5 potential feuds for Randy Orton after Drew McIntyre

Randy Orton is on one of the best runs of his career.

When he viciously turned heel on Edge earlier this year, it seemed to light a fire within him. Orton was focused, fierce and full of venom. The Viper was back with a bang, or in this case... a punt.

The feud with Edge was some of the best work the third-generation WWE Superstar has done. His promos were meaningful, hurtful and truthful. His actions were violent, aggressive and shocking.

Since then, The Viper has turned his attention to Drew McIntyre and the WWE Championship. Randy Orton was unsuccessful in his first challenge for the coveted title at SummerSlam 2020. This defeat escalated the feud and Orton went full Viper, punting the big Scotsman in the head several times.

These attacks caused McIntyre to suffer a head injury. The Scottish Psychopath then returned to get his own back, before challenging Randy Orton to an Ambulance match for the WWE Championship at Clash of Champions.

The match is certainly interesting, as the stipulation attached means no one has to take the pin to lose the match. A bout like this protects the loser and would therefore be the perfect opportunity for Randy Orton to become a 14-time champion.

The outcome of the match will limit who Randy Orton will feud with next. If Orton is to be champion, then he will most likely go on to feud with a top-level guy.

However, if Orton were to leave Clash of Champions without the title, he could feud with a number of opponents who would benefit significantly from his wealth of wrestling experience.

In this article, there are five feuds for Randy Orton after facing Drew McIntyre. In the list, there is a mix of wrestlers that could step up to the Viper.

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#5 Randy Orton could help make Dominik Mysterio the man

WWE

No one thought that Dominik would thrive so well on the big stage, but he has become one of the hottest names in the company as of late. The young up-and-comer has impressed many with his recent performances against Seth Rollins.

Dominik paid his dues when Rollins brutalised him with a Kendo Stick and then showed he has bags of potential as a future WWE Superstar. Both in and out of the ring, Rollins has done a great job getting Mysterio over and acclimated to the main roster.

A feud with Randy Orton would further establish Mysterio’s babyface run and give him some the best lessons ever taught in the wrestling business.

Randy Orton is regarded by many of the greats as one of the best in the business. His emotions, mannerisms and all of the little things he does throughout a match tells a story. Orton knows just what to do at the precise moment. Lessons like these would be invaluable for someone in Mysterio's position.

This would be a feud for a title-less Orton, because of the youth and inexperience of Dominik. It's a feud that would not only benefit Mysterio massively, but act as his star-cementing moment.

#4 Randy Orton could defend the WWE Championship against Kevin Owens

WWE

Randy Orton defeated KO on the way to becoming No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship. Owens was taken out on his way to the ring by Aleister Black but gallantly fought on. The Viper would mock Owens before putting him out of his misery with an RKO for the easy, quick win.

Owens has been in no man’s land since his feud with Seth Rollins ended at WrestleMania 36. His animosity with Black has yet to get going, so KO really needs the right opponent and feud to get his career back on track.

Kevin Owens is far too good a wrestler and human being to be where he is in WWE right now. A major feud against a legend like Randy Orton would help recapture the momentum he had way back in 2016 en route to winning the WWE Universal Champion.

Randy Orton and Owens have a lot of history and an intense feud for the WWE Championship wouldn’t be difficult to instigate.

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#3 Randy Orton could challenge for Bobby Lashley's US Championship

WWE

The CEO of the Hurt Business has been on an excellent run since joining forces with MVP.

Channelling their former partnership in TNA has been a career-changing move for Lashley. Until MVP came along, Lashley was involved with Lana and took part in wedding angles, rather that wrestling matches.

MVP has taken Lashley from chump to challenger, as proven by his match with Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at Backlash. He may have been unsuccessful, but it was his best performance in months. "The All Mighty” Lashley was back.

Since then, he has been in a feud with Apollo Crews for the WWE United States Championship. Lashley defeated Crews for the title at Payback.

Bobby Lashley should be a main event star in WWE. For some reason though, he has never broken through to that top level. Now with MVP by his side, a feud with Randy Orton over the US Championship would elevate both the title and "The Destroyer."

#2 Randy Orton could defend the WWE Championship against Seth Rollins

WWE

Seth Rollins and Randy Orton are no strangers to one another. They have crossed paths many times and on both sides of the heel and face coin. If they were to meet this time around, both WWE Superstars would be coming into the feud with tremendous heel momentum.

Heel vs. heel is nothing new, but rarely used because of the fear of a dead crowd. We are living in a world where there are no crowds though, and WWE can pick and choose how their virtual fans react to the bad guy meets bad guy dynamic.

As mentioned in the introduction, Randy Orton has been a rejuvenated man since his heel turn. The same could be said for Rollins. No longer having to do the stereotypical babyface schtick, Rollins has flourished both in and out of the ring as a deranged cult-leading villain.

Rollins is one of WWE’s top guys. So, if Randy Orton comes out of Clash of Champions as champion, there wouldn't be many people better to go into a title programme with than the “Monday Night Messiah."

#1 Randy Orton could defend the WWE Championship against Keith Lee

WWE

Keith Lee and Randy Orton became quickly acquainted when the former interrupted the latter to make his main roster debut.

Lee's Monday Night RAW debut came the night after Randy Orton lost to McIntyre at SummerSlam. The two would clash later on in the show, but the match ended in a disqualification when McIntyre interfered.

Lee made Randy Orton bask in his glory when the two met in a great match at Payback last month. Lee pinned Orton clean in the middle of the ring. The defeat has to be playing the Viper’s mind and an RKO from out of nowhere is very likely to be in Lee’s future.

A second match between the newcomer and veteran would be another excellent encounter. But if Randy Orton were successful in his title match against McIntyre, having the championship involved would most certainly raise the stakes.

Despite their match at Payback, Lee is not feuding with Randy Orton but is somewhat half-feuding with him and McIntyre. Lee was virtually inserted himself into an already-progressive feud between Orton and McIntyre. Therefore, it would be great to see “The Limitless One” and “The Viper” go full-on one-on-one.

During this mini-feud, Lee and Orton have proven that they can create an exciting story and have entertaining matches. Just think of what they can do in a major rivalry.