Wednesday, JANUARY 13 - 5:12 P.M. (CT)

-It has not been a great week for former WWE Champion Randy Orton. He was visibly upset at Kofi Kingston during their match on Monday, and it could be argued that he overreacted. Basically, I don't recall ever seeing Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels, or Triple H getting that noticeably upset, so why would Orton?

Then the news came out that Orton allegedly spit gum at at a fifteen year old kid and called him a name. The kid is accusing him of assault. First things first: unless that piece of gum knocked his eye out and forced him to the ground causing a broken leg, I don't see an assault charge holding any water.

Remember, these are allegations, so I am just speculating. The big issue here is Orton and his on-going maturity issues that have plagued him throughout his career. When he made some mistakes, it was said that he was still young and would mature as time went on. Truth be told, WWE saw him as a big money, main event talent, so they were willing to put up with him. A lower card guy probably would have been let go.

So, the question is: Is Orton worth all of this? Let's face reality. In professional sports, superstar players can get away with a lot more than their inferior peers. On and off the field transgressions are forgiven and overlooked more easily with superstar players. In WWE, Orton is definitely one of those players. Should he be?

I think Orton is a solid main event guy, but he is not the elite superstar that others are and have been. He works a very basic style in the ring and is an average promo. He has been the leader of the Legacy faction, and their existence has been more of a disappointment than anything.

Let's take a look at Ted DiBiase. To me, he is a main event talent waiting to pop, but I felt that way when he debuted with his dad standing proudly behind him. So, did his association with Orton get him to where he is, or would he have achieved the spot anyway? Has Kofi Kingston benefitted from his program with Orton?

Had Orton been issue free in the past, this situation with the fan would probably be a non issue. That being said, it was probably an isolated incident and not a sign of more things to come. However, I would like to see Orton become a leader in the Raw locker room and incidents like this are not going to help him out. To answer my own question, yes, he is, unless he displays behavior like this (allegedly) in the future.

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