"The Viper" Randy Orton has one of the best finishing moves not only in WWE but in professional wrestling. Industry legends and veterans will say the best finishing move is one you can perform to any opponent (referring to size, weight, height, etc.). The RKO checks all of those boxes and we have seen Orton's capabilities with this move for almost 20 years.
It is a beautiful maneuver to see executed, even better when witnessed at a live event. The RKO has been immortalized as a move that can be hit from "outta nowhere." Sometimes when it looks like Orton is about to be defeated in a match, he reverses his opponent's finishing move and nails an RKO.
10 The Pedigree
Less than a year after debuting on the main roster, Randy Orton was paired up with Triple H in their Evolution stable. Orton was praised and promoted by Hunter as being the future of the industry. With an endorsement like this, fans knew that sooner or later there was going to be a showdown with Triple H.
Sure enough, that time came in the summer of 2004 and so began their long history of matches. Orton has been hunched over with his arms hooked for the Pedigree many times but on some occasions has spun out of the hold with his arm still hooked to connect with an RKO in the same fluid reversal motion.
9 Shooting Star Press
The Apex Predator's RKO went viral on the July 12, 2010, edition of Raw. Orton was in the upcoming Money In The Bank Ladder match and was in encounters with his slated opponents before the pay-per-view.
Orton had just lost a match to Edge when a melee ensued involving Randy, Chris Jericho, and Evan Bourne (Matt Sydal in AEW). Orton took out Jericho with an RKO but would be stunned by a Bourne kick. Bourne then attempted his Air Bourne (shooting star press) diving splash finisher but his unprotected head was caught with an RKO inches above the ring canvas.
8 Attitude Adjustment
Randy Orton was one of John Cena's greatest career rivals and, to some, was the best. Both came up in development at the same time, both debuted on the same show in the same year and both had their fanbases. After their main roster debuts in 2002, it would not be until 2007 that they began their storied rivalry.
During their Ironman match at Bragging Rights 2009, while hooked on Cena's shoulders for the Attitude Adjustment, Orton latched onto John's neck while being thrown up and over for the slam, catching Cena with a surprise RKO on the way down. The same counter was performed on the September 13, 2010, episode of Raw in a Tables match.
7 The Spear
The finals of the 2017 Royal Rumble match came down to Randy Orton and Roman Reigns. Fans were not happy at all that Reigns was in the match, to begin with, let alone being the 30th entrant after he had an unsuccessful Universal Championship match earlier in the night.
Reigns had Randy lined up for The Spear, but just as Roman was about to make contact, Orton leaped up and dropped Reigns face-first to the mat with an RKO; stunning Roman and allowing Orton to clothesline him over the top rope to win. Orton had performed this counter to Edge years prior, but the Reigns reversal got the best crowd reaction of any Spear counter.
6 Twist Of Fate
Randy Orton was WWE Champion when Jeff Hardy was beginning his launch to singles superstardom in late 2007. Hardy became the number one contender for the title, earning a match with Orton at the 2008 Royal Rumble. On that night, he was referred to as "Jeff Harvey" by Mike Adamle of the broadcast team.
As Hardy was holding the neck of a bent-over Orton for his Twist Of Fate finisher, Randy swiftly spun himself out of the hold, spinning Hardy in the process and making both wrestlers do a 360. Before completing the spin, Orton had leaped up for an RKO and caught Jeff to perfection, all in one motion. Orton went on to do this several times to Hardy.
5 Zig Zag
Months after losing the WWE Championship in part to a Money In The Bank briefcase cash-in, Orton was seeking revenge and redemption against The Miz. Randy was booked for a shot against Miz at the 2011 Royal Rumble but along the way was scheduled for a match against Dolph Ziggler on the January 18 Raw.
Ziggler, accompanied by Vickie Guerrero, was doing all he could to wear down "The Viper." After kicking Orton in the leg, Dolph jumped up behind Orton to attempt to slam Orton down to the mat with his then-finisher The Zig Zag. While mid-air, Ziggler was suddenly in a vulnerable position for the RKO and was caught with a beautiful counter to end "The Showoff's" night.
4 The Khallas
The Khallas finisher is currently performed by Jinder Mahal and involves Mahal applying a Cobra Clutch hold on the opponent, lifting them in the air, and slamming them back down. This finisher was performed by one of Orton's old proteges, Ted DiBiase Jr., and was attempted on Orton. Randy rolled out of it before delivering an RKO.
The move began to be delivered to Orton by Mahal in 2017 as part of their WWE Championship feud. At Battleground 2017 in their Punjabi Prison match, Jinder had Orton in place for The Khallas but upon being lifted in the air for the slam, Orton used his free arm to lock Mahal's head on his shoulder to counter with an RKO mid-air.
3 Phenomenal Forearm
In early 2019, a "dream" rivalry bloomed between Randy and AJ Styles. Styles caught Orton a few times with his springboard Phenomenal Forearm finisher strike but was also getting caught mid-air like many others.
One counter involved Orton grabbing Styles' neck just as he jumped up to the top rope to springboard before jumping outwards to deliver the RKO. The other counter was Styles leaping out for the Forearm to be caught mid-air with an RKO. This may be seen as Styles performing a "flying nothing" but he motioned for the Forearm so it is seen as such.
2 Chokeslam
The first believable moment in which many fans thought The Undertaker's WrestleMania undefeated streak was going to end happened in April 2005 at WrestleMania 21. Taker faced Randy Orton in an inter-promotional match during Orton's "Legend Killer" persona.
The closest moment to Orton ending The Streak came when Taker had his hand around Randy's throat and Orton was being hoisted up for the Chokeslam; although not Taker's main finisher it is a signature move that has finished matches. While mid-air, Orton hooked Taker's neck and shifted himself into position for a perfect RKO counter.
1 The Stomp
Widely considered to be Orton's greatest RKO counter, it is also considered to be his greatest RKO ever. Occurring at WrestleMania 31 in March 2015, Orton faced off against his former Authority stablemate Seth Rollins. Rollins had made a statement months prior by delivering his Stomp to Orton, sidelining The Viper for a bit.
Nearing the end of their match, Rollins had Orton in place for The Stomp following a kick to the mid-section. As Seth jumped up and positioned his foot on Orton's neck, Randy sprung up and sent Rollins flying into the air and caught the former Architect on his way down with an RKO to end the match and send the live crowd into a frenzy.