10 Pictures Of A Young Randy Orton WWE Fans Have To See
Randy Orton is one of the most decorated wrestlers in the history of the pro wrestling industry. He made a name for himself in WWE and managed to become one of the most vital members of the company for over two decades.
Being the son of WWE Hall of Famer Bob Orton Jr, Randy Orton has the business running through his veins, and he chose to follow in his father's footsteps into the pro wrestling ring, and the rest, as they say, is history.
With that said, let's take a gander at Randy Orton's life before all the fame by looking at ten pictures taking during his younger years.
10 Family
Randy Orton was born to WWE Hall of Famer Cowboy Bob Orton and his wife Elaine on April 1, 1980. He has two siblings, a younger brother named Nathan, who is a standup comedian, and a younger sister named Rebecca.
Growing up in a wrestling family, his father educated Orton about the risks of the business and tried to keep him away from the ring. But The Legend Killer eventually chose to follow in his father's footsteps, and went on to achieve more success than his father and grandfather combined by becoming a 14-time WWE World Champion.
9 The Beginnings
Randy Orton started his pro wrestling career in 2000 after learning the basics of the business from his father. He started training at the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Association-Southern Illinois Conference Wrestling facility in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.
He trained under the staff of the promotion and his father, Bob Orton, and also worked as a referee in several matches for the World Organized Wrestling promotion, where his uncle Barry worked.
From there, Randy Orton worked his way up the ladder to get to WWE, and he took off from there like a rocket to become one of the company's most decorated superstars in history.
8 Tooth Braces
There will be a set of pictures from a person's childhood and teenage years they would not want anyone to see. This picture can easily come under that category as Randy Orton is seen giving out a wide smile with braces on his teeth.
We have seen Orton sport various looks throughout his career, but the fans would not have seen such a positive and cute picture from the Legend Killer's teenage years.
7 OVW Days
After signing a contract with WWE in 2000, the company sent him to train in their development system Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he worked with future mega stars like John Cena, Batista, and Brock Lesnar.
During his time in the system, Orton went on to become a 2-time OVW Hardcore Champion and also had matches against future foe John Cena, who was working under his 'The Prototype' gimmick.
He stayed with OVW until 2002 before getting his main roster call-up, and he made his debut in April 2002 by defeating Hardcore Holly on SmackDown.
6 With John Cena
Despite being fierce on-screen rivals in WWE over the years, Randy Orton has always shared a close friendship with fellow WWE superstar John Cena. They were part of the OVW system together and became close friends during that time.
This picture would back up the statement as Randy Orton and John Cena are seen hanging out together during his early days in WWE. Both wrestlers have had nothing but respect for each other over the years, and Orton even shared his wish for John Cena inducting him into the WWE Hall of Fame one day.
5 With Brock Lesnar
Along with John Cena, Randy Orton also worked with future WWE and UFC Champion Brock Lesnar in the OVW system. There were no reports of the two wrestlers being friends during their time together in OVW, but this picture shows that they did share a professional relationship.
While Brock Lesnar went on to achieve more success on the main roster than Orton at first, the latter picked up steam and even ended up winning more world titles than Lesnar in the following years, although Lesnar did leave WWE for nearly a decade.
4 The Viper With A Python
Randy Orton became a more vicious version of himself starting in 2007, and became very ruthless in the ring and established himself with the nickname "The Viper."
He also shaved his head bald later on, and had a sinister look on his face to do justice to his new merciless gimmick. However, it appears he didn't receive the nickname by coincidence, as he's seen holding a giant python over his shoulders during his younger days, proving that he ended up manifesting the nickname.
3 Baby Viper
Being their firstborn child, Randy Orton always had a special relationship with his parents, especially with his father, Bob Orton. Bob Orton groomed Randy Orton in every step of his career and even worked together with him during Randy's feud against The Undertaker in 2005.
Looking at this picture that shows Bob Orton sharing a loving moment with a baby Randy Orton shows the love the former has for his son, and it's only fitting that The Legend Killer chose to follow his father's footsteps into pro wrestling.
2 The Marine
Randy Orton enlisted in the US Marines back in 1998 after graduating from high school, but he didn't have a good time with them as he got sent home with a bad conduct discharge.
Orton always showcased an insubordinate attitude in his on-screen character, and it appears to come from his real-life traits as Orton got kicked out of the marines after going AWOL on two occasions and for disobeying an order from a commanding officer.
His bad-conduct discharge became the sole reason he couldn't get the lead part in the movie The Marine, and John Cena ended up playing the part instead.
1 With Andre The Giant & Hulk Hogan
Being the son of Cowboy Bob Orton had its fair share of privileges for Randy Orton in his childhood as he got access to the backstage area, where he met many legendary performers, including Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan, as seen in the pictures above.
However, little did he know he'd become a part of the same locker room in the future and even go on to face Hulk Hogan in a one-on-one match at the 2006 SummerSlam PPV, and Randy Orton took in the aura of those legends to become the Legend Killer in WWE.
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