 In 2001 , Orton signed a deal with the then World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) and was sent to its developmental territory , Ohio Valley Wrestling ( OVW ) in Louisville , Kentucky , where he continued his training . During his time in OVW , Orton wrestled the likes of Rico Constantino and The Prototype and teamed with Bobby Eaton during a tag team title tournament . He won the OVW Hardcore Championship on two separate occasions by defeating Mr. Black on February 14 , 2001 , and Flash Flanagan on May 5 , 2001 . On several occasions he faced Rico Constantino on combined WWFE / OVW events , and also lost to The Prototype ( John Cena ) in a tag match on July 28 in Jacksonville , IN . He also began appearing on several WWFE house shows that were unaffiliated with OVW , the first being on May 1 , 2001 when he faced Billy Gunn . After taking the mic and promising to beat Gunn , Orton was defeated . That fall he began appearing regularly on WWFE house shows and dark matches , facing Chuck Palumbo , Steven Richards , and Shawn Stasiak , but mostly wrestling in tag team matches . 
