WWE Aware Randy Orton May Receive Babyface Reaction Despite Heel Turn

Randy Orton turned on Cody Rhodes on SmackDown this past Friday in a brutal attack that looked like something straight out of 2009 — but the crowd’s reaction immediately raised a complication. Rather than booing the Viper, fans in the arena cheered Orton and chanted his name as the show went off the air, signaling that the “heel turn” may not play out quite as WWE intended.

According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE is fully aware of the dynamic and is not expecting it to change by the time WrestleMania rolls around. “I still expect Randy Orton to get cheered at WrestleMania. I think everyone’s expecting it, including WWE — don’t kid yourself. But they want Randy to be the heel,” Meltzer said. He attributed the difficulty to Orton’s legendary tenure: “When you get a guy in his mid 40s and he’s been around for 25 years on top… people don’t really want to boo you because they’ve seen you for too long and they appreciate you.”

Meltzer: WWE Chose Heel Turn Over Babyface Match to Add WrestleMania Conflict

Meltzer also addressed why WWE opted for a turn rather than booking a babyface versus babyface match at WrestleMania. “I think Randy Orton is way better as a heel than he is a babyface. They wanted to put some conflict into it and they didn’t want to go in there with babyface vs. babyface. I think they could have done babyface vs. babyface first match and then done something to keep it going, but it’s WrestleMania — they wanted to get there now, so that was the angle.”

The bigger concern for WWE may be what the crowd split means for Rhodes. A portion of fans had already begun showing signs of turning against the top babyface before Orton’s attack, and if WrestleMania sees the crowd side with Orton, WWE will need a clear plan for who steps into Rhodes’ role as the company’s driving babyface going forward.