WWE RAW: 5 reasons why Randy Orton hit an RKO on Beth Phoenix

As we mentioned on "things WWE subtly told us on RAW" this week, this is some of the best work of Randy Orton's career - and by his best in the past 5-6 years or more. While he had a great storyline with the Wyatt Family between 2016-17, the pay off wasn't good.

This is undoubtedly the most sadistic that we've seen Randy Orton in a while and it started with Edge, continued with Matt Hardy, and took a whole new turn when he hit the RKO on Beth Phoenix.

The entire segment was fantastic, with Phoenix getting emotional, all while Orton tried to justify his "love" for Edge and why he did what he did to him. The ending left everyone in a state of shock and it's arguably the best part of Monday Night RAW right now (with WON stating that the ratings have been best during these segments).

Here are five reasons why Orton hit the RKO on Beth Phoenix.

#5. Beth Phoenix is a pro who can take an RKO

The good thing about Beth Phoenix is that throughout the last few years, she's done a great job to maintain her ring shape and stay away from ring rust. This has allowed her to make a comeback, most notably last year at WrestleMania 35 when she returned to team up with Natalya in an attempt to capture the Women's Tag Team titles.

There are rumors that she could be back to team up with Natalya at WrestleMania this year as well and even though she's been retired for a while now, her NXT commentary role hasn't kept her from being able to take bumps.

She proved that she can take an RKO like a pro and it's great that she did so for the sake of the storyline.