This review was commissioned by Ri Ri over on my Ko-fi account.
With matches like this, that see an internet favorite (at least at the time) against a deeply entrenched capital S Superstar, it’s easy to chock up all the quality to the favored wrestler. That’s an argument that has followed Randy Orton basically his entire career. People remember the bouts of demotivation and that age old label of “Headlock Orton” so clearly that all his good work gets attributed to his opponents instead. Foley, Bryan, Christian—all people that have supposedly put Orton on their backs and dragged him to greatness. On paper, it seems to make sense especially if one is already predisposed to disliking Orton to begin with.
That’s why we go back to the matches to see the truth of it.
And the truth is that Orton rocks in these. He’s always been the type of wrestler to match the energy that his opponents give him, and there’s really few better in the late 2000s than Chris Benoit. Benoit was always going to come at this match with his trademark hard-nosed offense and no-nonsense demeanor. And it’s a perfect stylistic match up with Orton bringing a certain classical American TV wrestling finesse to the bout while Benoit provides texture, bringing a coarseness to the struggle that really elevates it.
It’s the combination of those two philosophies that bring out the best in this match. Take the early moments built around a real tight collar and elbow lock up leading into Orton aiming for an arm wrench and hammerlock. In a real subtle piece of character work, Orton looks like he’s fighting for his life trying to get that hammerlock. Benoit’s just so dense and solid, refusing to give him a single inch, and he’s even successful in blocking Orton from ever getting that hammerlock in place. And yet, just seconds later when Benoit grabs Orton by the wrist, he gets a hammerlock on in seconds. Just a perfect display of who these two are in the match—Orton willing enough to scrap with Benoit on his terms, making a good show of it, but being out of his depth in the end.
And that’s the key to it. Orton looks great actually grappling with Benoit and struggling against his holds, but never to the point that he allows himself to be better than Benoit. Everything is stolen. The lead-in to his main control segment establishes that perfectly. After actually getting into the thick of it with Benoit, Orton’s the first to opt for a shortcut. Going to the eyes, tugging at the tights to send Benoit into the ringpost. Orton’s also a great heel on the defense. Note that beautiful stooge bump off the top turnbuckle, making sure to catch his jaw on the barricade on the way down. Realistic and foolish all at once, a difficult needle to thread, but Orton makes it look effortless.
In smaller moments too, Orton conveys so much with so little. When Benoit’s got him in his clutches, watch how Orton tugs and grasps at the tights just to fight for a bit of leverage. It doesn’t even necessarily work out for him, and it’s subtler than the standard tights pull on a pin, but it shows how shitty and underhanded he is at basically every moment. There are some great Orton facial expressions too. The combination of relief and devilish malice when Benoit misses the headbutt, for example. Pure evil, how could you not want that man to eat shit?
Where so much of this feels like a real return to the basics, just the nitty gritty nuts and bolts stuff that I love, it is occasionally weighed down by classic WWE bullshit. Things like Benoit paying tribute to Eddie Guerrero with a fake injury aren’t too much trouble, but then the interference at the end does feel like it gets in the way of what could be more. That being said, there’s a rematch yet to come so it doesn’t feel we’re robbed of too much, especially with how great so much of this is.
Contrast and conflict make wrestling great. So while even now, conventional wisdom tells us that Chris Benoit’s philosophies bring greatness to this match, it just wouldn’t be half as good without having Orton there to push back against it. And doing it in the most dastardly ways possible.
Rating: ****1/4
