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My Favourite Matches: Match #1: Randy Orton VS. Chris Benoit, SummerSlam, 15th August, 2004.

This match, my favourite of all time (at least thus far), truly marks the era of Orton in the WWE, when he won the World Heavyweight Championship to become the youngest champion in history (technically, it is still Brock Lesnar when he won the WWE Championship from The Rock in 2002 at age 25).

Watching Orton make his entrance, you can see a difference in his demeanor from the burly, tattooed WWE Champion and leader of Legacy we see today. Obviously by winning the title that night he only got a taste of what was, and is, to come during his time in as, in my opinion, one of the best heels in the company, second only to Edge.

While he did suffer some bumps in the road, including his suspension for drug use and bad backstage behavior, injuries, and storyline lags, this match really showcases his God given ability, which is only highlighted by his opponent, Chris Benoit.

The match started with the obligatory lockup, accompanied by a chorus of “You screwed Bret” taunts from the crowd to referee Earl Hebner. Orton backed Benoit into the corner and went for the “test of strength” Greco-Roman knuckle lock, as J.R. signalled, by which Benoit was successful, and countered into a wrist and then armlock. Orton continued to spend the beginning of the match on the mat, with Benoit showing his fifteen year advantage over Orton with a variety of submission locks.

Orton made the mistake of showing off for a “photo op”, as Jerry Lawler called it, after he broke the hold and took Benoit down, but was quickly put into another arm drag.

With a bit more back-and-forth action, Benoit went for the Sharpshooter, however Orton countered into a Sharpshooter of his own. This seemed to be salt in the wound for the Canadian crowd, with shades of Shawn Michaels and Hebner’s betrayal of Bret Hart in the Montreal Screwjob coming through. Benoit used his sheer strength to break out of the hold into a reversal of the move. Benoit then slapped the Crossface on Orton, who snaked his way out of the ring, knocking Benoit into the ring post to buy some time.

Orton followed up with another slam into the ring post on Benoit, and climbed into the ring to break the ten-count.

After some grappling on the outside, both men got back into the ring, with Orton attempting to steal the pinfall, using his legs on the ropes for leverage, but to no avail. Orton then quickly went to work on Benoit’s arm, and after he breaks the hold, Orton hangs his opponent onto the top rope. Benoit fought back with knees and punches to the gut.

Benoit knocked Orton to the outside, who fell hard onto the meagrely padded floor. He then threw Orton back into the ring, only to knock him out on the other side, followed up with a baseball slide.

The tables seemed to turn, however, when Benoit went for a suicide dive onto the outside, but missed his target and plummeted straight into the ring barricade. Orton used this to his advantage, playing on Benoit’s “surgically repaired”— as J.R. would put it— back and neck inside the ring. Orton used his quintessential cheek to blatantly rake Benoit’s eyes in front of the referee, whilst he had his opponent in a modified side camel clutch, which the announcers described the hold as.

Orton garnered cheers from the pro-Benoit crowd as he showed his strength and leverage by turning a gut wrench into a back breaker into an inverted neck breaker, and going for the pin.

Orton continued his show of athleticism with more submission holds, but Benoit fought his way out and used his signature chops to the chest to weaken Orton’s resolve. Rebounding off the ropes, both men go for what seem like clotheslines, or possibly a crossbody on Benoit’s part, which ends in them colliding mid-air. Both men get back to their feet quickly, and traded right hands and forearms in the centre of the ring.

Benoit, springing off the ropes with newfound energy, knocked Orton around like a rag doll; like the rookie he was. Orton then battled out of an attempted German suplex, but Benoit countered into a Northern Lights suplex.

Orton went up top for a crossbody that could have spelled the end for Benoit, but he kicked out. Orton then signalled for the RKO, the first one for the match, but was rebuffed. Benoit again went for his signature move, the Sharpshooter, which Orton managed to get out of as well. He followed up with a German suplex, which was enough to capture Orton in another attempt at the Sharpshooter.

Having spent ample time in the submission hold, Orton seemed to have passed out, so Hebner went for arm drop test. On the third drop, Orton showed he still had a little fight left in him, and reached for the rope. Benoit broke the hold, but the announcers ask whether the damage has been done on the challenger.

After six consecutive German suplexes, Benoit went up top for the flying headbutt, but Orton put his feet up, which knocked Benoit in his already toothless face. Orton writhed in pain in the ring, feeling the aftermath of Benoit’s offence, while Benoit lay motionless. A disoriented Orton went for the pin, but Benoit, in a sudden surge of energy, countered into the Crossface. In a twist of “destiny”, as Orton was so fond of using as his motivation at that time in his career, Orton broke the hold and swiftly reversed it into the RKO, the move that put Benoit away and allowed Orton to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

While some of the other matches in this list displayed better athleticism, mat work and in-ring storytelling, for me, this match outweighs all the others. When I first saw the match, I continued watching it every night after school for two weeks. Work, study and general day-to-day things got in the way of me reliving that moment, and I didn’t want to do anything but see it over and over. My “Aha moment”— to borrow the catchphrase from Oprah— was further solidified with the aftermath of Orton’s title win on the following night’s Raw. We all remember the victory party Evolution held for their “diamond in the rough” after he successfully retained the belt in a rematch against Benoit that night, and especially how it ended: with Orton on Batista’s shoulders, Triple H turning his thumbs up into a thumbs down (a gesture which Batista now uses), and Batista slamming Orton to the mat, where his former team mates continued to make an example out of him. Those two nights renewed my obsession and passion for the WWE, which I think even the most dedicated fan needs every once in a while, to keep the relationship moving forward.
Like I said about Match #3, Chris Jericho VS. Shawn Michaels, I feel that this match was somewhat of a passing of the torch from the veteran to the rookie. This is signified by the handshake at the end of the bout between Orton and Benoit. While Benoit struggled for almost twenty years to get to the top spot in the wrestling business, perhaps he didn’t want to see another talented athlete go through the hardships he did, and Orton’s win over him served as the catalyst for Orton’s success. Meanwhile, Benoit didn’t see the same success he did in 2004 for the rest of his time with WWE/his life, and has become more notorious as a murderer than famous as a wrestler.
The announcing for this match was outstanding also, with J.R. on top of his game, calling all the moves exactly as they happened, and Jerry standing by Orton as his cheerleader throughout the match. His enthusiastic descriptions of Orton as a “Greek god” and that winning the title was his “destiny” really created a devil’s advocate tone to the match, which in turn made those watching it get behind the challenger (even though I have been since day one), who ultimately became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history.