12 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Feb 12)

5. Easiest Payday Ever

Randy Orton AJ Styles
WWE.com

Randy Orton must have been licking his chops when last night's SmackDown runsheet reached his hands, because the absolute worker just scored one of the easiest paydays of his career.

'The Viper' technically "wrestled" last night, though all he did was creep up on AJ Styles, hit him with an RKO (outta nowhere), score the three count, then pose as SmackDown went off the air. That's it. What a legend.

The gauntlet's final fall was tremendous. The ambush dealt no harm to AJ, as he was blindsided by Orton working his gimmick, while Randy looked cunning and sly. On top of this, it was something completely different to everything else in the match. We have nothing to complain about here.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.