WWE Rumors: Real reason why the company allowed Matt Riddle to pin Randy Orton at Survivor Series
The traditional men's Survivor Series Elimination match was one of the best bouts of the night which ended with Roman Reigns getting the win for Team SmackDown.
The 15-man contest showcased the top talents from SmackDown, RAW and NXT and a handful of Superstars shone by being a part of a few big moments during the match.
Matt Riddle pinning and eliminating Randy Orton was one of the biggest surprises to come out of the match, however, the King of Bros' excitement was shortlived as he would get eliminated shortly after by Baron Corbin.
Dave Meltzer explained the strategy behind the Survivor Series match on the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer stated that WWE had picked out the Superstars who were expected to be the most popular in the match. The idea was to get these Superstars eliminated by King Corbin to increase the heat on the heel.
WWE booked Riddle to go over Orton with the idea of getting the fans to boo Corbin after he pinned the outspoken NXT Superstar.
Here's the discussion between Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer on the WOR regarding the booking of Riddle:
Meltzer: The whole thing is, is like if you noticed, the guys who they expected the people would like the most were the guys Baron Corbin beat because the idea of that, we can guarantee we’re going to get lots of boos because they are not going to want to see Matt Riddle pinned right there, so we’ll get Baron Corbin pin him. That was a part of the strategy of the match. They booed when Riddle got beat.
Alvarez: Well, of course, they booed when Riddle got beat, but he’s pinning other guys later and nobody cared. Dude, if I was Randy Orton, I would be f***** furious. You put over Matt Riddle all to be a setup for Baron Corbin pinning the guy to get some heat?
Meltzer: That’s how they do it!
Riddle rolling up Orton to eliminate The Viper drew one of the biggest reactions in the match, however, in classic WWE fashion, it was done to set up another moment to increase the heel heat towards King Corbin.
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