The Legacy

The Legacy
Cody Rhodes (left), Randy Orton (center) and Ted DiBiase, Jr. (right)
Stable
Members	Randy Orton Cody Rhodes Ted DiBiase
Name(s)	The Legacy Randy Orton & The Legacy
Debut	January 12, 2009[1]
Promotions	WWE

The Legacy is a villainous alliance in the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), that competes on its Raw brand. The group is led by Randy Orton and contains the tag team of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase. Two other wrestlers, Manu and Sim Snuka, were affiliated with the faction prior to its official formation. The concept behind the group is that each member is a multi-generational wrestler. The name The Legacy is a reference to their extensive family histories in wrestling.

In June 2008, Rhodes and DiBiase first formed an alliance after winning the World Tag Team Championship at Night of Champions, when Rhodes betrayed his original partner, Hardcore Holly, to align with DiBiase. Soon after, the pair tried to earn Orton's respect, which they eventually did. Together, the team helped Orton win the 2009 Royal Rumble match, giving Orton an opportunity to main event at WrestleMania XXV. The team also wrestled together in a tag team match to win the WWE Championship for Orton at Backlash.

Concept

The concept behind the group is that each member is a multi-generational wrestler. The name of the faction, The Legacy, refers to their extensive family histories in wrestling.^[2] Randy Orton's father (Bob Orton, Jr.), uncle (Barry Orton) and grandfather (Bob Orton, Sr.) were all professional wrestlers. Ted DiBiase, meanwhile, takes his name from his father, (Ted DiBiase) who wrestled before him along with both his grandparents (adoptive grandfather, Mike DiBiase and grandmother Helen Hild).^[3][4] Cody Rhodes is only a second generation wrestler, taking after his father (Dusty Rhodes), but also had two uncles (Jerry Sags and Fred Ottman) precede him in the business.^[5] Due to their status as second or third generation wrestlers, all the members of The Legacy believe themselves to be superior to the other wrestlers in WWE, in storyline.^[6]

In an interview, Orton said the point of The Legacy was to create "future opponents" for himself and the others who would be wrestling in main events in WWE over the next decade.^[7] The Legacy has been compared to the former WWE faction Evolution of which Orton was a member, but Rhodes and DiBiase have said that they see the comparison as an opportunity to prove themselves and show their potential.^[8]

History

Formation (2008)

Cody Rhodes was a World Tag Team Champion throughout the beginning of 2008 alongside Hardcore Holly, who was acting as a mentor to him.^[9] Ted DiBiase made his first WWE appearance on the May 26 episode of Raw, in which he claimed that he and a mystery partner would take the World Tag Team Championship from Rhodes and Holly.^[10] At the Night of Champions pay-per-view event in June, DiBiase revealed his partner was running late and started the match without him, however Rhodes quickly betrayed Holly by attacking him. This turned Rhodes into a villainous character and meant that he and DiBiase won the championship.^[11]

DiBiase and Rhodes as World Tag Team Champions

In September, Randy Orton, who at the time was injured, made an appearance on Raw, where he criticized all the champions, mocking Rhodes and DiBiase for allowing their title belts to be stolen by Cryme Tyme (Shad Gaspard and JTG).^[12] The two responded by assaulting Cryme Tyme and introducing Manu (son of Afa the Wild Samoan) as their new member at Unforgiven.^[12][13] This did little to impress Orton, though later that evening the trio would assault World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, allowing Orton to punt him in the head. This physical removal of Punk from his championship match, did gain Orton's respect.^[13]

When Orton was well enough to wrestle, Punk demanded a match with him, which he won via disqualification when DiBiase interfered. As a result, Orton punted DiBiase in the head, putting him out of action; this storyline was put in place in order for DiBiase to take time off to film The Marine 2.^[14][15] Orton then invited Rhodes and Manu to form a group with him called The Legacy, and used them to help in his rivalry with Batista leading to a three-on-two handicap match where Batista was put out of action for four months.^[16][17] After Sim Snuka, the son of Jimmy Snuka, also expressed interest in joining the group, Orton made them qualify through a series of tests which Manu failed the first week.^[18] On the January 5 episode of Raw, Snuka and Rhodes won a tag team match against Cryme Tyme. Before the match, Orton informed them that they had to win the match in order to be part of the group. After the match, Orton explained that since Snuka did not pick up the pinfall, he was out of the group.^[19] The following week, Manu and Snuka informed Rhodes that they were intending to assault Orton and had brought someone to help them do so, giving Rhodes an ultimatum to choose a side. When Rhodes refused to side with them, Manu and Snuka brought out a returning Ted DiBiase to aid them, and tried to assault Rhodes and Orton. Instead, however, DiBiase joined The Legacy, attacking Manu and Snuka, and forgiving Orton for attacking him.^[1]

Feud with the McMahon family (2009)

Randy Orton after winning the 2009 Royal Rumble match

With The Legacy finally formed, Manu and Snuka still wanted revenge on Orton. Fearing they would try to convince Raw General Manager Stephanie McMahon to fire him, Orton went to speak to her himself but their conversation ended in an argument. When Mr McMahon, Stephanie's father, made his return that night Orton maintained he was owed an apology. His brashness angered McMahon who responded by trying to fire Orton, but before he could finish his sentence Orton slapped McMahon and gave him a running punt which left him hospitalized in the storyline.^[20] During the 30-man Royal Rumble match that Sunday the group worked as a team, making them three of the last four contestants in the ring with Triple H as the other. Ultimately, in throwing out Rhodes and DiBiase, Triple H was distracted enough to allow Orton to throw him over the top rope and win the match.^[21] The next evening on Raw, The Legacy came to the ring accompanied by lawyers and doctors, with Orton explaining his outburst against Mr McMahon was a result of intermittent explosive disorder (IED) and threatened to sue the company and cancel WrestleMania XXV if he was fired, as winning the Rumble guaranteed him a championship match at WrestleMania. Instead he was booked for a no holds barred match with Mr McMahon's son, Shane, at No Way Out in February, which Orton won.^[22][23] The night after the event, they fought again until Orton punted Shane unconscious. Stephanie McMahon came to the ring to oversee her brother being carried away by the paramedics and shouted at Orton until he performed an RKO, his finishing move, to her. Triple H ran to the ring and chased away the group, standing over the body of Stephanie McMahon.^[24]

In an interview on SmackDown that week, Triple H revealed his real life marriage to Stephanie (even though they had divorced on-screen in 2002 prior to their actual marriage).^[25] Originally, Orton announced he did not have intentions of facing Triple H, who at the time was the WWE Champion, but instead planned to face the World Heavyweight Champion. Triple H, however, goaded Orton into "avenging" his first World Championship loss and ousting from their previous stable, Evolution, and Orton changed his mind, leading to their match being booked for WrestleMania XXV.^[26] Orton revealed that he had targeted the McMahon family in order to avenge his unceremonious departure from Evolution in 2004. Due to the intensity of the rivalry, the decision was made that the WWE Championship could change hands at WrestleMania due to a countout or disqualification; despite this, Triple H won the match after hitting Orton with a sledgehammer while the referee was knocked down.^[27]

The night after WrestleMania, Orton demanded a rematch, threatening Linda McMahon, Mr McMahon's wife, as well as their grandchildren. McMahon did not grant him the rematch but scheduled a six-man tag team match for the pay-per-view Backlash between Triple H, Shane and Mr McMahon and The Legacy, with a preview that evening between Mr McMahon and Orton. However, Raw's General Manager at that time, Vickie Guerrero, made their six-man tag team match a WWE Championship match. The stipulation was that if Triple H's team won, he retained the championship, while if The Legacy won, Orton would win the title. As the singles match progressed, Shane and Triple H came to Mr McMahon's aid, causing both Rhodes and DiBiase to interfere until a returning Batista appeared and cleared the ring; McMahon then announced that Batista was to replace him in the match at Backlash.^[28] At the event, Orton won by pinning Triple H after an RKO and a running punt, leaving Triple H hospitalized according to the storyline.^[29] In spite of Triple H's absence, Shane McMahon continued his feud with the group, leading to another match between him and Orton on Raw. After the original match ended in a no contest due to interference, Rhodes and DiBiase won singles matches to be entered into a handicap match with all of The Legacy facing Shane later that night. This match was used to write him out of the storyline, as The Legacy members used the steel ring steps to shatter his ankle.^[30]

Orton as WWE Champion (2009)

Orton won the WWE Championship three times over 2009.

Batista was left on his own as a result of The Legacy attacking Shane McMahon, but continued to challenge Orton for the WWE Championship. Orton and Batista had a match at Judgment Day, but it ended with Orton intentionally slapping the referee to cause a disqualification, which meant that the championship did not change hands.^[31] In their rematch, however, which was held inside a steel cage at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, Batista won the championship.^[32]

The following night on Raw, during Batista's celebratory speech, The Legacy attacked Batista, and injured him in storyline. This storyline was used to cover a real injury Batista had sustained.^[33] Orton's rematch that night, intended to be used despite Batista's absence, went awry when Triple H returned, resulting in the match being declared a no contest.^[34] The following week, a match was held to determine the new WWE Champion between Orton, Triple H, John Cena and The Big Show, which Orton won.^[35] At The Bash pay-per-view, signs of dissention between DiBiase and Orton appeared when DiBiase argued with Orton backstage. Despite this, DiBiase and Rhodes both helped Orton retain his WWE Championship later that night against Triple H.^[36] This tension was later expanded upon when DiBiase's father booked Orton and DiBiase in a match on Raw while he was in charge; Orton won the match but the team showed solidarity later in the same evening by interfering in a WWE Championship contender match between Triple H and Cena, leading to it being ruled a no contest. This made the subsequent match at Night of Champions a triple threat contest.^[37]

After Orton retained the championship the team worked together again to prevent Triple H from receiving a rematch against Orton by slowing his Beat The Clock Challenge match, so that he did not have the fastest time and did not receive a championship match.^[38] As a result, Triple H refocused his attention on Rhodes and DiBiase, losing to them in a handicap match, and reforming D-Generation X (DX) with Shawn Michaels.^[39] Rhodes and DiBiase faced DX at SummerSlam, but lost the match, although they later defeated DX in a Submissions Count Anywhere match at the Breaking Point pay-per-view, becoming the first tag team to make DX submit. Also at SummerSlam a fan interfered in a match between Randy Orton and John Cena to help Orton retain his WWE Championship by attacking the referee in the match. The next night DiBiase appeared on Raw and was revealed as the fan in a backstage segment with The Legacy. He was then sent back to FCW.^[40][41] Also at Breaking Point, Orton lost the WWE Championship to John Cena in an "I Quit" match.^[41] DX later defeated DiBiase and Rhodes in a Hell in a Cell match at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, while Orton won the WWE Championship from John Cena in a Hell in a Cell match on the same night.^[42] At Bragging Rights, Orton lost the championship back to Cena in a 60 minute Iron Man match.^[43]

In wrestling

• Orton's finishing moves
  • RKO^[3] (Jumping cutter)
  • Running punt to an opponent's head^[44]

• Rhodes' finishing moves
  • Cross Rhodes^[45] (Spinning facebuster)^[46]
  • The Silver Spoon DDT^[47] (DDT)^[48]

• DiBiase's finishing moves
  • Cobra clutch legsweep^[49]
  • Dream Street (Cobra clutch slam)^[50]
  • Million Dollar Dream^[51] (Cobra clutch)

• Entrance themes
  • "Voices" by Rich Luzzi^[52]
  • "Priceless (remix)" by Jim Johnston (January 2009–May 2009; Rhodes and DiBiase)^[53]
  • "It's a New Day" by Adelitas Way (2009–present; Rhodes and DiBiase)^[54][55]

Championships and accomplishments

• World Wrestling Entertainment
  • WWE Championship (3 times) – Orton^[29]
  • Royal Rumble (2009) – Orton^[21]

References

External links

Professional wrestling portal

• Randy Orton's WWE profile
• Cody Rhodes' WWE profile
• Ted DiBiase's WWE profile