4 Ups And 9 Downs From WWE Raw (Aug 17)

2. The Viper Strikes Again

Shawn Michaels Randy Orton
WWE.com

The moment Shawn Michaels was announced for Raw, you knew Randy Orton was going to find a way to RKO him and possibly punt him further into retirement.

But HBK got through his fiery promo, threatening to drop Orton with a Sweet Chin Music, and was leaving the ring to his music when the Viper struck. After hitting an RKO, Orton immediately nailed a punt and fled the ring, as Drew McIntyre was charging down the ramp. Orton then twice tried to jump the WWE Champion as he helped Michaels up, the second time nailing an RKO to close the show.

If last week showed Orton’s sick and perverse side, this just showed his persistence in hurting his opponent and lashing out at legends. Randy seems almost deranged, unable to help himself with his attacks. You almost expect him to yell out for someone to stop him before he strikes again.

This could actually be a decent match if Orton really is motivated, and McIntyre has extra incentive, taking these attacks on Raw during his world title reign as an affront to him since Raw is kind of “his show” as champion.

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Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.