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Randy Orton is among the most decorated World Champions in WWE history. Many people don't realize it, but his longevity has led to him outlasting all three of the "Elite" OVW 4, comprising of himself, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and Batista.
The 4 OVW standouts all became megastars in their own right. While Brock Lesnar is still an active performer, Randy Orton has years ahead of him in terms of longevity. With a contract signed until 2024, it looks like Randy Orton is going to be around for a good part of the coming decade.
It's crazy to think that we're closing in on nearly two decades of Randy Orton in WWE and it's an accomplishment that will only truly be appreciated once he's done with his WWE career. It just goes to show how his "safe" style of wrestling has helped him have an extensive career that's made him millions of dollars.
Even if you're not a fan of Randy Orton's run through the last decade (and admittedly, it had its dull moments), there's no denying that a motivated Randy Orton can truly be one of the best wrestlers in the world. He may not be a high-flyer or the most technical in-ring performer, but his character-work and legacy stands out and makes him one of WWE's best performers even in 2020.
And even still, in the summer of 2020, there's a high possibility that Randy Orton will become a 14-time World Champion. Randy Orton faces Drew McIntyre for the WWE title at SummerSlam 2020 and here are a few clear signs that he's destined for World title #14:
#5. Edge's injury may have given Randy Orton a new opportunity
The unfortunate reality about Edge's return is that he was always going to be injury-prone. Regardless, he made a successful return at WrestleMania 36 and had a solid main event against Randy Orton at Backlash 2020, where the latter won to make it 1-1.
It seemed clear that they were destined for a trilogy bout at SummerSlam, but that seems to have been shelved after Edge suffered a tricep injury and had to undergo surgery. With Edge out for the rest of the year, it gives Randy Orton a new program and the circumstances may have worked in his favor.
However, we have to wonder what the outcome of their SummerSlam match would have been.
#4. TV Ratings decline
According to Wrestlingnews.co, Vince McMahon isn't "too worried" about the recent slump in TV ratings:
“Vince is doing what he can by putting on PPV matches on Raw and SmackDown but USA and Fox are happy and everyone knows things will get better when we can get some people back at arenas. This is what he thinks right now and he’s not sweating these numbers.”
Admittedly, it's easy on the surface level, but Vince McMahon also pointed out that their metrics across digital platforms have significantly increased, even during the pandemic.
However, given that it is the pandemic era and the return of fans until the end of the year seems uncertain, WWE might try and pull off a title change and put the WWE Championship on Randy Orton as a means to try to regain the ratings.
We don't think that Vince McMahon or WWE outright pins the low ratings on Drew McIntyre, but rather, the lack of fans and fan reaction. But don't be surprised if the title change happens and this is a reason.
#3. Randy Orton is the best name for Drew McIntyre to lose the WWE title to right now
One of the big problems in the pandemic era of WWE is the fact that there aren't any major larger-than-life stars present on TV. With Brock Lesnar missing SummerSlam for the first time in eight years, it's going to be a card missing many major names.
Tom Colohue had reported that WWE felt Brock Lesnar shouldn't be in the WWE Performance Center and that he's too big a star to perform in a small environment with no fans. It seemed clear that Brock Lesnar would have been Drew McIntyre's SummerSlam opponent, but that's not happening.
Randy Orton is the next best option and when you look at the current roster and factor in all the major names missing because of the pandemic, then who is a better option to take the title from Drew McIntyre? At the moment, nobody else except Randy Orton. It plays into one more important factor...
#2. Randy Orton's momentum and the fact that he's the best heel in WWE now
We've said it many times over the last month or so - Randy Orton has been doing some of the best character work of his career during the pandemic era. Ever since his feud with Edge and subsequent victory at Backlash 2020, Randy Orton seems to have rekindled that fire burning inside him and has taken his character to the next level - bringing back the legend killer, or rather, adding a new element to his old legend killer persona.
The ruthless, vicious, and sadistic Randy Orton that we all know and love to hate is back and we're still curious as to why he seems to be more motivated than ever at a time like this.
Either way, it's important that the RAW locker room has a leader like Randy Orton to look up to and there's no doubt that he's been the best heel in WWE since WrestleMania 36. Randy Orton's momentum and top heel work has possibly earned him another WWE title run.
#1. A WWE title program with Edge for WrestleMania season
According to Dave Meltzer of WON, one of the 'pivotal' matches of WrestleMania 37 is reportedly an 'I Quit' Match between Randy Orton and Edge. There were also reports that WWE might want Drew McIntyre to lose the WWE Championship to Randy Orton at SummerSlam 2020 to build a WWE Championship program between Randy Orton and Edge at WrestleMania 37.
Edge is out for the rest of 2020 and could make a surprise return at the Royal Rumble 2021. This would ultimately conclude with the trilogy match at WrestleMania 37, one where we expect Edge to potentially become a 12-time World Champion - winning his first World title ten years after his initial retirement.
It would make for a great story, but honestly, it doesn't seem like the match needs the WWE title stipulation. Either way, WWE loves putting legends in World title matches at WrestleMania, so it wouldn't be surprising to see them go that direction.
Do you think this is the right direction? Comment below!
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