FOX News First Mainstream News Outlet To Run Randy Orton Story

The new home of SmackDown spares no details.

Fox News Randy Orton
WWE/FOX

Rather intriguingly, FOX News has become the first mainstream media outlet to pick up the story emerging last week regarding supposed backstage sexual misconduct by WWE SmackDown superstar Randy Orton.

WWE are investigating claims made by former writer Court Bauer on a 2012 MLW podcast that Orton regularly introduced himself to new scribes by unveiling his penis, stroking it, and then inviting the new employees to 'shake his hand'.

Despite the allegations surfacing, Randy Orton appeared on last night's SmackDown as normal, creepily peering out from behind a curtain at the close of Jeff Hardy's match opposite Shelton Benjamin. It's expected he will play some involvement in Hardy's US Title clash with Shinsuke Nakamura at this Sunday's SummerSlam.

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This past June, WWE concluded a deal with FOX Network to air SmackDown from 2019, to the tune of an annual $205 million. The network's affiliate news corporation pressing ahead with this Orton story obviously raises some intriguing questions. Will it place additional pressure on WWE to act ahead of the deal commencing, now that their new home are aware of the allegations and unlikely to appreciate the association? Or is it a more subtle case of FOX giving WWE a platform to note their investigation before accusations of inactivity mount?

The most likely scenario is that it's just a case of a major news outlet reporting a story quickly gaining traction. Watch this space.

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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.