By Cordillia Marvine
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American professional wrestler. As of 2000, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, and has the tied-third most world championship reigns in history, with a career spanning over 20 years.
Orton is a third-generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Bob Orton, father Bob Orton Jr., and uncle Barry Orton were all wrestlers. Before being signed by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), he trained in and wrestled for the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Association and Southern Illinois Conference Wrestling. He was then signed by the WWF and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he held the OVW Hardcore Championship twice. He became a member of the stable Evolution shortly after his WWE debut, which quickly led to an Intercontinental Championship reign, his first championship with the company. He also acquired the moniker “The Legend Killer” during a storyline where he began disrespecting and then physically attacking WWE Hall of Famers and wrestling veterans.
At the age of 24, Orton became the youngest world champion in WWE history after he won the World Heavyweight Championship. With this win, he was kicked from Evolution and a feud with his former stablemates began. In 2006, Orton joined forces with Edge in a tag team known as Rated-RKO. Together, they held the World Tag Team Championship. After Rated-RKO disbanded in mid-2007, Orton gained two WWE Championship reigns in one night, becoming the second youngest two-time WWE Champion at the age of 27. In 2008, he formed The Legacy with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr., and served as its leader until the group’s disbandment in 2010. Orton was the winner of the 2013 Money in the Bank ladder match, and after successfully cashing his contract in, he aligned with The Authority until 2015, during which he was named the “face of the WWE”. In 2016, he joined The Wyatt Family, winning the SmackDown Tag Team Championship with Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper before turning on them in 2017. He won his first United States Championship in 2018, becoming the 18th overall Grand Slam Champion after already having been the 17th Triple Crown Champion.
Orton’s rivalry with John Cena is one of the longest rivalries in WWE history and ranked among its greatest. Orton has held the WWE Championship 10 times and WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship four times. He was the final holder of the World Heavyweight Championship, which he unified with the WWE Championship to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in 2013. Orton is recognized by WWE as having the third-most world championship victories in history at 14, behind John Cena and Ric Flair (both 16) and tied with Triple H (also 14). All totaled, he has won 20 championships in WWE.
Orton is also a two-time Royal Rumble match winner (2009 and 2017) and has headlined multiple WWE pay-per-view events, including WrestleMania 25 and WrestleMania XXX. Following his match at the 2021 Survivor Series, he broke Kane‘s record for wrestling the most PPV matches in WWE history.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
April comes from the Latin word aperio, meaning “to open or bud,” because plants begin to grow this month. Enjoy the Almanac’s article all about April!
The term “All Fools,” was probably meant as a deliberate stab at All Saints (November 1) and All Souls (November 2) Day.
Although the origin of playing practical jokes and pranks on this day is hazy, many folklorists believe it may go back to 16th-century France. At that time, New Year’s Day was March 25, with a full week of partying and exchanging gifts until April 1. In 1582, the Gregorian calendar moved New Year’s Day to January 1. Those who forgot or refused to honor the new calendar were teasingly called, “April Fool!”
Weather folklore states, “If it thunders on All Fools Day, it brings good crops of corn and hay.”
See our full article on the humor and history of April Fools’ Day!
Question of the Day
Is there a “green flash” in the Caribbean at sunset? I have heard of it but never seen it.
On rare occasions, the Sun may look bright green for a moment as its last tip is setting. This green flash is caused by the greater refraction of the green wave band; the red rays of light are hidden below the horizon, and the blue and violet are scattered in the atmosphere. The flash is best seen when the air is cloudless and the horizon is well-defined, as on an ocean.
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Edwin Austin Abbey (illustrator) –
- Sergei Rachmaninoff (Russian composer ) –
- Gordon Jump (actor) –
- Debbie Reynolds (actress) –
- Randy Orton (professional wrestler) –
- Courtney McCool (gymnast) –
Died
- Scott Joplin (ragtime musician & composer) –
- Marvin Gaye (singer) –
- Martha Graham (dancer & choreographer) –
- John Forsythe (actor) –
- Misao Okawa (Japanese woman who was recognized as the world’s oldest person at the time. She was born on March 5, 1898, and died at age 117.) –
- Dan Robbins (artist who created paint-by-numbers pictures) –
Events
- In Ohio, the Cincinnati Fire Department became the first full-time, salaried fire department in the U.S. –
- The U.S. invasion of Okinawa began (WW II) –
- The United States Air Force Academy is established –
- The satellite Tiros I was launched from Cape Canaveral and eventually transmitted thousands of photographs showing the distribution of Earth’s cloud formations –
- Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and Ronald Wayne founded Apple Computer, Inc. –
- Nunavut territory created –
- The Netherlands legalized euthanasia –
- French acrobat Willy Martignon broke the world record for longest-distance somersaulting slam dunk –
Weather
- April Fool’s Day Blizzard in the Dakotas, heavy drifting snow –
- Houston, Texas, got its first natural waterspout as an April Fools Day joke from Mother Nature, when a high-velocity tornado hit the downtown area and broke into the water table. –
- April Fool’s cold, -34 degrees F in Bergland, Michigan, and 16 degrees F in Georgia –
- 27 degrees F, Atlanta, Georgia –
- Blizzard left 37 inches of snow in East Jewett, New York –
COURTESY www.almanac.com
