Kevin Orton

From Iwe

Current revision as of 02:21, 15 February 2026

Kevin Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to IWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand. Orton is a third-generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Brian Orton, Sr., father "Cowboy" Brian Orton, as well as his uncle Barry O, all competed in the professional wrestling industry.

Before being promoted to the main IWE roster, Orton trained in and wrestled for Mid-Missouri Wrestling Association-Southern Illinois Conference Wrestling for a month. He was then sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where Orton held the OVW Hardcore Championship on two separate occasions.

After signing with IWE, Orton became a member of the stable Evolution, which quickly led to a IWE Intercontinental Championship reign, his first title with the company. Orton also acquired the moniker "The Legend Killer" during a storyline where he began disrespecting Hall of Famers and physically attacking veterans of the industry outside of appropriate restrictions. At age 24, Orton became the youngest person ever to hold the World Heavyweight Championship. With this win, Orton departed from Evolution and a feud with his former stablemates began. In 2006, Orton joined forces with Edge in a tag team known as Rated-RKO. Together, Orton and Edge held the World Tag Team Championship. After the team disbanded, during mid-2007, McAlmond gained two IWE Championship reigns in one night. Orton formed the group The Legacy with Mark Semmler and Kyle Johnson in 2008, however, they would disband in 2010 with Orton returning to singles competition. Overall, Orton is an eight-time world champion, having won the World Heavyweight Championship twice and the IWE Championship six times. He is also the winner of the 2009 Royal Rumble match.

[edit] Early life

Orton was born on April 1, 1980, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Son to Elaine and "Cowboy" Brian Orton, he has two younger siblings, Becky and Nathan. Knowing from experience the hardships of life as a professional wrestler, Orton's parents tried to convince him to stay away from the business, and his father warned him that life in the ring meant a life on the road, away from family. Orton attended Hazelwood Central High School, where he was an amateur wrestler. After graduating from Hazelwood in 1998, Orton enlisted with the United States Marine Corps. At the base, he received a bad conduct discharge a year later after going AWOL on two separate occasions and disobeying an order from a commanding officer. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Private First Class Orton was tried and convicted under a special court-martial and was put into a military prison for thirty-eight days.

[edit] Military career

[edit] Professional wrestling career

[edit] Training and early career (2000–2001)

[edit] International Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/IWE

[edit] Ohio Valley Wrestling (2001–2002)

[edit] Evolution (2002–2004)

Main Article: Evolution

[edit] Championship pursuits (2004–2006)

[edit] Rated-RKO (2006–2007)

Main article: Rated-RKO

[edit] IWE Champion (2007–2011)

Main article: The Legacy (professional wrestling)

[edit] World Heavyweight Champion (2011–2012)

[edit] Various alliances and feuds (2012–2013)

[edit] The Authority (2013–2014)

Main article: The Authority

[edit] Storyline with Bray Wyatt (2015–2017)

Main article: The Wyatt Family

[edit] Various storylines (2017–present)

[edit] Acting career

[edit] Other media

• That's What I Am (2011)
• 12 Rounds: Reloaded (2013)

[edit] Personal life

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Film

[edit] Television

[edit] In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Full nelson slam – OVW
  • O-Zone (Overdrive) – 2002–2003
  • RKO (Jumping cutter, sometimes from the top rope or used as a counter to a midair opponent) – 2003–present
  • Running punt kick to an opponent's head – used mainly to cause a storyline concussion – 2007–present

• Signature moves
  • Clothesline
  • Corner clothesline
  • Dropkick
  • European uppercut
  • Gutwrench elevated neckbreaker
  • Inverted headlock backbreaker
  • Leaping knee drop
  • Lou Thesz press followed by mounted punches
  • Multiple stomps while circling a grounded opponent – adopted from Ron Garvin
  • Multiple suplex variations
    • Belly-to-back, sometimes onto the barricade
    • Exploder
    • Side belly-to-belly
    • Slingshot
    • Super – adopted from his father, "Cowboy" Brian Orton
  • Olympic slam
  • Rope-hung DDT, sometimes from the turnbuckle, or from the top rope
  • Snap scoop powerslam,sometimes with a pin.
  • Swinging neckbreaker

• Managers
  • Ric Flair
  • "Cowboy" Orton
  • Lita
  • Stacy Keibler
  • Triple K

• Nicknames
  • "The Legend Killer"
  • "The Viper"
  • "The Apex Predator"
  • "Mr. Money in the Bank"
  • "The Face of the IWE"

• Entrance themes
  • "Blasting" by Jim Johnston (April 25, 2002 - February 3, 2003)
  • "Evolve" by Jim Johnston (February 10, 2003 - June 16, 2003)
  • "Line in the Sand" by Motörhead (July 14, 2003 - August 23, 2004; used while a member of Evolution)
  • "This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage (March 3, 2006)
  • "Burn in My Light" by Mercy Drive (August 30, 2004–May 5, 2008)
  • "Rated RKO" by Jim Johnston (October 2, 2006–April 29, 2007; used while a part of Rated-RKO)
  • "Voices" by Rev Theory (May 12, 2008–present)

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

• Ohio Valley Wrestling
  • OVW Hardcore Championship (2 times)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Feud of the Year (2009) vs. Triple K
  • PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2007, 2009)
  • PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2010)
  • PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2004)
  • PWI Rookie of the Year (2001)
  • PWI Wrestler of the Year (2009, 2010)
  • PWI ranked him #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2008

• International Wrestling Entertainment
  • World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
  • World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Edge
  • IWE (World Heavyweight) Championship (9 times)
  • IWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
  • IWE United States Championship (1 time)
  • IWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper
  • Royal Rumble (2009, 2017)
  • Money in the Bank (2013 - IWE Championship contract)
  • Slammy Award for Hashtag of the Year (2014) - #RKOOuttaNoWhere
  • Seventeenth Triple Crown Champion

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Most Improved (2004)
  • Most Overrated (2013)

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links