Randy Orton didn’t become a 15-time WWE world champion at Bash in Berlin on Saturday at the Uber Arena, but if there were a title for the best entrance of the day–or even of the year–The Viper would have been undisputed.
Everyone involved deserves kudos for delivering an unexpectedly awesome and memorable moment in WWE programming. You knew it was going to be special when you saw Orton was rocking the red trunks.
Look at the entrance that went viral shortly after Orton’s match against Gunther began.
Let’s break this down.
Orton is an absolute pro. His pace and presence have been off the chart for the past 15-18 years of his career. No one in professional wrestling owns their character better than Orton, and in the 22nd year of his career, he is as comfortable in his skin as anyone in the business.
All that confidence is apparent in this walkout, and it helps to make the moment special.
The lighting from the screen behind Orton and the arena illumination deliver a cinematic but video-game-like look and feel to the entrance. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. The closest thing I can recall in recent memory was The Rock’s Final Boss entrance.
While that one was also cool, it felt far more manicured and Hollywood–which isn’t bad. However, something more organic and pure pro wrestling about Orton’s made it more endearing to me.
WWE’s production team did an outstanding job with the chosen camera, which had Orton filling up the shot the closer he got to the lense. As he walked the aisle, the entrance got more intense, and this had just as much to do with the quality of the entrance as any other factor.
Last but not least, the fans in Berlin singing the lyrics to Voices in My Head was the perfect complimentary soundtrack to the walkout. It all played together perfectly, as we were all supposed to believe Orton had a chance of going over.
The moment was perfect. This sequence was art and an example of how professional wrestling and the production of the product can fall neatly into that category.
In case you’re wondering, I wasn’t the only one blown away by the work. ItsTemper also used the “p” word a lot in his description of the segment.
It’s Fade called it one of the best ever.
PW Chronicle also shouted Orton’s entrance out on X:
WrestleTalk called out the great work from Orton and WWE’s team:
With so many people impressed by the production on Orton’s entrance, let’s hope we don’t begin to see this for every episode of Raw. Some things should be special and reserved for the most regal occasions.
This entrance should be filed in the same folder as Finn Balor’s Demon makeup, Seth Rollins’ white PLE attire, and other iconic specialty treatments in WWE history.
We should only see this Orton entrance in PLEs and ahead of the matches when he captures his historic WWE championships and in his final match, whenever that happens. In case you missed it, here are the results from Bash in Berlin.
- (c) Cody Rhodes retains the WWE Championship and defeats Kevin Owens (pin).
- Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill regain the WWE Women’s Tag-Team Championship, defeating The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn).
- Strap Match: CM Punk defeats Drew McIntyre.
- Mixed Tag Match: Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley defeat “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio & Liv Morgan.
- (c) Gunther retains the World Heavyweight Championship and defeats Randy Orton (technical submission).
