Defanged

Randy Orton is perhaps WWE's best all-rounder. He's incredibly popular, wrestles well, knows how to make lesser talent look good, and gives intense, believable interviews. The only guy who could arguably be considered Orton’s peer in all of these areas is CM Punk. As he’s stationed on Monday Night RAW he isn’t likely to be encroaching on Orton's SmackDown territory any time soon. With this being the case you have to wonder why ‘The Viper's’ so wasted by the organisation.
 
Since February Orton has been stuck in a soul-destroyingly banal programme with Kane. Both men are veterans of the WWE roster and have faced each other many times over the years. The best they've ever produced together is an adequate match. They've certainly never come close to anything that could be described as a classic.
 
The two have exchanged wins on RAW and SmackDown and 'The Big Red Monster' took the surprise victory at WrestleMania. I assume Orton will win at Extreme Rules. It just feels like an exercise in time killing because the promotion has nothing else for either man to do. If neither man is making any progress from the programme and the bouts they're having are tiresome then what's the point to it all in the first place?

The situation begs the question of why they've been paired up for the last two months when there are so many other more useful and entertaining things they could be doing.
 
Orton's previous feud was with Wade Barrett. That was a good use of the veteran. Orton put Barrett over decisively on multiple occasions and did all he could to keep him look strong whenever they clashed, even when booked to beat him. As such Barrett left the feud closer to the main event than before. That was the point of the programme.

This man could be WWE's resident star maker if only he were allowed

'The Apex Predator' gave Cody Rhodes the same treatment last autumn. Surely WWE can see the pattern? If Orton is given a wrestler of lesser stature to work with he will do his best to elevate them. As the company needs a new batch of credible main event talent they should be giving Orton one new guy after another to elevate.
 
Ideally Orton will move on to work with Alberto Del Rio after his feud with Kane concludes. ADR v Orton is one of WWE's few fresh headline feuds and would help restore credibility to both men. After months wasted with 'The Devil's Favourite Demon' Orton needs a proper feud to get his teeth into before he starts elevating guys again.
 
The good news is that lots of new faces (and a few old ones with a metaphorical lick of new paint) have cropped up on WWE television over the last several weeks. Orton has fresh feuds waiting for him with Lord Tensai, Damien Sandow, Darren Young, Titus O'Neill, and, my personal favourite of the bunch, Antonio Cesaro. With Drew McIntyre also a candidate for elevation and Daniel Bryan still being fairly new to the main event there's a lot of fresh talent for 'The Viper' to tangle with over the next year or so.
 
This nonsense with Kane can’t end quickly enough.