Orton is the hottest heel in the company. Maybe not the best one (that honor falls to Jericho and Edge), but when Paul Heyman declare this "The Golden Age Of Heels," Orton is the centerpiece. The WWE is going all out to make Orton the most hated man in the universe. So far they've done a good job building it up. A few hits (the initial punking out of Stephanie), a few misses (the overdone home invasion), and one grand flipping slam that made it feel like a Mania match: This past Monday's angle with Orton kissing an KO'd Steph. I think these two will put on a very good match, maybe with McMahon cameos, but, my God, if they don't put the belt on Orton then they truly have lost their minds. As we discussed when UGO axed me, HHH is at that HBK and Flair point, where he doesn't need a title to be over, so he has to take it for the team and put Orton over.
And HHH, to his credit, I think realizes this and does have a history of putting people over at Mania. If the WWE truly wants to make Orton the biggest heel on the planet, then he has to win. He must. It's what's best for the future of our great sport. They just need to be careful that they don't make Orton such a bad ass that they turn him face...