A Painful Truth: Starting with the Best!

Hello, and welcome to the debut edition of A Painful Truth!! This is where I put down my opinions on things in the wrestling world, and you judge me (hopefully not too harshly) on them. Now, given the fact I don't watch TNA, and wouldn't even know HOW to watch shows like ROH, this will be based on the WWE, in all its glory. For those who don't know me, I tend to dislike Cena haters, and people who don't give reasons for their opinions...

But, enough of introductions, let me explain what I will be writing about. I hope to give my opinions on the WWE and its current storylines, tag teams, matches, PPV's and all that jazz. So, without much further ado, I give you the subject of this debut issue.
Ladies and gentlemen, this episode of A painful Truth is about, arguably, the greatest tag team to grace WWE, but perhaps one of the most underused. Rated RKO.

Now, I know what I just said will draw a lot of mixed opinions, but I stand by it. And let me explain why.

Forethoughts:

Rated RKO contained two of the greatest singles competitors of the time, two who are still at the top now. Edge and Randy Orton. When they combined, they were almost the perfect heel team, and their chemistry on the microphone was great. They pulled heat from the crowds, who hated them for feuding with DX, the fan favourites at the time. They were hated because both of them had, and still do have, huge ego's, which seemed to mix perfectly. Also, despite what critics may think, they have a certain natural ability to pull off the heel perfectly, which means that when they are in this role, they are very good at bringing in the crowd, and getting them going.

Both were talented in the ring, with finishers that could be built up, or be used out of the blue, and both were known to be powerful. They weren’t the most athletic of superstars, that’s a given. They didn’t do the same moves as Jeff Hardy, or Rey Mysterio. Randy Orton was still ‘The legend Killer’ and Edge was ‘The Rated R superstar’ and both were performing outstandingly. 

It was also known they were title contenders. Randy Orton had just finished the Evolution story-arc, where he had become the youngest EVER World Heavyweight Champion, and Edge was just coming out of the storyline with Cena, losing his last shot at Cena’s WWE title.

The stage was set for something outstanding. And they delivered.

Storyline:

Also, they were the perfect counterpart to D-Generation X. DX were jokers, and anti-establishment. Basically, they did whatever the hell they wanted, when they wanted, and the fans loved them no matter what. After screwing over both Orton in evolution, where Triple H beat him down, and then costing Edge his title shot at Cena, things were heated. This led to Edge calling out Orton the next week on his talk show 'The Cutting Edge'. They joined forces, to 'get rid of DX'. After a lot of talk, and one prank sketch done by Rated RKO to DX, Orton and Triple H traded singles matches, leading to a tag team match up on the PPV, Cyber Sunday. 

The match had a special guest referee, voted by the WWE fans, in Eric Bischoff. DX got their first loss after being 'screwed' out of it by Bischoff, but this gave Rated RKO the tag titles, in the process. With Lita gaining the woman's championship, things were looking good for Rated RKO. On November the 6th, 2006, Rated RKO lost the tag titles, to the team of Roddy Piper and Ric Flair, after outside interference from none other than DX.
That was not the end, however, for Rated RKO would not go long without gold. The next week, they attacked Roddy Piper before the rematch, and after a quick con-chair-to, Ric was left in a handicap match. They won back the titles, and it was found later that Roddy Piper had been diagnosed with Lymphoma, so couldn't compete. The feud quietened down to an extent until just before survivor series, with Rated RKO defending their gold and DX content to sit and watch, pulling their usual pranks.

On the night of Survivor Series, Lita retired from the WWE, after losing her Women’s championship to Mickie James. Edge had no time to contemplate this, though, as that was the night of Team Rated RKO, consisting of: Edge, Randy Orton, Mike Knox, Johnny Nitro and Gregory Helms, Vs Team DX, which starred: Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy and CM Punk. The match was a whitewash, with Team DX eliminating all of Team Rated RKO, even with Edge and Orton trying to leave the arena.

At this point, things were ready to explode, and this is where Rated RKO really shined. They showed themselves to be truly evil, decimating Ric Flair on an episode of Raw, bloodying him with multiple con-chair-to’s and calling for DX to come and ‘Save’ him. When no-one came, they walked backstage, satisfied. The next week, DX cut a promo saying that Rated RKO had made this ‘personal’. The feud continued till New Years Revolution, where they met in a tag match. I’ll speak more on the tag match later in this article, but it was something very special, to say the least. The feud ended here, due to Triple H being injured in that match, tearing his right quad.
After this match, Rated RKO seemed to melt away. They had the aftermath with HBK who, in a 2 on 1 handicap match, managed to beat them both. However, with no one to feud with, the arrogance of the two shone through, and they began to compete against each other. They then lost the titles against John Cena and Shawn Michaels, before eventually breaking as a tag on Feburary 26th, 2007, when Edge walked out on Randy Orton in the rematch for the same titles.

Whilst, like DX, they sometimes do one night stands, or house shows, they have not been ‘officially’ recognized as a tag since their feud with D-Generation X, which, coincidentally, was their first and last.

Afterthoughts:

O.k, let me make one thing very clear, before I start with my afterthoughts. I loved this feud. This was perhaps the BEST tag feud ever. Containing four of the top four superstars to EVER grace the WWE, it was well written, and was long enough to really do it justice. Titles switched hands more than enough, and there was plenty of build up for it, in DX vs. The McMahons. 

The feud involved more people than the 4 key ones, and brought back different moments from the WWE, including the Randy Orton Vs. Evolution saga. But, the best part of the feud must have been the last match. Even the ending, which I thought would be anticlimactic, due to it being “X’ed out”. I think Triple H was amazingly brave to continue the fight for the 4-5 minutes that he did with his torn quad, even managing to hit 2 pedigrees. Yes, they weren’t full strength, but still, I find that VERY impressive. But it was not only that, before his injury the match well planned, and very engaging. Starting with the attack before the match had officially begun, where Edge and Orton were interrupted in their entrance, and then the back and forth action, with well timed sections of domination, which switched from DX to rated RKO, then back again. It also had the extreme spots, like The Heartbreak Kid performing a plancha to the outside, to take them both out.

Sadly, we’ll never know what was planned to happen in that match, or who was meant to win. Personally, I like the way it ended and had Triple H not been injured, it would have been truly immense. 

Thoughts on The Team:

Being a Randy Orton and Edge fan, I have a very biased opinion on this tag team. I think that they are the best to ever be seen. Yes, that was controversial, I know, but still. I think they are better than D-Generation X (Yes, all 4 incarnations), The Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boys, The Brothers of Destruction, Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection, and any other name you care to throw at me.

I think you get my point.

My only big problem I ever had with how the WWE utilized Rated RKO, was how they were formed for one sole purpose: To feud with DX. We could’ve seen a feud with The Hardy Boyz, The Brothers of Destruction, or some form of tag tournament. This meant that what was a golden idea was thrown away very quickly. We could even have seen some form of ultimate team, where they both held world titles and became targets for the entire WWE!

Another point to make is how good their entrance music was. Yes, I did just comment on how good their MUSIC was, but I think that sorta thing has a huge impact on the audience. Whilst most WWE entrance music is good, this combined two of the best songs in the WWE, Edge’s entrance music and Orton’s music. – Metalingus by Alter Bridge and Burn in My Light by Mercy Drive, respectively. Metalingus was played at a lower pitch than usual, with Orton’s played at a higher pitch. The stark contrast between the two was innovative, yet both displayed the same, arrogant message.

Now, I realise that one of the opinions that people will say is that D-Generation X were the ones who ‘carried’ Rated RKO, and I have to completely disagree. The DX gimmick was starting to die out, and whilst funny, was becoming shallower and shallower. If it wasn’t for Rated RKO, all the popularity HBK and Triple H had gotten from the anti-establishment spell would’ve been wasted.
Overall, I think Rated RKO almost ‘summed up’ the time period of the WWE they were in. A lot of good ideas, and a lot of it was well executed. It just wasn’t prolonged enough for my liking.

Conclusion:

That’s about if for A Painful Truth this week. Any comments, questions, feedback or ideas for next time are welcome, and either write them below or Pm me in game. Until next time, my friends, stay safe.

Mr Pain.