4 Ups & 3 Downs Of Brock Lesnar Vs. Randy Orton At WWE SummerSlam 2016
4. Up: It's A Fresh Match-Up
... and now the ups.
Believe it or not, Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton haven’t met inside a WWE ring in close to 14 years. Their first (and last) televised WWE match came on a September 2002 edition of SmackDown, and despite coming through Ohio Valley Wrestling (WWE’s old developmental territory) at the same time, they two have never engaged in a major feud.
Brock, of course, took an 8-year sabbatical from professional wrestling to focus on his MMA career, and has been working a reduced schedule since his April 2012 return. Orton has been a virtual ever-present throughout this time period, and it’s shocking to think that they’ve rarely crossed paths in WWE despite Brock’s absences.
Fresh match-ups between long-serving WWE veterans are like rooster’s teeth, and there isn’t another member of the active WWE roster with Orton’s tenure and prestige that Lesnar hasn’t already faced a handful of times. This is smart, logical booking from WWE, and fans are about to be rewarded with an intriguing first-ever pay-per-view showdown between two of the most decorated workers current under WWE employ.
Opportunities like this don’t come along every day, so kudos to WWE for taking full advantage.