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What's the story?
Former WWE Champion Randy Orton's character has finally taken the U-turn that the fans were clamouring for over recent years. His heel turn has seen him embrace the evil Viper character that he seems to carry off so effortlessly.
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The vicious side of Orton's character is one that the fans love, ironically enough, and the promo that the newly turned Orton delivered on SmackDown Live got a tremendous reaction.
Bubba Ray Dudley talked about the reason for the promo's great quality on Busted Open Radio (H/T Wrestling Inc).
In case you didn't know...
Over the last few years, Randy had languished as a babyface character, that came across as stale. However, all of that changed at Extreme Rules, much to the Viper's and the fans' delight.
The United States Championship Match ended unexpectedly after a low blow from Nakamura had left Hardy vulnerable. Immediately upon the bell ringing, Nakamura hit Hardy with a Kinshasa and pinned him, winning the United States Title in a matter of five seconds.
Orton shocked everyone by making his return to the company during Nakamura's celebration. He came down to the ring and locked eyes with Nakamura. Then came the unexpected. He turned around and kicked Jeff Hardy violently in the crotch turning heel in the process.
The following night's episode of SmackDown Live had Hardy and Nakamura face each other in a rematch for the title, but that bout too saw the involvement of Orton. He attacked Hardy, disqualifying Nakamura as a result. He continued a brutal assault on Jeff on the outside, even putting his finger through Jeff's ear piercing, revealing a side of Orton most fans had forgotten existed.
The heart of the matter
On this week's episode of SmackDown Live, Randy Orton opened the show with a promo about his reason for attacking Jeff. In the promo, he talked about the lack of respect he got, despite having worked in the company for such a long time.
He asked the audience rhetorical questions, talking about how he did not risk his life, and the fact that he did not change his merchandise, as a result of which they did not like him. He called the fans the true Legend Killers. He revealed that his mission was to destroy each star the fans had put on a pedestal and said that he would end Hardy's career.
Orton's promo even touched on the Bullet Club, as he talked about Independent Wrestling and stealing hand gestures.
Bubba Ray talked about Orton's promo on Busted Open Radio.
There he mentioned how Orton believed everything that he said, making the promo even better. He praised Orton's tone and the way he delivered it, commenting on the hush that had settled on the crowd.
"If you listened to the reaction of the people, there was hush over the crowd. That hush wasn't that they were disinterested. It was a hush like, 'oh my god Randy does sound pissed off and it sounds like he's about to take out all his frustrations out on a lot of different people."
He further said that the hush was due to the promo's believability and how it made the crowd react was a testament to its quality.
What's next?
Randy Orton is set to continue his feud with Jeff Hardy in the coming weeks. With Shinsuke Nakamura on the fringes of this rivalry, the United States Title too might become involved in a possible Triple Threat at SummerSlam.
You can see Orton's promo here:
What do you think of Bubba Ray's analysis of the promo? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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