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Well, tell anyone the names of the men in this match and they'd be hard pushed to even confirm the decade this match was taking place in, never mind the year. Randy Orton got a shot at Jeff Hardy's United States Championship in a match where two WWE veterans would go one-on-one inside the squared circle for the first time in over ten years.
38 championships is the total of these two combined, but this one was all about the United States Championship and both men set the pacing of this match early on. A methodical Randy Orton and a very quick Jeff Hardy combating on who would control the tempo of this encounter from the get-go.
Again, this match followed the theme of the night by ending up on the outside very quickly. We saw some stiff strikes and one of Orton's inch-perfect dropkicks before Hardy went to the top rope and The Viper pushed him off, with Hardy's legs splitting over the ring post.
Yet again, this one ended up on the outside with Hardy flying high and taking over the contest, almost dropping Orton into the crowd before slamming him onto the steps - but Orton hit another dropkick, just as perfect as the first to create some separation.
Orton took advantage of the gap and took control yet again, methodically wearing out the energetic Hardy with some impressive holds in the middle of the ring. Orton used his old-school mat wrestling style to his advantage, slowing the tempo down yet again.
Hardy then took over again, but not for long before Orton's snap powerslam killed the comeback immediately. Orton dishing out every move without breaking a sweat, while dismantling the champion in the process. Orton countered everything the Charismatic Enigma threw at him, even hitting the champ with the apron DDT.
Hardy took over, though, and hit a Twist of Fate and a Swanton Bomb to retain his United States Champion, seemingly and ironically outta nowhere!
