- published: 16 Jan 2015
- views: 3641
Robert Dale "Bob" Orton (July 21, 1929 – July 16, 2006) was an American professional wrestler. He was also known as Bob Orton, Sr. to distinguish him from his son, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Jr. He was also the father of former wrestler Barry O, and the grandfather of World Wrestling Entertainment Superstar Randy Orton.
His previous nickname was "The Big O" when he wrestled for the Stampede Wrestling TV series.
Also went by the moniker "Bulldog" Bob Orton due his association with and graduating from Wyandotte High School.
Bob was one of the first professional wrestlers to utilize a very dangerous finishing move called 'The Piledriver'. Bob perfected this move, and used it very skilled. One mis-step and the opponent could be paralyzed easily from being dropped straight down onto the top of their head.
Orton was a two-time holder of the Florida version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship with partner Eddie Graham in 1966. He also innovated the pedigree as he captured several other titles in various NWA territories with it, including the NWA Southern Heavyweight title and the Florida Tag Team title (with Bob Jr.) in Florida Championship Wrestling and the NWA United States Heavyweight title in Central States Wrestling. He also competed in the American Wrestling Association, where he would also gain championship success. In the WWWF he teamed with Nature Boy Buddy Rodgers.
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand. Orton is a third-generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Bob Orton, Sr., father "Cowboy" Bob Orton, and uncle Barry O all competed in the professional wrestling industry.
Before being promoted to the main World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) 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 WWF, Orton became a member of the stable Evolution, which quickly led to a WWE 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, Orton gained two WWE Championship reigns in one night. Orton formed the group The Legacy with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase in 2008, however, they would disband in 2010 with Orton returning to singles competition. Overall, Orton has won eleven total championships in WWE, including being a nine-time world champion, having won the World Heavyweight Championship three times and the WWE Championship six times. He is also the winner of the 2009 Royal Rumble match.
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name The Undertaker. He is signed to WWE and is the company's most tenured competitor. Calaway began his wrestling career with World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in 1984. He joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "Mean" Mark Callous in 1989. When WCW did not renew Calaway's contract in 1990, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation in October and, after shortening his name from Kane the Undertaker to simply The Undertaker, has remained with the company since.
The Undertaker has two contrasting personas. The first is the role of The Deadman, an undead, occult-like figure, which has consisted of many different styles. He debuted his original Deadman persona during his own on-camera debut at Survivor Series (1990). At this event, the Undertaker was clad as a Western mortician. Next, in October of 1998, the Undertaker appeared as the leader of the Ministry of Darkness (with similar apparel). Since WrestleMania XX, the Undertaker has appeared as a hybrid version of the Deadman character, using elements of the previous Deadman incarnations.