Jim Cornette Doubted Randy Orton Would Be A Star

TheSportster

By Alex Hoegler

Published Nov 4, 2017

Jim Cornette is one of the most-respected minds in the business, but he wasn't sold on Randy Orton from the beginning.

Despite his accolades, it appears Randy Orton had some detractors when he was breaking into the business. Third-generation superstar Randy Orton has undoubtedly been one of the most decorated and accomplished wrestlers over the past 15 years. Since joining the WWE in 2002, The Viper won four World Heavyweight Championships, nine WWE Championships and two Royal Rumbles among other accomplishments.

Orton also headlined a number of major pay-per-view events in the past including a pair of WrestleMania events. It's safe to say that Orton proved any doubters wrong—but were there any to begin with? After all, his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton is a Hall of Famer, so who'd question Randy's ability to perform in the WWE?

Actually, wrestling icon Jim Cornette was one of those men. Cornette recently appeared on Chris Jericho's Talk Is Jericho podcast to explain his early doubts about The Legend Killer.

Here is what Cornette had to say, in part, about his early skeptics on Orton.

“I don’t think originally he was into the business as much as he should have, but he had it in his genes...He didn’t know that the microphone on the desk was on because Danny [Davis] was recording on video the class that was going on in the ring. He turned the microphone on and Randy said that he only here for the damn $750 a week. Danny loved that; he brought him in the next day in his office when he had all his equipment and he played what Randy had said, but he’s made more money since.”

Orton has been able to live up to the family legacy just fine. Though not all second or third-generation superstars live up to the family name (see Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes), Randy Orton may go down as arguably the biggest in his family.

After beginning his career as a staple of the Evolution faction, Orton has emerged as one of the top wrestlers in the post-Attitude Era. He's faced many of the elite stars and has been a face of the company for quite some time.

Orton has proven his ability to face many of the top performers and has won many championships in the WWE for a reason. He simply knows what the business is about, and he's capable of putting on a great match at any time. Good thing Cornette's early doubts about The Legend Killer were wrong, otherwise we'd be devoid of one mega superstar.