Locker room is reportedly confused about WWE's decision to put the title on Randy Orton
Randy Orton won his 14th World Championship in the WWE at the recently concluded Hell in a Cell PPV. The Viper is set to embark on another high-profile title reign, and WWE would indeed have some big plans in store for him as the company builds up towards WrestleMania 37.
While the title change was expected to happen sooner rather than later, the reactions backstage have been quite interesting, to say the least.
A new Fightful Select report has revealed the backstage reaction to Randy Orton's title win at Hell in a Cell.
It has been reported that there was 'plenty of confusion' backstage in the WWE regarding the decision to put the WWE Championship on Randy Orton. The reason for the confusion is similar to the sentiments of the online fan base.
Fightful spoke to several wrestlers. Most of them were confused about the timing of making Randy Orton the WWE Champion as the Legend Killer was considered really well-protected from WrestleMania to SummerSlam. However, Randy Orton has been booked to lose on several occasions since then, and executing the title change angle right now didn't make sense.
It was added that Randy Orton is a really well-liked figure backstage in the locker room as he has been helping many younger Superstars over the past year or so.
Despite the respect he commands backstage, the general feeling is confusion regarding WWE's decision to book Randy Orton's 14th World title reign as the timing could have been better.
WWE could have put the title on Randy Orton much earlier when he had tons of momentum. Nonetheless, Randy Orton is a World Champion once again, and he could have a vital role to play in the future.
Randy Orton's future as the WWE Champion
As reported by Dave Meltzer, WWE still intends to book Randy Orton to defend the WWE Championship against Edge at WrestleMania 37. The rivalry between Edge and Randy Orton will have one final match, and while it doesn't necessarily need a title for it to draw viewers, WWE might want to raise the stakes for the feud-deciding grudge match.
With Miz also teasing a potential MITB contract cash-in, Randy Orton's reign does have many possible endgames.