7 Ups And 5 Downs From WWE Raw (Dec 16)

3. Long Game With Orton?

Randy Orton AJ Styles
WWE.com

Does anyone have any idea what Randy Orton is doing these days?

Yes, he does what he wants, when he wants. But what storyline is he actually engaged in? Recently, we saw Orton dabble in a strange rivalry/teaming up with Ricochet. Then he verbally sparred with Drew McIntyre. Then he began tormenting AJ Styles, costing him his United States Championship and a rematch for the title.

Monday, Orton defeated Styles with an RKO (from outta nowhere) and then immediately disappeared to the floor while The OC dropped the Viking Raiders, who came out to save Orton.

It’s just a strange role for one of the most storied wrestlers on the active roster. Orton just seems to meander from mini-angle to mini-angle with no real purpose. He’s not calling out Brock Lesnar (remember him?) for the WWE Championship, and he’s not pursuing the US title any longer.

This just feels odd, like the writers know they want him on the program because he’s popular, but they have no idea what to do with him week to week. Figure it out people.

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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.