This Day In Wrestling History - July 26

Date: July 26, 2004 (10 years ago)

Event: WWE Raw featured two matches - Randy Orton won a #1 contender battle royal to face Chris Benoit at Summerslam and Benoit beat Triple H in a 60-minute Iron Man match to retain the WWE World Hvt. Title. This set up Orton defeating Benoit for the title at Summerslam 2004.

PWTorch Back-Issue: PWTorch Newsletter #819 for the complete PPV Report.

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PWTORCH #819: COVER STORY
HEADLINE: Orton about take elevator ride to the top tier of WWE
By Wade Keller, Torch editor

Monday night on Raw, Randy Orton won a battle royal that announced to all WWE fans that he was headlining Summerslam, challenging for Raw's World Hvt. Title. With Chris Benoit retaining the World Hvt. Title against Triple H later in the show in their Iron Man match, that sets up a Benoit vs. Orton title match getting co-top billing with Smackdown's WWE Title match between Bradshaw and Undertaker. That also knocks Triple H out of the top slot at Summerslam, putting him in a match against Eugene.

There is also a buzz that Orton may win the title at Summerslam, and then hold it until WrestleMania next year where a long-awaited Orton vs. Hunter match could take place. (Editor's Note: Orton dropped the title on his first title defense against Triple H at the next PPV.)

Orton, like The Rock over five years earlier, joined the WWF as a smiling babyface who was ridiculed by many fans, but seen by management as a potential prodigy. Orton hasn't necessarily been on a fast-track to the top since, getting a smooth and steady push, climbing each rung of the ladder himself rather than being shoved up faster than fans were willing to tolerate. During his time off while recovering from an injury, he cemented his conceited persona and showed everyone that he was a natural on the mic.

The question headed into this year was whether he had what it took to move to that next level inside the ring. While John Cena, his peer over on the Smackdown roster, has struggled to elevate his game in the ring to top tier status, Orton lately has erased all doubt.

His feud with Mick Foley moved him near the top tier, his matches with Edge proved he was ready for the top tier, and his title win presumably over Benoit will officially move him into the top tier. Everyone within WWE see Orton as "the real deal," and with youth on his side at just 24 years old, he is the future of WWE in many ways.

It was just a few years ago that Chris Benoit was seen as a member of the young generation of wrestlers who deserved a run on top. He's gotten it this year, during a down time in WWE's business. Now, not long removed from being considered an up-and-comer, he's about to hand the World Title he worked his whole career for to a wrestler who was still diapers when he began his pro career.

Orton, as champion, will inherit a ready-made top level feud with Triple H, although odds are they will stay away from it for a while, letting it simmer for as long as possible. He is also the first long-term World Champion prospect who will have risen from mid-carder to top tier since the brand split. That means that, as other wrestlers rise over at Smackdown, he will have true "dream match" potential with a number of them, match-ups that have never taken place before in any meaningful place on cards.

Orton can work as a babyface or as a heel. Fans are already cheering for him, and already hints have been dropped that Triple H is going to be the insecure person in their relationship as the Evolution power structure shifts with Orton holding the title--a title that WWE has done a great job establishing "means more to Triple H than anything else in the universe." The stage is set for Orton to break away from Evolution and feud with Ric Flair and Batista right away. The stage is being set for Edge to turn heel so Orton can revisit his feud with him with the roles reversed. The crowd reaction to their matches has already dictated that Orton should be the babyface and Edge should be the heel.

Orton will give WWE Raw a fresh star on top, someone who marks in some ways the official start of a new era, since a wrestler will be on top who wasn't around during the previous boom period. Although Triple H isn't anywhere near retirement and isn't ready to step down from his perch as the top dog on Raw, Orton may be in a position to be the top babyface for years to come. And with so much wrestling in his pedigree, he's unlikely to decide his real career aspirations lie elsewhere anytime soon.

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