10 New Directions For WWE After Royal Rumble 2017
2. A Family Divided
Last night saw Randy Orton become the sixth man to win the Royal Rumble twice, with his previous victory coming in 2009. The Viper is now guaranteed a WWE Title shot at WrestleMania, but he won’t take a linear path to get there, and there are bound to be a number of twists along the way.
The Wyatt Family are falling apart. Luke Harper attacked Bray and Randy last night, and Bray remained entirely convinced of Orton’s loyalty. With Harper now out of the picture, Orton can focus his energies on destroying the Family completely, and exploiting Bray’s trust in him to finally take him down.
Make no mistake: Randy Orton is SmackDown’s most powerful superstar at the moment. The title shot only strengthens his position, and means he can sit idly by and watch as SD’s top stars destroy one another at Elimination Chamber. Six men will enter that match with the hope of becoming WWE Champion and meeting Orton at Mania, but the most likely outcome is that Wyatt wins the Chamber, takes the belt, and the Wyatt Family falls apart in Orlando.
Wyatt is but a ball of clay in Orton’s hands at the moment. The turn is coming sooner or later, and when it does, it’s going to be huge. Fans are practically begging for Orton to do the deed and while his Rumble win has been met with a mixed response thus far, a strong pre-Mania turn should fix everything.