[1] Orton is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time,[4][5][6][7] and has the tied-third most world championship reigns in history, with a career spanning over 20 years.

[10] On several occasions he faced Rico Constantino on combined WWF/OVW events, and also lost to The Prototype (John Cena) in a tag match on July 28 in Jacksonville, Indiana.

[citation needed] A month later, Orton lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Triple H at Unforgiven on September 12 after interference from Flair, Batista, and Jonathan Coachman.

[51] Seeking revenge, Orton lashed out at his former Evolution members, catching them by surprise during a show by giving them a large cake as a make-up gift, which he came out of nowhere to beat and humiliate the group.

[62] In the weeks preceding No Way Out, Orton made controversial remarks about Eddie Guerrero, Mysterio's friend who had died a few months previously, in an attempt to gain villain heat.

[68] Orton returned from his suspension in June to the Raw brand,[citation needed] where he entered a rivalry with Angle, culminating in matches at ECW One Night Stand (which he lost) and Vengeance (which he won) before engaging in a storyline feud with Hulk Hogan.

On the April 9 episode of Raw, Orton and Michaels wrestled to a no contest in a number one contender's match for the WWE Championship after both men's shoulders were down during the pinfall.

[92] The next month at Backlash, Orton lost the title to Triple H in a fatal four-way elimination match, also including Cena and John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL).

[98] They achieved this at Unforgiven when, with new stablemate Manu, they assaulted World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, forcing him to vacate his title before his scheduled defense that night.

[101][citation needed] The stable, called "The Legacy", debuted the next week, defeating Batista and Triple H, Orton's former Evolution stablemates, in a three-on-two handicap match.

The following week, Orton defended the WWE Championship against Triple H in a Last Man Standing match, which ended in a no-contest after both men failed to answer the referee's ten count.

[111] Orton won a triple threat match on January 11, 2010, episode of Raw, with help from Rhodes and DiBiase, for the right to challenge Sheamus at the Royal Rumble for the WWE Championship.

[123][124] However, on the November 22 episode of Raw, after Orton defeated Barrett again in a title match, he lost the championship against The Miz when he cashed his Money in the Bank contract.

[160] He participated in a fatal four-way match at Over the Limit for the World Heavyweight Championship, where Orton failed to win after Sheamus pinned Chris Jericho to retain the title.

[182][183] On the June 14 SmackDown, Orton teamed with Bryan and Kane to end the Shield's unpinned and unsubmitted streak in televised six-man tag matches.

[195] Orton and Bryan faced off for the vacant title on October 6 at Battleground, but the match ended in a no contest after Big Show interfered and knocked out both men.

[196] Orton once again challenged Bryan for the vacant championship at Hell in a Cell, where he was successful in regaining the WWE Championship after the special guest referee Shawn Michaels hit Bryan with Sweet Chin Music for attacking Triple H.[197] On November 24 at Survivor Series, after retaining the title against Big Show, Orton was confronted by World Heavyweight Champion and long-time rival John Cena.

[200] On February 23 at Elimination Chamber, Orton defeated Cesaro, Christian, Daniel Bryan, John Cena, and Sheamus to retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship and secure his position in the title bout at WrestleMania XXX against Royal Rumble winner Batista.

[206][207] On the June 9 episode of Raw, The Authority automatically granted Orton a spot in the 2014 Money in the Bank ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but he failed to win.

[208] On the October 13 episode of Raw, Orton asked The Authority to face the loser of a No Holds Barred Contract on a Pole match between John Cena and Dean Ambrose.

After a three-month hiatus, Orton returned at Fastlane on February 22, 2015, by saving Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback from a post-match beatdown of Rollins, Big Show and Kane.

[270] On the October 9 episode of SmackDown Live, Orton defeated a returning Big Show to qualify for the WWE World Cup at Crown Jewel.

[291] Three weeks before his title loss, on October 26, 2020, Orton started a feud with Bray Wyatt, now under his new gimmick, The Fiend, as well with his partner Alexa Bliss.

[303] On the November 20, 2023, episode of Raw, after an 18-month hiatus, it was revealed that Orton would be making his return at Survivor Series: WarGames on November 25 as the fifth member of Cody Rhodes' team (which also included Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, and Seth "Freakin" Rollins) in the WarGames match against Drew McIntyre and The Judgment Day (Damian Priest, Finn Bálor, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, and JD McDonagh).

At Royal Rumble, on January 27, 2024, Orton failed to capture the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship from Roman Reigns in a fatal four-way match also involving AJ Styles and LA Knight.

[312] At the event on May 4, Orton and Owens lost to Sikoa and Tonga in a Tag Team Street Fight after interference from Tanga Loa, Tama's younger brother (who returned to WWE after ten years, when he previously performed as "Camacho").

[316] At Money in the Bank on July 6, Orton, Owens and Cody Rhodes lost to the Bloodline's Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga and the debuting Jacob Fatu in a six-man tag team match after interference from Tanga Loa.

He had a guest role as James Richards, a former Navy SEAL and leader of a militia group, in a December 2016 episode of the USA action series Shooter.

[347] Orton suffers from hypermobility in both of his shoulders, which has been the cause of nearly all of his most notable injuries throughout his career, sidelining him through incidents ranging from performing one of his signature taunts during a match to innocuous things such as taking out the trash at home.

The article mentioned several current and former WWE wrestlers, including Orton, who was alleged to have obtained nandrolone, oxandrolone, stanozolol, and testosterone, as well as ancillary drugs anastrozole and clomiphene citrate.