10 Times Randy Orton Was Actually As Good As WWE Says He Is

10. A One-Off Classic With Luke Harper

Something that’s been forgotten about in the years since is just how compelling the Randy Orton/Bray Wyatt dynamic was. While it suffered as always from Wyatt Family overbooking and the eventual feud disappointing, the power of Wyatt and Orton as a duo was substantive, Randy putting in the effort to sell himself as the newest member of Bray’s horrifying collective.

The current Brodie Lee has never gotten a full chance to express what he’s capable of as a wrestler, despite bangers with The Usos, The Shield and Dolph Ziggler under his catalogue. At this point, the allegiance of Harper was more in doubt than Orton’s, this battle of Wyatt’s protégés being absolutely scintillating television.

Despite the expectations being solid, both men exceeded them greatly, having Orton’s finest singles match in years in the process. Orton shifts effortlessly between moments of controlled domination and frenzied rage, as his efforts to contain the beast within him fail as Harper refuses to go down easy. The acknowledgement that this didn’t lead to a babyface Harper in the WrestleMania match is still disappointing, but Orton used his experience as an in-ring veteran perfectly to make it stand out on its own, forever great in isolation.