Is Randy Orton Mr. Survivor Series?
Some WWE Superstars do better than others at certain pay-per-views. Whether it’s success at the event in victories and championships, having the match of the night consistently or simply longevity. Shawn Michaels is widely regarded as Mr/ WrestleMania and Brock Lesnar is frequently in discussion for the similar accolade at SummerSlam. With the November pay-per-view being the spiritual home of The Viper, here is every Survivor Series performance from Randy Orton.
2003 – The Breakout Debut
Starting as he meant to go on, the 2003 Survivor Series elimination match is regarded as one of the early points in Orton’s career where many felt like there was something special. Representing Team Bischoff in the match against Team Austin, Orton would be the sole survivor after eliminating a bloody Shawn Michaels to the shock of many in attendance. While many have great debut performances at the show, causing Steve Austin to lose his job as Raw GM is a pretty big accolade for a first outing.
2004 – Team Captain
A lot can change in a year. From Survivor Series 2003 to 2004 Orton had defeated Mick Foley in an amazing Hardcore match at Backlash, won the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam and lost it to Triple H, turning face in the process. Orton led the team of Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and Maven in another elimination match where the winners would be in charge of Raw for the next 4 weeks. Much like the year prior, Orton would be the sole survivor of his team, eliminating Triple H to get some revenge on his former mentor.
2005 – Brand Warfare
With the brand split in full effect, WWE decided to have a 5 on 5 SmackDown vs. Raw elimination match in the main event. Completing the hat trick of not being eliminated, Orton would once again take out Shawn Michaels remain the sole survivor and secure the victory for the blue brand. The celebrations would be short lived though, as The Undertaker made his return by bursting out of a flaming casket moments after the bell rang.
2006 – That Elimination Match
It’s very likely that 2006 is the one Survivor Series that Orton wants to forget. Teaming with Edge as part of Rated RKO, the tag team recruited Mike Knox, Gregory Helms and Johnny Nitro to face off against a reunited DX, The Hardy Boyz and CM Punk. Knox was eliminated instantly and DX picked off Orton’s team one by one, leaving Orton at a 5 on 1 disadvantage, leaving the result to be inevitable.
2007 – Orton Has Michael’s Number
2007 saw Orton win the WWE Championship for the first time in his career. One of his first defences was HBK, who The Viper had previously eliminated from Survivor Series matches twice. However, with the title on the line and this being a straight one on one match, this was a whole different ball game. Michaels was banned from using the Sweet Chin Music and Orton could not be disqualified. Orton would once again pin Michaels for a third time at Survivor Series and demanded that the Hall of Famer acknowledge how great he is.
2008 – A Return To Form
As history has shows, if Orton is in an elimination match there is a good chance that he will be a survivor when all is said and done. Captaining the team of himself, Cody Rhodes, William Regal, Mark Henry and Shelton Benjamin, Orton and Rhodes would be the sole survivors against the team of Batista, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston Matt Hardy and R-Truth.
2009 – The Legacy Crumbles
2009 saw Orton, a third generation wrestler, side with fellow wrestlers from famous lineages Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. Although the group started strong, it could be argued that their Survivor Series performance may have signalled the beginning of the end. The trio teamed with CM Punk and William Regal to lose to the team of Kofi Kingston, Christian, Mark Henry, MVP and R-Truth. Orton would be last eliminated by Kofi Kingston, who was the sole survivor.
2010 – Nexus Issues Continue
The Nexus group suffered a devastating loss in the elimination match at SummerSlam that they never did recover from. WWE attempted to make leader Wade Barrett a credible challenger in the main event but to little effect. Orton retained the title thanks to interference from special guest John Cena, who was “fired” from WWE as a result of his actions.
2011 – Eliminated Again
Orton’s bad luck in elimination matches continued for a third straight year, but The Viper was once again the last man eliminated from his team. Teaming with Kofi Kingston, Mason Ryan, Sheamus and Sin Cara, the team would lose to the team of Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, Hunico and Jack Swagger.
2012 – More Elimination Woes
As much as it sounds like a broken record, Orton would yet again make it to the end of an elimination match but would be the last one eliminated in his team, coming up short for the 4th year in a row. However, this was also during the rise of Dolph Ziggler era, where The Show Off was in possession of the Money In The Bank briefcase. Ziggler eliminated Orton to become the sole survivor of his team, and would eventually become world champion the night after WrestleMania the following year.
2013 – Orton’s Luck Changes
With 4 straight years of eliminations in mostly meaningless matches, Orton would be WWE Champion once again after winning the title at Hell in a Cell the previous month. Defending the title in the main event of the show, Orton would defeat The Big Show thanks to Authority interference, holding the championship until WrestleMania 30 when Daniel Bryan’s fairy tale dream came true.
2016 – Family Triumphs
Following an absence from the card in 2014 and 2015, Orton would represent Team SmackDown when WWE revived the brand warfare storyline for Survivor Series. At this point, The Viper would join The Wyatt Family and aligned himself with Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper. While Harper did not trust Orton within the family, the early stages of the alliance proved to be positive as Orton and Wyatt would be the sole survivors.
2017 – An Early Elimination
Once again on Team SmackDown, Orton represented the brand with Shane McMahon, John Cena, Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura on his team. What was more surprising was that McMahon actually outlasted Orton in the match, as Orton was eliminated first by Braun Strowman.
2019 – Dominated BY NXT
Following travel complications in Saudi Arabia, multiple top stars were stranded overseas, meaning that WWE had to pivot and get NXT involved in the annual brand warfare. Representing Raw, Orton would be quickly eliminated by future tag team partner Matt Riddle via roll up, with Orton delivering an RKO afterwards to eliminate Riddle.
2021 – Champions Prevail
Orton’s final appearance at Survivor Series to date saw Raw Tag Team Champions The Viper and Matt Riddle face SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos in another battle for brand supremacy in champion vs champion matches. Picking up a win for Team Raw, RK-Bro would defeat the dominant tag team.
2023 – The Viper Strikes
Randy Orton returned at Survivor Series 2023 after an 18 month absence to team with Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso and Seth Rollins to defeat Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh and Drew McIntyre inside WarGames. Appearing after first being teased that he wouldn’t show up, Orton delivered an RKO to McDonagh, who was falling off the cage, to help his team win the match.
Featured image: WWE
