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After what was an episode of WWE RAW that had its share of positives and negatives (an equal share), the main event saw Randy Orton facing Keith Lee and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match. The winner would go on to face Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at Clash of Champions 2020.
At the end of the night, it was Randy Orton who persevered and will go on to face Drew McIntyre, his SummerSlam opponent, once again at WWE Clash of Champions 2020. Earlier in the night on WWE RAW, Randy Orton defeated Kevin Owens with an RKO after the latter was pulverized by Aleister Black.
So, why did Randy Orton stand tall and ominous at the end of WWE RAW and why is he in the title picture against Drew McIntyre at Clash of Champions 2020, you ask? Well, here are five reasons why.
#5 The Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre rivalry is far from over
If you remember Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton from SummerSlam 2020, the match ended via a roll-up, meaning that the two men were not done with one another. And the very next night on WWE RAW, we saw the fallout of the match, as Drew McIntyre was written off WWE RAW thanks to a kayfabe injury. And now, one assumes that this will be the final chapter in the whole Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre saga.
Do not even be surprised if Randy Orton goes on to defeat Drew McIntyre to become the brand new WWE Champion. Not only will this get him one step closer to Ric Flair's record, but it will also set the stage for Drew McIntyre to get his big win back when fans are back in the arena again.
#4 Pushing Keith Lee into the title picture against Drew McIntyre at Clash of Champions 2020 would just be too premature
Remember how Daniel Bryan described the traditional WWE fan as 'fickle'? Well, the truth of the matter is that even though the audience is firmly behind Keith Lee at the moment, if he was to face Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at Clash of Champions 2020, there was a good chance that they would:
a.) Turn on him, if he won the title too fast.
b.) Turn on Drew McIntyre if he defeated Keith Lee at Clash of Champions 2020.
Randy Orton is a proven commodity and he is someone who attracts fans, both casual and hardcore, towards watching a pay-per-view. This is not to imply that Keith Lee cannot be a bigger draw than Randy Orton in time, but at Clash of Champions 2020, the star power of Randy Orton would go a long way into selling what is otherwise, not the biggest pay-per-view of the year 2020.
Keith Lee's time will come, but he'll have to wait.
#3 WWE needed a heel to face Drew McIntyre at Clash of Champions 2020
WWE has followed the whole system of babyfaces and heels, of good and bad guys, thus far, because like it or not, that has been the preferred mode of storytelling across media and entertainment, giving the audience a reason to tune in. While Keith Lee vs. Drew McIntyre would have been a fantastic match at Clash of Champions 2020, it would have done more harm than good for the WWE Champion because there was a chance that the audience would have turned on him during the contest.
Keith Lee has all the goodwill and the momentum in the world, and at Clash of Champions, the audience would have wanted him, the underdog, to defeat the dominant WWE Champion- Drew McIntyre.
Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre at Clash of Champions 2020 would make sense but one has to believe that the money feud right now, going forward, will be between Seth Rollins and Murphy. Plus Drew McIntyre has already defeated Seth Rollins comprehensively.
#2 Keith Lee was protected even in defeat on WWE RAW
Keith Lee is being groomed to be the next big thing and it is clear that Randy Orton himself has taken a personal interest in the man. And so has Seth Rollins, in a sense, because even the veteran did his best to make Lee look like an absolute monster on WWE RAW. Both of these heels want a strong babyface to work with because they have very many years left in their careers and in due course of time, Keith Lee could very well become the face of WWE RAW.
So, even though Keith Lee technically lost the match, it was not he that got pinned as Seth Rollins ate the pinfall to put Randy Orton over on WWE RAW.
While a lot of you may be upset about what transpired on RAW this week and may think that Keith Lee's push is over after his very first outing, the truth of the matter is that the man is on fire.
#1 Randy Orton needed to regain the momentum that he's lost since SummerSlam 2020
There aren't a lot of contenders if one has to name the sports entertainer of the year, but some names instantly come to mind- Randy Orton, Bayley, Jon Moxley, Adam Cole, etc. Randy Orton truly has been the star of 2020, because he has just taken his incredible natural talent and stepped it up a notch or two to become the best heel in the business.
Going into the match at WWE SummerSlam, Randy Orton was the hottest heel in the entire business but, unfortunately, a lot of the momentum was lost when he lost to Drew McIntyre.
And then, when he took the pin to put Keith Lee over, Randy Orton, the Good Samaritan, wasn't as imposing a figure as he seemed to be when he delivered a punt kick to Ric Flair. Randy Orton needed a big win and he got it in the main event of WWE RAW this week.
Will he become the WWE Champion at Clash of Champions?
