10 Ups & 0 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Jul 24)

3. A Bitter Old Psychopath

Randy Orton was back to his brutal best last week, obliterating former United States Champion Jeff Hardy for the second time in three nights. He came off excellently, threatening to yank Jeff's ear apart by sticking a finger in his earlobe hole and pulling it to breaking point, and his outstanding presentation continued last night.

'The Viper' won this week's show-opening in-ring promo lottery. The segment began with a recap of the Hardy assault, before Orton dived into his motivations, citing the fans as his motivators. He said that while he's been there for 16 years, "busting his ass," he gets no respect from the audience. A textbook rant executed well, particularly when Randy threw shade at "indie darlings" and their "sweet" stolen hand gesture.

Orton added that while he started as a 'Legend Killer,' the audience have now taken that role. He's out to destroy everyone they love. When he's done, "Jeff will not return," and this will be the daredevil's final chapter.

Again, nothing groundbreaking from Randy, but his delivery and demeanour were spot in, with WWE now adding a "bitter old veteran" twist to last week's psychotic break. We can only hope that this recent turnaround extends to his ringwork, and he doesn't revert to headlocks and restholds once he starts competing again.