Opinion: Randy Orton might be a contender for the United States Championship

Randy Orton's heel turn at Extreme Rules has been extremely well received by the WWE universe. Not only is Randy Orton one of the most exciting heels on the roster, but also he has been able to generate a significant amount of heat following his vicious attack on Jeff Hardy.

To be honest, Randy Orton as a babyface was absolutely boring and brought nothing new to the table. To make matters worse, he appeared way out of character. Being a clean-cut character did not live up to The Viper's reputation. Although Orton's motive behind attacking Hardy came across as poor, it does give a new dimension to his character.

However, one might argue that Orton is not the kind of character that cares about what anyone thinks of him. But what remains to be seen is how the WWE creative decides to use him in building some solid storylines.

The Background

Randy Orton viciously attacked Jeff Hardy after his match against Shinsuke Nakamura at Extreme Rules. He would continue attacking Hardy on the following episode of SmackDown during Hardy's rematch against Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States title. Although his motives were unclear back then, he kept on saying, "You wanna know why I'm doing this?'

However, his motives were revealed on the next episode of SmackDown Live. He revealed that he was tired of the fans not giving him the respect he rightfully deserves. Although this seemed to be quite out of character for someone who once proclaimed he does not care for what people think of him, this was indeed a breath of relief for many fans who were tired of watching a babyface Orton. This segment also brought out the vicious side of Randy Orton, one that made him what he is.

However, there is one thing that leads us to believe that he had a far deeper motive than what he revealed to the WWE Universe. If we were to take a look at the segment on SmackDown Live where Orton attacked Jeff Hardy, we can hear him saying 'Where's Shinsuke?'. This leads us to believe that Orton must have something else on his mind.

What to expect

If we recall the last time Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton squared off, it was at Backlash for the United States title. Hardy retained the title by defeating Randy Orton. The United States title is once again the point of focus, even if not in a direct manner.

Now, Randy Orton is the kind of character who does not do anything that does not interest him. If we were to take a look at Randy Orton's history of lust for titles, we can assume that he is after the United States title. If we were to think about it, Randy Orton lost to Shinsuke Nakamura as well the last time they squared off.

This can also be a matter of settling the scores with both competitors. From what it seems, Orton's attack on Hardy was a message that he sent to Nakamura. Randy Orton just displayed that he is capable of unleashing extreme devastation when they face off. If we were to think about it, that might have been the reason why Orton was looking for Shinsuke Nakamura after the attack on Hardy.

With that in mind, it could be an angle that the WWE could create a storyline at Summerslam. We can thus expect to see a triple threat match for the United States title at Summerslam between Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura and Jeff Hardy. This could give rise to a long-term three-way feud as well revolving around the United States title.