4 Ups & 11 Downs From WWE Raw (Jan 11)
5. Orton, Triple H Gab/Snooze Fest
When you talk about segments that will capture fans’ attention and imagination, a 15-minute Randy Orton and Triple H show-opening promo is probably not on that list. In fact, it’s probably on the “Do not use under any circumstances” list.
WWE would have you believe that Orton and Hunter have had a storied rivalry for the ages, or some foolishness like that. The truth is that their 20-plus matches against each other (singles and multi-man bouts) have underwhelmed or straight-out bored. Their last matchup, at Super Showdown in 2019, was a snoozer (and was Triple H’s last televised match).
Monday’s opening promo between two, *ahem* methodical talkers was bad, with Orton wanting to be handed the world title because of Drew McIntyre’s COVID diagnosis, and Hunter slowly telling us he admired Orton for burning the Fiend alive, but humiliating and punting legends was beyond the pale.
And then we got the aforementioned lazy writer crutch of Orton invoking Triple H’s lack of manhood to get a match out of him. After 15 minutes. Uggh. No thanks.