| Rated-RKO | |
|---|---|
 Edge (left) and Randy Orton (right) inLouisville, Kentucky, 2006 | |
| Tag team | |
| Members | Edge Randy Orton Lita (valet) |
| Name(s) | Edge and Randy Orton Rated-RKO |
| Combined billed weight | 496 pounds (225 kg) |
| Debut | October 9, 2006 |
| Disbanded | May 11, 2007 |
| Years active | 2006–2007, 2008, 2011 |
Rated-RKO was avillainousprofessional wrestlingtag team inWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) consisting ofEdge andRandy Orton, withLita as their manager for a short while. The team's name was created by combining Edge's nickname, "The Rated-R Superstar",[1] with Orton's initials, RKO, which is also the name ofhis finishing move.[2]
Edge and Orton formed an alliance in October 2006 to challenge the team ofTriple H andShawn Michaels, collectively known asD-Generation X (DX), whom Rated-RKO felt were preventing them from becoming world champions. Rated-RKO would succeed in defeating DX, giving the latter their first loss since their reunion in June 2006. The following month, Rated-RKO won theWorld Tag Team Championship. Soon after, Lita left the group due to herreal-life retirement.
In January 2007, Rated-RKO lost the World Tag Team Championship, which caused tension between the two. The group officially disbanded in May 2007, after Edge moved to theSmackDown! brand. Edge and Orton had occasional reunions until Edge's first retirement in 2011. Edge returned from a nine-year retirement at the2020 Royal Rumble, and seemingly was set to reunite Rated-RKO as he and Orton formed an alliance in the Royal Rumble match. Orton further hinted at a revival the next night onRaw, only to attack Edge afterwards.
On the October 2, 2006, episode ofRaw, interference from the newly reformedD-Generation X (DX) (Triple H andShawn Michaels)tag team cost Edge his shot at theWWE Championship held byJohn Cena in aSteel Cage match.[3] This led to Edge approaching Randy Orton and asking him to join forces with him to "get rid of DX". In his stand, Edge explained to Orton why he should join him as a tag team partner, as he cited Orton's lack of success after being kicked out ofEvolution (Orton's former group), as well as the antics of DX taking up television time that he felt should rightfully go to the younger stars.[4]
Edge and Orton, calling themselves "Rated-RKO",[5] immediately became very outspoken against DX and began mocking them at every opportunity, including a sketch reminiscent of the ones DX did about their opponents on a usual basis.[6] This led to a tag team match on November 5, 2006, atCyber Sunday with the fans choosing thespecial guest referee. At Cyber Sunday, the duo defeated DX, handing them their first team loss since they reunited whenEric Bischoff (the fan selectedreferee) allowed the use of asteel chair without calling for a disqualification.[7] Later in the night, Lita won theWomen's Championship in the finals of a seven-woman tournament.[8] The following night onRaw, Edge and Orton facedRic Flair andRoddy Piper for theWorld Tag Team Championship with Eric Bischoff as the guest referee. Rated-RKO lost the match, following help from DX.[9]
The following week onRaw however, they won the World Tag Team Championship from Flair and Piper in a rematch when they attacked Piper upon making his entrance, with Edge delivering aone man con-chair-to to Piper. As he was taken to the locker room by paramedics, Flair was forced to defend the titles by himself, and Rated-RKO won the match after Edge performed aspear on Flair.[10][11] The real reason for the sudden switch was later revealed to be Piper's diagnosis oflymphoma forcing him out of action.[12] On the November 20 episode ofRaw, Rated-RKO,Big Show andKenny lost to Triple H, Shawn Michaels, John Cena and Ric Flair.
AtSurvivor Series, Litalegitimately retired after losing the Women's Championship toMickie James and left the group in the process.[13] Later that night, Team Rated-RKO, consisting of Rated-RKO along withJohnny Nitro,Mike Knox, andGregory Helms, were swept by Team DX (DX,Jeff Hardy,Matt Hardy, andCM Punk) with Orton being the last member eliminated in aten-man elimination match.[14] The night after Survivor Series, Edge and Orton beat Ric Flair until he was bloody and continued to beat him after dragging him to the ring, knowing that DX had already left the building.[15] In doing so, D-X claimed they had made their rivalry "personal".[16] On the December 4 episode ofRaw, Rated-RKO andMNM defeated DX andThe Hardys. On the December 18 episode ofRaw, Rated-RKO andUmaga battled to a no contest against John Cena and DX after Cena and Umaga battled to the back. After the match, Edge and Orton attacked DX giving Michaels a double RKO on a steel chair and two con-chair-tos to Triple H on the announce table. AtNew Year's Revolution in January 2007, Rated-RKO retained the World Tag Team Championship after fighting with DX to a no-contest in a match that saw Triple H suffer a legitimate torn rightquadriceps muscle.[17] The next night onRaw, Rated-RKO held a victory celebration and Shawn Michaels came out to the stage to confront Edge and Orton setting up a 2-on-1 handicap match the following week.
With Triple H out of action, Rated-RKO continued their on-screen rivalry with remaining DX member Shawn Michaels. They were able to schedule a two-on-onehandicap match against Michaels, during which he was able to beat the odds and defeat both men, leaving Orton lying in the ring after a one-man con-chair-to as Edge stood and watched at ringside.[18] On the January 22 episode ofRaw, Edge defeated Michaels in a street fight with help from Orton. At theRoyal Rumble, both members of Rated-RKO made it to the final four in theRoyal Rumble match (they both were eliminated by Michaels) where The Undertaker won the match. The next night onRaw, the duo lost the World Tag Team Championship to the impromptu team of John Cena and Shawn Michaels.[19][20] On the February 15 episode ofRaw, Rated-RKO,Mr. Kennedy and MVP lost to John Cena, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker andBatista. Internal dissension continued as both men laid claim to being the number one contender to the WWE Championship,[21] and Edge walked out on Orton on the February 26 episode ofRaw during a rematch for the World Tag Team Championship due to miscommunication.[22]
The relationship strained further after both men qualified for theWrestleMania 23Money in the Bank ladder match, which would grant the winner a championship match.[citation needed] For weeks Edge influenced variousauthority figures into putting Orton in matches that would cause Orton not to succeed.[23][24][25]
On the April 16, 2007 episode ofRaw, they reunited to take on John Cena in ahandicap match but lost the match due to interference from Michaels.[26] AtBacklash, the two were involved in aFatal Four-Way match for theWWE Championship along with Michaels and Cena. Cena ended up retaining the title after pinning Orton.[27] On the April 30 episode ofRaw, Edge and Orton met in a one-on-one match. Edge won the match by pinning Orton following aspear.[28] Edge then moved to theSmackDown! brand on the May 11 episode ofSmackDown!, after cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase (which he had won fromMr. Kennedy on the May 7 episode ofRaw)[29] to win theWorld Heavyweight Championship fromThe Undertaker.[30][31] With this move, Rated-RKO was officially disbanded. DuringRaw's 15th Anniversary episode on December 10, Rated-RKO reunited for "one night only" to partake in asix-man tag team match, teaming up withUmaga to face the members of Orton's former group Evolution (Triple H, Batista, and Ric Flair). They lost the match after being disqualified.[32]
The team had a reunion on the April 21, 2008 episode ofRaw, when Orton and Edge teamed withJohn "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) andChavo Guerrero Jr. to take on John Cena, Triple H, The Undertaker, andKane in a winning effort.[33]
On the April 26, 2010, episode ofRaw, Edge cost Orton (who had turned face after feuding with his former group The Legacy) a number-one contender's match by spearing him during a triple threat match against Batista andSheamus.[34] Orton and Edge faced off atOver the Limit in May, though Orton dislocated his right shoulder and the match concluded with a double countout.[35]
On the January 28, 2011 episode ofSmackDown, Edge and Orton reunited asfan favourites in a winning effort againstDolph Ziggler andThe Miz.[36] On the February 18 episode ofSmackDown, they reunited once again and teamed up withJohn Morrison,R-Truth,Rey Mysterio Jr., and John Cena to defeat Kane, Ziggler, Sheamus,CM Punk,Drew McIntyre, andWade Barrett in a 12-man tag team match.[37] On the April 11 episode ofRaw, Edge announced his retirement due to a neck injury preventing him from being medically cleared.[38]
On January 26, 2020, at theRoyal Rumble pay-per-view,Edge returned from injury, wrestling for the first time since 2011, then reuniting withRandy Orton to eliminateThe O.C. (Luke GallowsandKarl Anderson).[39] The following night onRaw, Orton would interrupt Edge, attacking him with the RKO and then deliver a Con-Chair-To, a move Rated-RKO used in their run as a tag team, thus turning Orton heel in the process.[40] They would face each other in aLast Man Standing match atWrestleMania 36, which was won by Edge and a singles match atBacklash, which was won by Orton.Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that the match was pre-recorded on June 8, while the rest of the Backlash card aired live on June 14.[41] The pre-recorded nature of the Edge vs. Randy Orton match allowed WWE to utilize "unique production techniques and camera angles." One production technique was amplified crowd noise. WWE also used the classicMadison Square Garden microphone that was used duringWrestleMania I, with previous recordings of the lateHoward Finkel doing introductions for both wrestlers. RefereeCharles Robinson also wore a classic light blue ref shirt with black bowtie.[42]WWE then billed the match as "The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever."[43]
The next year, atRoyal Rumble, they participated in theRoyal Rumble match as the first two entrants, with Edge entering at #1 and Orton entering at #2. Both would last until the final two where Edge eliminated Orton to win the match.[44] Edge defeated Orton on the February 1 episode of Raw to end their year-long feud.[45]
They [Edge and Randy Orton] bemoaned their misfortunes last week and said this week things would be different. Orton said they were Rated Rko and the two biggest superstars the business has ever seen.