WWE Rumours: Randy Orton likely to appear on Raw in some capacity
The last time the two future WWE Hall of Famers faced off, it was on Smackdown, over 14 years ago. Now, they are fighting in what could possibly be the main event of Summerslam.
However, there are a couple of problems that were there with the build up:
The first was that Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton were drafted to different brands, and secondly, Lesnar’s limited schedule. 2 weeks ago, Lesnar made his first appearance on Raw since Wrestlemania 32, where he defeated Dean Ambrose. His return, which was the final segment on that Raw, saw an inter-brand invasion where Randy Orton snuck up and gave The Beast Incarnate an RKO and then ran into the crowd to close the show.
The next night on Smackdown Live, that incident set the tone of the show, as Smackdown Live commissioner Shane McMahon, and General Manager Daniel Bryan hired “security” to prevent Brock Lesnar from attacking Randy Orton. However, during Orton’s match with Fandango, Lesnar had come through the crowd, and simply walked past the security, and then gave The Viper an F-5.
The next week on Raw, they just placed a video package to hype the Summerslam match, where Lesnar appeared to be taking a heel role and Orton the babyface role. The fact that WWE had already done a “brand invasion” a week into the draft was the subject of much criticism among the fans and critics, who believe that brand invasions should occur rarely and after a while, in order for it to be special.
It is being reported that Randy Orton will likely appear on tonight's episode of Raw in some capacity or the other, whether it is live or via video. This makes sense as it is the go-home Raw before Summerslam, so they will likely want to hype it more by having a final face to face confrontation before their match this coming Sunday. However, there is no word on whether Lesnar will appear on Smackdown Live. It is being stated that it will most likely be a video package hyping the match.
There is no word on whether it will be the main event or not. It is either this match or the WWE Universal Championship bout between Seth Rollins and Finn Balor that will main event Summerslam. Either way, this is undoubtedly one of the most stacked Summerslam cards ever.