DVD set and I can finally say it it was well worth the wait. I hope you all will enjoy this one as much as I did.
Save 48% Off
No comments:
Post a Comment