5 superstars Randy Orton could target after Jeff Hardy 

When Randy Orton turned heel at the 2018 Extreme Rules Pay-Per-View, the crowd predictably went wild. But not many expected Randy's heel turn to have such a profound effect on the WWE product.

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As the Randy Orton, we have witnessed for the last few weeks is a completely different man from the usual heel, from delivering cringe-worthy beatdowns to trying to rip a man's ear off, this character shift for Orton has seen him put on some of the best work in his career.

Moreover, the icing on the cake was Orton's vicious promo in which he roasted WWE legends, belittled independent wrestling and snapped at the WWE Universe in a frustrated rage.

As with all Randy's sarcastic remarks, his explanation for his actions made perfect sense. Orton's reasoning for reverting to his heelish persona was due to the WWE Universe slowly killing his career, as his underwhelming babyface run for the past five years was negatively received by fans and wrestling critics alike.

And yeah, most of that terrible character work by "The Viper" can be accredited to WWE's atrocious booking strategies, but there is no denying that Orton's reasoning was not far-fetched at all.

The money question now is, after Randy breaks Jeff Hardys spirit who is next on The Viper's hit list? Therefore, WWE can't drop the ball with Orton right now as he is red hot, and there are enough wrestlers on Smackdown Live that would fit the mold of Randy's next victim.

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#1 Daniel Bryan

A good way to get Orton's motivations off the ground.

You must be thinking right now that Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton again, what is this 2013!? But when you analyze the landscape of Smackdown Live, the motivation of Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan's position in WWE, it would truly be a huge missed opportunity if the creative team doesn’t book this rivalry in the near future.

The main reason for this feud to take place is the core idea that led to Randy Orton's heel turn, which is his debacle with the fans. As Orton's problem with the WWE Universe giving more respect to men like Daniel Bryan who perform high-risk maneuvers for their selfish entertainment is a legitimate argument. Thus Orton trying to take out Bryan will further fuel his landscape shifting heel turn.

#2 The New Day

These superstars could all benefit from this programme.

One of the most interesting aspects of Randy Orton's heel promo was his problem with superstars jumping around like “idiots”, and there are no other superstars that act more silly and erratic than The New Day. As the booty shaking, pancake throwing antics of Kofi Kingston, Big E, Xavier Woods perfectly fit Orton's sarcastic remarks.

Therefore, this is a perfect programme for the New Day and Orton, as all these superstars are in desperate need of validation and by pairing both of them together, WWE can achieve that goal.

Furthermore, this programme with Orton can possibly provide The New Day with their biggest storyline to date as the psychological games "The Viper" can play with The New Day would test their loyalty, endurance and most importantly their friendship. Also, WWE can add a layer to Orton's heel character by making him more of a menacing force who is able to debilitate three decorated athletes by himself.

#3 Shane McMahon

This angle can add depth to Orton's character.

Randy Orton vs Shane McMahon is a feud that many of you are already familiar with, as back in 2009 Orton's vicious assault on the McMahon family led to many confrontations between "the prodigal son" and "the viper." So in 2018 do we really need another authority based feud?

The answer is yeah we do, or more importantly, Orton needs this narrative dynamic, as his heel persona needs different dimensions to work. Therefore, an ongoing rivalry with Shane McMahon will portray Orton as a menace that can't be tamed and that will add a layer of unpredictable danger to Orton's character.

Now, this doesn’t mean that Randy needs to have a year-long feud with the Smackdown Live Commissioner, as this angle between him and Shane can only exist to prove the fact that Orton is a heel that has no jurisdiction and authority hovering over him.

#4 Lower tier superstars

This is a must in Orton's booking.

You knew this was coming, as the first thing the WWE creative team need to do with Orton's frantic energy is channel it into various malicious beatdowns that Orton can deliver to the lower tier superstars on Smackdown Live.

And while this booking strategy has been used and abused by WWE constantly over the last few years, if done right the utilization of this idea can fit Orton's purpose and the overall narrative of the programme.

In the case of this storyline, Orton taking out lower tier superstars such as Sin Cara, Tye Dillinger, and even Aiden English, fits Orton's purpose perfectly, as he is a frustrated veteran tired of seeing less deserving athletes take his spot. So whether Orton punts a few heads or RKO’s an unsuspecting jobber into oblivion, WWE would truly be doing themselves a favor by making Orton's threats from his excellent promo stand true.

#5 AJ Styles

A proper feud between both these legends could highlight Orton's heel run.

When AJ Styles and Randy Orton faced each other on an episode of Smackdown Live a year ago, many were excited to witness this dream match but at the same time equally disappointed to see WWE give it away with such little fanfare. And going back to watch that match, it is extremely weird to see AJ Styles play the villainous heel and Orton play the triumphant babyface.

But fast forward to 2018, and both these men are in the prime of their careers, as their personas and general motivations are well realized. Therefore, if one would summarise Randy Orton's brilliant promo and accredit all his complaints to one superstar, it would be AJ Styles.

As Orton's comments, about the independent scene, wrestlers taking high risks and superstars finding the need to pander to the general public all feels like a well-constructed jab at the WWE Champion. Thus it would make perfect sense for Orton to cap off an amazing heel run by taking out the biggest shark in the ocean- AJ Styles.