The internet and professional wrestling have a strange relationship. For fans, it serves as a forum for discussion, exploration, and criticism. For WWE, it’s a marketing tool to be exploited like most other businesses. Every once in a while, however, these two worlds collide and create something different.
Recently, the “RKO Out of Nowhere” meme was created, where videos of various people falling face first were combined with images of Randy Orton delivering his signature maneuver the RKO, usually accompanied with audio clips of Michael Cole yelling “RKO from out of nowhere!” At first it was just a silly joke that made wrestling fans chuckle, however it has evolved into a viral phenomenon.
It seems like a new video shows up every day, and now there are even spin off videos involving Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and JBL. Trying to dissect why these videos became so popular is wasteful of our time. They’re just funny videos that are giving people a laugh. It’s far more interesting to ask what kind of affect this meme could have on the Viper himself, Randy Orton.
We all know that WWE tries to stay current on what’s trending on social media, so it’s hard to believe that someone within the company hasn’t been made aware of these videos and how popular they’re becoming. The only question is how will WWE choose to capitalize? Usually in these situations WWE tends to just provide the viewer with a throw away gag of some sort, like the Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins “Ice Bucket Challenge” skit on Raw a few weeks ago. The difference between that meme and this one is the direct involvement of a superstar, in this case Randy Orton. So far their response was making their own Vine, playing off the embarrassing slip of The Shockmaster.
One would think that an “Out of Nowhere” T-shirt would be a no brainer (I’m actually surprised they haven’t already produced one). Perhaps even a series of comedy bits on WWE.com in which Randy Orton goes around giving the RKO to random people… out of nowhere? It could even be made an Orton catch phrase, prompting crowds to chant along and get more involved with his character.
The only issue with these ideas is Orton’s disposition. He’s a serious heel, and this meme has made lots of people smile. Reminding people of that by capitalizing on it might not be good for Randy Orton the heel, but what if WWE were to flip the script and try to transfer the meme’s popularity to Orton himself? What if they’ve already started doing this?
On Raw, the tension between Randy Orton and Mr. Money in the Bank Seth Rollins reached a fever pitch with both a verbal and physical altercation between the two. One of these two are poised for a change of heart and with Seth Rollins receiving chants of “You sold out!” at every event he attends, it only makes logical sense that the Viper be the one getting cheered in this rivalry.
It also seems entirely too coincidental that the Hell in a Cell match between Randy Orton and John Cena this Sunday will now determine the #1 contender to Brock Lesnar’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Granted, John Cena fans would love to see their hero get another chance to dethrone Brock Lesnar, but with Brock’s title defenses being few and far between, it might be a good idea to put him against some fresh talent. If Orton is the next man in line to face Lesnar, then it would be better to have him go in as someone the fans can rally behind.
This is where the meme fits in. Randy Orton has had two runs as a baby face in WWE, with both times occurring naturally and unexpectedly. First as a member of Evolution where he earned the respect of fans for his natural ability and charisma as the “Legend Killer”, despite an arrogant attitude and disrespectful disposition, then later again as the leader of his own faction Legacy, where fans decided to cheer for him instead of the chosen breakout star Ted Dibiase. In both of these cases the fans made a choice organically, without the encouragement of WWE.
Despite what you might read online, those that work within WWE are not stupid, and know how to manipulate fans to meet their own needs. Perhaps that is the reason why no one in WWE has addressed the meme publically on their shows and why we haven’t seen any merchandise or dumb skits, They want to use this meme to turn Randy Orton organically, or at the very least, make fans believe they are turning him organically.
Come Sunday, Randy Orton is guaranteed to receive a strong baby face reaction from the adult males in the audience that hate John Cena. It’s also likely that these same fans are the ones who know all about the meme. If at the conclusion of that match Randy Orton is victorious and moves into a feud with Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins, it gives the rest of the WWE Universe a reason to cheer for him too. The internet fans can parlay their love of that meme into a love for the Randy Orton character without feeling hypocritical about chanting “boring” at him for the last year, while everyone else can feel free to cheer because Orton is now fighting the bad guys, instead of acting like one.
Randy Orton is great at what he does, regardless of who he opposes in the squared circle, but one thing is for sure, this meme has swept the globe, with its popularity gaining mainstream media attention and people now playing off the gag itself. Why not use that popularity to give the Viper a boost after a less than stellar year? Let’s hope that happens and creates one of those few times when the internet and WWE come together to create something really special, out of nowhere.
Photo by WWE.com
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