The Complete History of the WWE Championship - Part 13

The Era of Orton began on October 7, 2007
The Era of Orton began on October 7, 2007

Randy Orton (October 7, 2007 - October 7, 2007)

Randy Orton: Awarded, then lost, then won the WWE Championship at No Mercy 2007
Randy Orton: Awarded, then lost, then won the WWE Championship at No Mercy 2007

John Cena's record-breaking 380 day WWE Championship reign was succeeded by one of the shortest title runs in history.

Cena and Randy Orton had been embroiled in an intense and deeply personal feud which had exacerbated when RKO had violently assaulted Cena's father.

Meet John Cena's dad HERE

However, when injury struck, their title collision scheduled for No Mercy 2007 was scrapped.

Ahead of the show, WWE had not announced what would happen with the WWE Championship. However, moments into the pay per view it soon became clear.

Vince McMahon awarded Orton the vacant title, beginning RKO's first WWE Championship reign (and second World title run overall).

However, Orton's reign would end exactly the same way as his first. In defeat, to Triple H.

"The Game" immediately challenged Orton and, after baiting McMahon, earned a title bout right then and there.

After a back and forth 10-minute battle, Triple H pinned Orton to end the "Viper's" first WWE Championship reign.

It was an unforgettable moment to be sure but was a tad unfortunate for Orton, who had failed to wrest the belt from Cena in his two previous pay per view title matches and had lost in his first defense versus "The Game" without even winning the belt first.

Fortunately for Orton, however, his night was not over.

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Edited by Kevin Christopher Sullivan
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