So… to sort of segueway to something that has nothing to do with me… on this day, 20 years ago, WWE Summerslam 2004, emanating from the then-Air Canada Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, saw Randy Orton defeat then-World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit to win his first World championship at the age of 24 years old, making him the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history. He beat out Brock Lesnar, who, two years previous, defeated the Rock at Summerslam 2002 to win the then-undisputed WWE Championship at the age of 25. Before that, it was a three-way tie between Rock, Yokozuna, and the Undertaker, whom each won their first WWF titles at the age of 26. Lesnar remains the youngest superstar to hold the original WWE Championship dating back to 1963, which comprises 1/2 of the current Undisputed WWE Championship, currently held by Cody Rhodes.
So a while back, Randy Orton did an interview with the Sportskeeda Wrestlebinge podcast (don’t look at me; they named the bloody thing, not me!) and when asked if there was any chance of the 20-year record being broken, Orton expressed his doubts.
“As far as someone becoming the youngest World Heavyweight Champion and taking that from me, I don’t see that happening. Only because I think it was a very special circumstance when I became the youngest World Champion. I was 24 years old, and I don’t know if there’s anyone young enough to make it to that yet.”
So, I think it’s safe to say that that record is in Randy’s bag, so to speak. I don’t think there’s anyone on the roster at the moment that young ready for a World title run… and no, NXT title doesn’t count as a world title, get the fuck out of here with that. But yeah, it’s interesting to look back on that… because there’s a little bit of context that gets overlooked. And I don’t say this as a knock on Randy because throughout all of 2004, it seemed pretty clear that Randy was going to be elevated to that level. He had that IC title run that lasted months, he had a program with Mick Foley that was pretty hot stuff, and it’s not like Randy was a guy being shoved down people’s throats or anything like that. People were getting behind Randy and they were more than ready to see him get elevated to that higher level and he seemed poised to get a major run on top.
Now, that ended up not happening. A month after he won the title, he dropped back to McSon-In-Law in a total burial of a match, he’d have a couple more rematches with McSon-In-Law that buried him even deeper and he wouldn’t even sniff a World title picture until 2007, where he’d win the WWE championship. And that whole deal is a bit of a mess in and of itself, but the context here relates to what I said earlier. Randy won the World title at 24. Two years prior, Brock Lesnar won the title at 25, making him the youngest champion. Brock Lesnar leaves WWE after Wrestlemania 20 to pursue a football career that went nowhere. There was some bad blood. So there’s a belief that Randy won the title not only because he deserved it, but also to stick it to Brock, who was the youngest champion at 25 and now that record has been shattered. And WWE has been known to do some petty things to stick it those who left the company. It’s something they’ve done time and time again. Sometimes, it’s pretty blatant and other times, it’s not so obvious.
So I toss that out there not to stir controversy. That’s just a convenient bit of context that paints things slightly astray if you were to bring that into the picture. Now, with that said, 20 years since that happened, I don’t see that happening any time soon, if at all. Randy Orton was a special circumstance, he was a special case. Got hot real fast. Fast-tracked. Whatever. He was put at that position at that age and you need someone in a similar situation and in similar circumstance to even consider putting in that position. Nowadays, your World champions in WWE skew a little older, a little more seasoned, and I don’t mind that. Your World champion should be someone with a bit of seasoning, someone who could bring a bit of prestige to that World title because that makes it a more valuable prize. After all, Triple H is of the belief that it’s not the title that makes the man, it’s the man that makes the title.
There are rare cases where someone winning the title elevates their stock – Mick Foley is one example I could think of… but most of the time, we find ourselves questioning if the guy/gal who won the title is actually worthy of it. The former Jinder Mahal is a good example of this; people were willing to give it a shot (I was one of them initially) while others felt the title took a hit being tied with a guy who, up until that point, had been presented as one step above enhancement talent. Nowadays, everyone is clamoring for someone out there to have a title run because they deserve it, never stopping to think if, maybe… just maybe… that might not be the best idea. You might think some folks might be good champions, but end up with terrible runs – either due to bad booking or due to not quite “fitting” the champion mold.
Will there be another case like a Randy Orton anytime soon? Could that long-standing two-decade record be broken with someone at a younger age achieving that milestone? Honestly, I find it highly unlikely. But if something like that were to happen, you’d have to believe that it’d be someone so special that the company would be willing to pull the trigger at that young an age. As is often the case with these things, the best way to approach things is to let it play and see where it goes.
And no, the NXT Championship doesn’t count.
dtm666 