4 reasons why Triple H is facing Randy Orton in Saudi Arabia

WWE has announced that Randy Orton and Triple H will go head-to-head in one of the featured matches at the Super ShowDown event at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday, June 7.

The two men have met in 19 one-on-one matches on WWE television over the last 15 years, with their first encounter ending with Triple H defeating his former Evolution colleague for the World Heavyweight Championship at Unforgiven in September 2004.

Their most notable singles match against each other came in April 2009 at WrestleMania 25, where HHH picked up the victory in the main event of WWE’s biggest show of the year to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.

Since then, they have mostly been on the same page, with Orton even aligning with The Authority in 2013 after “The Game” helped him cash in his Money In The Bank contract on Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam.

With the latest chapter in their storied rivalry set to be told in Saudi Arabia, let’s take a look at four possible reasons why WWE has booked the match for the upcoming event.

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#4 Continuation of the Evolution storyline

The last time we saw all four members of Evolution together in a WWE ring, Batista sang the praises of each of his former colleagues before cryptically telling Triple H that he has done everything there is to do in the wrestling business, except for one thing: defeat him.

Ric Flair’s presence in the storyline turned out to be vital, as Batista attacked the Hall of Famer before his 70th birthday celebration on Raw to set up a match against Triple H at WrestleMania 35. Randy Orton, meanwhile, was busy feuding with AJ Styles on SmackDown Live and he played no further part in the Evolution story.

HHH’s victory over Batista essentially confirmed his status as the main man in Evolution, so this upcoming match in Saudi Arabia gives Orton a chance to prove that, at the age of 39, he is still in the prime of his career when compared to his 49-year-old opponent.

From a storyline perspective, Triple H’s one-on-one match at the Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018 against John Cena made no sense, so at least a match against Orton can revive the Evolution storyline which began at SmackDown 1000 and continued at WrestleMania 35.

#3 Randy Orton needs a big win

Randy Orton’s last significant singles victory over a high-profile Superstar came in April 2017 when he defeated Bray Wyatt to win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 33.

Since the conclusion of his title storylines with Wyatt and Jinder Mahal, the 13-time world champion’s most notable feuds have been with Rusev, Bobby Roode, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio and AJ Styles, but none of those rivalries put “The Viper” in a position where it looked as though he could move on and become a serious challenger for the WWE Championship again.

When all’s said and done, Orton’s legacy in WWE will be defined by his world title triumphs. With 13 reigns already under his belt, he is only one away from Triple H’s tally of 14 and three away from the record of 16 that is currently held by John Cena and Ric Flair.

If he can pick up a big victory over “The Game”, then Orton will no doubt be back in the title picture before we know it.

#2 Saudi Arabia events are all about legendary matches

As well as the announcement that Triple H will face Randy Orton at Super ShowDown, WWE has confirmed that The Undertaker will go one-on-one with Goldberg and there will also be a 50-man Battle Royal.

The previous special events in Saudi Arabia – the Greatest Royal Rumble and Crown Jewel – featured matches including Triple H vs. John Cena and Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker & Kane, so Triple H vs. Orton follows the same pattern of WWE booking legendary matches at these Saudi shows.

Looking at the list of opponents who HHH could potentially have faced without inserting himself into a current storyline, there are not too many people who he could have taken on in a singles match.

AJ Styles? He’s busy with Seth Rollins. Brock Lesnar? Possibly, but they settled their differences six years ago. At least another ‘dream’ match with Orton has some recent storyline reasoning behind it.

#1 Start of a new long-term storyline?

Triple H has not appeared in a meaningful WWE storyline since he defeated Batista at WrestleMania 35, despite the fact that his fellow authority figures – Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon – have been up to their old villainous tricks again over the last few weeks.

The WWE audience still has no idea what HHH, who is now a good guy, thinks of the McMahons’ recent shenanigans, so perhaps this match against Randy Orton can kick-start a new long-term storyline about WWE’s decision-makers’ battle for power.

There was a lot of talk after the first Saudi Arabia event, the Greatest Royal Rumble, that the live special was essentially a glorified house show, but the same could not be said for the second event, Crown Jewel, which featured major storyline developments with Shane McMahon, The Miz, Baron Corbin, Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman.

Maybe, just maybe, WWE will take a similar approach with Super ShowDown, and this match between HHH and Orton might prove to be very meaningful in the long run.