Snake In The Grass- A Randy Orton Tale
What will Randy do when he returns at Survivor Series?
The WWE Universe has not seen Randal Keith Orton since May 20th, 2022 on an episode of Smackdown. He was on the receiving end of a Bloodline beatdown (remember this fact) and lost the chance to become Unified Tag Team Champions with then tag team partner Matt Riddle. Little did we, the fans, know that Orton had a legitimate back injury and required surgery. The “dirt sheets” reported many a time that Orton would be coming back at certain shows over these past 18 months, and each time, much to our sadness or annoyance, we failed to see the Apex Predator.
Now, after months of anticipation, we have a clear cut time frame for Orton to return- Survivor Series. He is set to be a part of Team Cody in the Men’s WarGames Match. His team members are quite a few people he has history with, some more than others: Cody Rhodes, Seth “Freakin” Rollins, Sami Zayn and Jey Uso.
Let’s start with the man who called in the favor for a fifth member for his team: Cody Rhodes.
Rhodes, when describing who the mystery man was going to be, used quite a few hints to let the crowd know who it was going to be. “Someone I have a Legacy with” “An Apex Predator” As the fans chanted “Randy!” Rhodes simply responded with “The fans are right” to his opponents on the outside.
Starting with Legacy, Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. created the group of wrestling legacies (see what they did there) and wanted the attention of Orton, a fellow legacy. After a few other members (Manu & Sim Snuka), and a punt to the skull, the trio of Rhodes, DiBiase and Orton was complete. This treacherous trio helped each other make their way to the top of Monday Night Raw during 2009-2010 with championships all around. But, when in a group with Orton, things tend to descend into chaos; in this case it led to a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 26 between the trio. The last time we saw Orton and Rhodes in a ring together however, things were good. They even teamed together and won the match on Orton’s 20th wrestling anniversary.
Moving on, we have Seth “Freakin Rollins”. 2014 was one hell of a year for these 2 men. They went from being parts of one of the best tag team (or stable) feuds, which was Evolution (Orton, Triple H and Batista ) vs The Shield (Rollins, Roman Reigns and Jon Moxely, fka Dean Ambrose) to being a part of the same evil supergroup: The Authority. Fans remember the night Rollins stabbed his brothers in the back, as a part of Triple H’s “Plan B”, much too clearly. No one saw it coming. But Rollins and Orton could only co-exist for a few months before tensions started growing. Rollins attacked Orton first, and when he got the chance, Orton struck back.
After Orton left The Authority for good, the 2 did not meet face to face too many times. One of the last moments the pair had together was at Orton’s 20th anniversary celebration. Rollins was telling Orton not to trust Rhodes and how he was going to inspire the next generation, not Orton. Well if you scroll a little bit up, you see Rhodes and Orton were on the winning side of a 8-man tag team match, take a guess who was on the losing side- Rollins.
Next up, we have the Underdog from The Underground- Sami Zayn. Now these 2 men do not have as much history together as Orton does with the other men. Doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it right? Who doesn’t like a little backstory?
Anyways, Zayn and Orton never really interacted with each other until 2017. Zayn and his buddy, Kevin Owens were causing mayhem on Smackdown during this time. During their little tirade, they found themselves facing the Viper. Zayn lost a match against Orton to be on Team Smackdown for Survivor Series (interesting huh?). Zayn didn’t like that too much so he and Owens, who were in a feud with Shane MchMahon, attacked McMahon during said Survivor Series match and ended up getting beat with steel chairs and RKOs. The final face-off for Zayn and Orton was in a tag team match at Clash Of Champions. Zayn teamed with Owens, Orton teamed with Shinsuke Nakamura. Due to some shenanigans from both McMahon and Bryan Danielson, fka Daniel Bryan, Zayn and Owens walked away with the victory.
Finally, we have Main Event Jey Uso- or the man that helped put Orton on the shelf. These men have a small past together, but the ramifications of it are the main reason for this article. In 2021, both the Usos (Jimmy and Jey) and RKBro (Orton and Riddle) were tag team champions: Usos- Smackdown, RKBro- Raw. Back when there was a more solid brand split, the brands would compete at Survivor Series against each other, usually champions vs champions. That’s exactly what we got at this event. The 2 best tag teams against each other to determine who was better. That night, that team was RKBro. Fast forward to Orton’s 20th celebration (a canon event if you will), and who would be 2 of the other men on Rollins team in that 8 man tag match? You guessed correctly: The Usos.
Not even a month later, in what was originally a Unification Tag Team Championship Match and became a 6 man tag, we saw RKBro team with Drew McIntyre (now one of the members of Team Judgment at Survivor Series in WarGames) face off with The Bloodline (Usos and Reigns). Though Orton nor Jey were a part of the pinfall, The Bloodline was successful that night. 2 weeks later on Smackdown, we get to the pivotal moment of all of this. This was the Unification Tag Team Championship Match the fans were anxious to see. Fan favorites going into the match were RKBro. Due to outside interference from the Tribal Chief Reigns, The Usos were able to defeat the unlikely team and become Unified Tag Team Champions. Not only did they beat the team, the rammed steel steps into Orton’s chest and put Riddle through a table. Those steel steps were the catalyst to send Orton away (to get serious back surgery) and take him off our tvs for 18 months.
Where does that lead us now? Orton is returning at Survivor Series: WarGames on Saturday, November 25th. While writing this, I never realized how large a part Survivor Series plays a part in the Orton’s history with these men. That and his 20th anniversary celebration. Rhodes, Rollins and Zayn have all been able to forgive Jey for his sins while being a part of The Bloodline. We have seen others who have not been able to, specifically McIntyre who you could say is the reason Orton was needed. Team Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, Damian Priest and J.D McDonagh) added McIntyre after not being able to contain his disdain for Jey.
With the field and return set, what will the Viper, the Apex Predator, the Legend Killer Randy Orton due? Will he attack Jey the first chance he gets or will he patiently wait for the perfect moment to strike?
