Ever since being curb-stomped through the announcers table in November, Randy Orton has been an afterthought in WWE. His name has barely been, mentioned, to the point where his eventual return would be a legitimate shock. His return has been held back, as he was rumored for the Royal Rumble and even was on the PPV poster (contrast that with Daniel Bryan being brought back at the Rumble to lose). On Raw, the Authority engaged in what seemed to be a new drinking game: Take a sip every time someone mentions Randy Orton. In the span of 90 seconds, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and Seth Rollins referenced Orton no less than five times, mocking the Viper and talking about how he couldnt take advantage of opportunities put in front of him. The repeated references telegraphed the obvious and eventual return of a good guy Orton seeking revenge on Rollins. Rather than have Orton appear from outta nowhere and assault Rollins to set up their WrestleMania program, WWE chose to club fans over the head about Randys eventual return. The only surprise was that he didnt interfere in the Rollins-Bryan match later that night. But dont worry, well probably get 50 more Randy Orton references before he reemerges.
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.
