After months of brutalizing each other following their first clash at SummerSlam, Randy Orton finally defeated Drew McIntyre, ending the Scottish Psychopath’s first reign as WWE Champion and solidifying The Viper’s 14th championship victory. The 40-year-old veteran reclaimed the title at Hell In A Cell after Orton threw McIntyre from off of the side of the cell and through the announce table, and it took one more RKO for Orton to ultimately secure the win. Many were upset at the outcome, as many were relatively happy as well, however. It has been an absolutely red hot year for Randy Orton, there is no denying that as his feud with Edge earlier in the year seemed to have lit a fire underneath Orton that the WWE Universe had not seen in quite some time. Week after week, Randy Orton was delivering masterclass promo’s leading up to his clash with Edge at WrestleMania after The Viper ruined The Rated R Superstar’s homecoming the night after the Royal Rumble. Even well after their Last Man Standing encounter, and their Backlash clash in what was dubbed the ‘Greatest Wrestling Match Ever’ by WWE, Orton was still knocking it out of the park, keeping himself relevant as well after Edge went down with a torn triceps. In any event, it seems as though there is a lot of hype surrounding Orton’s 14th WWE Championship reign, as he has a varied list of opponents in which he can lock up within the ring.
A rematch for the WWE Championship definitely seems as though it is looming in the horizon for The Chosen One, as Drew McIntyre seems hell-bent on making Orton’s life a living hell following their Hell In A Cell clash. While some may not wish to see yet another clash between the two, enter in the upcoming Champion vs Champion match at Survivor Series with Randy Orton and Roman Reigns to serve as a bit of a buffer. Make no mistake that Orton vs Reigns isn’t must-see (as Roman Reigns is another Superstar who is on an absolute tear), we can expect those two to put on an exciting matchup, as their singles encounter from SummerSlam 2014 was highly entertaining and the two performers have more than grown since.
A disqualification finish, however, seems to be the most likely outcome though come Survivor Series, as it would be slightly difficult to have a clean finish with the Reigns and Orton encounter. Neither man can afford to take a loss, especially the former as opposed to the latter as Reigns’ persona as the Tribal Chief have done him and SmackDown wonders, and it is too early in Orton’s newest reign to take the loss as well. If Drew’s ambush onto Randy on RAW was any indication, it would seem as though it’s expected that we’ll see the now-former WWE Champion interfere in the match, attacking Orton once more, or quite possibly even affording The Viper the win and causing a distraction for Reigns to capitalize. One more encounter, perhaps at TLC, is likely for Randy and Drew following Survivor Series, and should Orton pick up the win at December’s pay-per-view, there is definitely someone else waiting next in line.
Seeking to enact vengeance, The Fiend has more than made his presence known to The Viper. The two obviously have their fair share of history, as Orton aligned himself with The Wyatt Family back in late 2016, also going on to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championships with Wyatt, serving him his first championship victory on the main roster. In 2017, Randy Orton would go on to win that Royal Rumble, with Bray Wyatt winning the WWE Championship the following month at Elimination Chamber, making the allegiance between Orton and The Wyatt Family rather interesting and conflicting. Although originally refusing, Orton eventually decided to challenge Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania after burning down the Wyatt Family Compound, destroying the new pact that had been made. While said WrestleMania clash (as well as the House of Horror’s match that followed) were absolute train wreck’s the story is there for WWE to play on to provide compelling television, as The Fiend can taunt Orton for causing him pain or something of the sort for ruining his initial run with the prestigious title. The WWE Universe can expect to see a much better program between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt, this time under The Fiend persona, however, one should not expect to see the former leader of The Wyatt Family reclaim the WWE Championship so soon.
In what has been the feel-good story of 2020 still thus far, Edge made his triumphant return to a WWE ring for the first time in over 9 years at the Royal Rumble. By now, we are all well aware of how Randy Orton soured the return of the original Mr Money In The Bank, as well as their feud being cut short after Backlash due to a triceps injury suffered by Edge during the “Greatest Wrestling Match Ever,”. The rumour mill has been swirling since of Edge going on the face Randy Orton, but this time for the WWE Championship. It definitely seems as though this plan is still in place for next year’s WrestleMania, as we could see Edge go on to return at the Royal Rumble once more, this time winning the actual match and getting his revenge on his former tag team partner, which would solidify Edge’s return and wrap up quite possibly one of the most illustrious return’s in professional wrestling. While it could be argued that yet another part-timer winning WWE’s top title isn’t the best thing to do, it wouldn’t be out of the realm to actually see Edge making more appearances than previous part-time champions, as well as actually putting over up and coming or already established talent on WWE’s roster. It’ll be quite a sight to behold to witness Edge have such a fairytale-like story, as there isn’t another person more deserving than him to have that happen to, but it shall be even more interesting to see where Randy Orton’s latest championship reign goes, as the possibilities at the moment seem almost endless.