5 superstars Randy Orton could target after Jeff Hardy
When Randy Orton turned heel at the 2018 Extreme Rules Pay-Per-View, the crowd predictably went wild. But not many expected Randy's heel turn to have such a profound effect on the WWE product.
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As the Randy Orton, we have witnessed for the last few weeks is a completely different man from the usual heel, from delivering cringe-worthy beatdowns to trying to rip a man's ear off, this character shift for Orton has seen him put on some of the best work in his career.
Moreover, the icing on the cake was Orton's vicious promo in which he roasted WWE legends, belittled independent wrestling and snapped at the WWE Universe in a frustrated rage.
As with all Randy's sarcastic remarks, his explanation for his actions made perfect sense. Orton's reasoning for reverting to his heelish persona was due to the WWE Universe slowly killing his career, as his underwhelming babyface run for the past five years was negatively received by fans and wrestling critics alike.
And yeah, most of that terrible character work by "The Viper" can be accredited to WWE's atrocious booking strategies, but there is no denying that Orton's reasoning was not far-fetched at all.
The money question now is, after Randy breaks Jeff Hardys spirit who is next on The Viper's hit list? Therefore, WWE can't drop the ball with Orton right now as he is red hot, and there are enough wrestlers on Smackdown Live that would fit the mold of Randy's next victim.
#1 Daniel Bryan
You must be thinking right now that Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton again, what is this 2013!? But when you analyze the landscape of Smackdown Live, the motivation of Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan's position in WWE, it would truly be a huge missed opportunity if the creative team doesn’t book this rivalry in the near future.
The main reason for this feud to take place is the core idea that led to Randy Orton's heel turn, which is his debacle with the fans. As Orton's problem with the WWE Universe giving more respect to men like Daniel Bryan who perform high-risk maneuvers for their selfish entertainment is a legitimate argument. Thus Orton trying to take out Bryan will further fuel his landscape shifting heel turn.