WWE RAW - 5 Reasons why Randy Orton turned on his mentor Ric Flair before SummerSlam 2020

One of the criticisms leveled at WWE RAW is the fact that even though it contains some of the greatest performers of all time, from up-and-coming talents to all-time greats such as Ric Flair and Randy Orton, the quality of content put out on WWE's weekly television program isn't always necessarily of the best quality.

So, rumors had been circulating about Ric Flair being the victim of Randy Orton for a really long time now, and when the match between Kevin Owens and Randy Orton in the main event of WWE RAW ended this week, everyone braced for the worst.

The way that the segment played out was absolute gold, with both Ric Flair and Randy Orton delivering two of the most masterful promos that they have cut during the course of their careers. But why did Bruce Prichard and Vince McMahon choose such a dramatic angle to close out WWE RAW?

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#5 Possibly allows for Ric Flair to interfere in the Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre match at WWE SummerSlam 2020

A lot of people have been talking about Ric Flair being written off WWE RAW with the segment that played out between him and Randy Orton, but what if WWE has bigger plans for SummerSlam 2020?

In an ideal scenario, Ric Flair would be the special guest referee for the match between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton at SummerSlam 2020, but even otherwise, Ric Flair could always return after his assault on WWE RAW and deliver a low blow of his own to cost Randy Orton the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 2020.

Or, as he said, Ric Flair could even surprise us all by helping Randy Orton win the big title.

The segment on WWE RAW leaves us with more questions than answers.

#4 Randy Orton just killed the ultimate legend- Ric Flair, on WWE RAW

Randy Orton, in the earlier stages of his career, used to be known as the legend killer and there isn't a bigger legend in the pro wrestling business than Ric Flair is. The attack on Ric Flair was a way for Randy Orton to advance this gimmick in the best manner possible, on WWE RAW, because one has to assume that this is a gimmick that will continue for some time now.

If you have doubts about the longevity of this gimmick and also the essential purpose of it, all you need to remember is that Randy Orton will be a massive draw in Saudi Arabia once things return to normal and the audience there will want dream matches with him against legends from WWE's past, just as they yearned for Goldberg vs. The Undertaker.

Ric Flair is a name that fans, young and old alike are familiar with, and they must have been aghast at how personal Randy Orton got on WWE RAW this week.

#3 It is easy to root for Randy Orton, and WWE needed all the heat that they could get on him before SummerSlam 2020

No, nothing that Ric Flair said about Randy Orton on WWE RAW to hype up the SummerSlam 2020 match with Drew McIntyre is a lie. Randy Orton may just be the best performer in the world at this point in time, who has not only had a career worthy of making him a candidate for the WWE Hall of Fame, but Randy Orton has many more great years ahead of him as a performer on WWE RAW and SmackDown, irrespective of whether or not Randy Orton becomes the WWE Champion at SummerSlam.

By attacking Ric Flair, Randy Orton ensured that the audience, that is usually hungry for an RKO in all his matches, will be rooting for Drew McIntyre to knock his head off clean with a Claymore at WWE SummerSlam 2020. Ric Flair is an all-time great and to attack him so mercilessly may have earned Randy Orton heel heat before WWE SummerSlam 2020 comes around.

#2 With the lights dimming during the Randy Orton and Ric Flair segment, it was a very safe spot

It was common knowledge that Randy Orton would be turning on Ric Flair because of the rumors doing the rounds, and also because anyone who's watched WWE for any length of time could see it coming from a hundred miles away. The question on everyone's mind, the basic apprehension that was felt by one and all was whether Ric Flair would be able to take an RKO or even a Punt Kick at the age of 71. Well, WWE solved that problem with Retribution lurking backstage because the lights dimmed right when Randy Orton's punt kick hit Flair.

This was the safest spot that Randy Orton and Ric Flair could have asked for, and the two masters of the microphone led up to it brilliantly with two magnificent promos.

We all knew that Ric Flair is the greatest promo in history, but Randy Orton has stepped up his game too, with really piercing delivery and content.

#1 WWE RAW is trying its best to create cliffhangers for the following week's episode (and so is SmackDown)

At the end of the day, WWE RAW is, at its very core a television show and the biggest challenge for any show is to ensure that the audience returns on a weekly basis to find out what is next for their favorite characters. Ric Flair and Randy Orton closed out this week's episode of WWE RAW with an irate Drew McIntyre breathing smoke and fire, unhappy at what went down during the show.

One can even draw a parallel between WWE RAW and SmackDown over the last 2 weeks, where the shows have been average at best, until the final few minutes, that shock and stun the audience. I am, essentially, talking about the assault from Retribution and the whole Alexa Bliss and The Fiend segment from a week ago.

This article may be done, but the fun never stops at Sportskeeda, where JTG will be taking your questions in a few hours from now.