Let’s face it: it’s been a while since Randy Orton has been a believable contender for a world title. Before he emerged as Kingston’s challenger for WWE SummerSlam, the Apex Predator picked up a nominally important win over Triple H at WWE Super ShowDown. Otherwise, you’d have to look back to September 2018 for the last time Orton successfully did anything notable. At Hell in a Cell, he defeated Jeff Hardy and won their feud. Since then, Orton came out on the losing end of a brief rivalry with AJ Styles and fell a few more ranks in WWE’s pecking order.
When Orton challenged Kingston to a match at WWE SummerSlam, fans could be forgiven for being skeptical. Since Kingston’s momentous victory at WWE WrestleMania, his reign as a world champion hasn’t been remarkable. His challengers have been forgettable and Kingston needed a worthwhile contender to add some depth to his run at the top. Originally, Orton didn’t seem like that guy. Yes, the inclusion of real-world tension between the two rivals automatically made the feud more intriguing. But when their match at WWE SummerSlam ended with a dissatisfying double count-out, the rivalry lost most of this positive momentum.
With that being said, in the span of a few minutes, the main event immediately made Orton into a intimidating opponent for Kingston. Rather than avoiding a fight, the Apex Predator challenged the champion to face him and the Revival in a six-man tag team match. In the end, Kingston gained the upper hand over Orton but the Revival won the match by pinning Kingston’s stablemate Xavier Woods. Afterwards, Orton solidified his role as Kingston’s worst nightmare.
In an attack reminiscent of Orton’s original run as the Viper, he dropped Kingston with a post-match RKO. He all but licked his lips as he basked in the moment and held Kingston’s unconscious head up by the hair. With a sick smirk on his face, the Viper hit Woods with an RKO. To put an exclamation point on the message, Orton dropped Big E with an RKO before nailing Kingston with another one. Lastly, Orton coldly called Kingston “stupid” as he did infamously did ten years ago. For a few moments, it seemed like Orton was about to hit one of Kingston’s friends with a vicious punt kick like the Viper of old. Maybe that callback is the next step in this restoration of Orton’s classic villainy. Either way, the Viper is back. Before WWE SummerSlam, Kingston’s probable victory over Orton seemed like nothing more than satisfying vindication for the champion. Now, Kingston’s in the fight of his life.
WWE SummerSlam was a mixed bag but a strong show on Tuesday has WWE SmackDown back on track. Hopefully, the Reigns mystery and the rivalry between Orton and Kingston will continue to serve as positive takeaways for today’s WWE.
RELATED: Report: How Much Eric Bischoff Had To Do With SmackDown, What Brought On Buddy Murphy’s Push
