Randal "Randy" Keith Orton[6][7] (born on April 1, 1980)[3] is an American professional wrestler signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He is wrestling on its Raw brand, but is currently appearing in a non-wrestling capacity due to a broken collarbone. Orton is a third-generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Bob Orton, Sr., father "Cowboy" Bob Orton (Robert Orton, Jr.), as well as his uncle Barry O (Randal Orton), all competed in the professional wrestling industry.[2][8]

 

Before being promoted to the main 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). There, Orton became OVW Hardcore Champion on two separate occasions.[9]

 

After signing with WWE, Orton became a member of the stable Evolution, which quickly led to his capture of the WWE Intercontinental Championship, his first title with the company.[10] Orton also acquired the moniker "Legend Killer" during a storyline where he began disrespecting Hall of Famers and physically attacking veterans of professional wrestling outside of appropriate restrictions.[1] In 2004, Orton became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion, when he won the title at the age of twenty-four.[11] His title win resulted in his departure from Evolution and feud with his former stablemates. In 2006, Orton joined forces with Edge (Adam Copeland) in a tag team known as Rated-RKO. As a team, Orton and Edge held the World Tag Team Championship.[12] After the team disbanded, Orton, during the fall of 2007, won the WWE Championship twice in one night.[13]

 

Orton was born on April 1, 1980 in Knoxville, Tennessee.[2][3] Son to Elaine and "Cowboy" Bob Orton,[14] he is the eldest of two siblings—Becky and Nathan.[15] Knowing from experience the hardships of life as a professional wrestler, Orton's parents tried to convince him to stay away from wrestling,[2] and his father warned him that life in the ring meant a life on the road, away from family.[1] Orton attended Hazelwood Central High School, where he was an amateur wrestler.[1][2] After graduating from Hazelwood in 1998,[7] Orton enlisted with the United States Marine Corps. There, he was dishonorably discharged a year later, after going UA on two separate occasions and disobeying an order from a commanding officer.[16] Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Private First Class Orton was tried and convicted under a special court-martial and was put into a military prison at Camp Pendleton in California for thirty-eight days.[14][16] He had a tattoo on his left arm which read "USMC" for the United States Marine Corps but covered it up after being discharged.[16]

 

Orton first made his professional wrestling debut in 2000 with Mid-Missouri Wrestling Association-Southern Illinois Conference Wrestling (MMWA-SICW) in St. Louis, Missouri, an organization that was an off-shoot of the old St. Louis Wrestling Club headed by Sam Muchnick.[5] There, he was trained by both the promotion and his father, Cowboy Bob Orton.[14] During this time, Orton performed in matches with wrestlers such as Ace Strange and Mark Bland.[5][17] He worked at MMWA-SICW for a month.[17] Orton then refereed a few matches with World Organized Wrestling, a promotion where his uncle Barry Orton worked.[4] In 2001, Orton signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was sent to their farm territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in Louisville, Kentucky, where he continued his training. During his time in OVW, Orton wrestled the likes of Rico Constantino and The Prototype (John Cena) and teamed with Bobby Eaton during a tag team title tournament. He won the OVW Hardcore Champion on two separate occasions by defeating Mr. Black on February 14, 2001 and Flash Flanagan on May 5, 2001.[9]