Power Ranking WWE's 10 Top Performers For September 2016

Who could have predicted getting your skull split open could be a good career move?

After missing significant time due to injury, many fans wondered if Randy Orton would be able to come back and regain any of his lost momentum or would he settle into a part-timer role similar to where his contemporary John Cena seems to be heading. The Viper is one of those wrestlers who seem to remain inexplicably over no matter how dull of an angle he’s saddled with, and despite the fact that he clearly rests on his laurels in certain feuds he still draws great reactions.

Since his return he’s worked two programs, one with Brock Lesnar and the other Bray Wyatt. The Lesnar affair was controversial and newsworthy for all the wrong reasons, with many fans convinced that Brock had gone into business for himself and shot on Orton, busting him open in direct contradiction to what the booking called for.

For his part, Randy took the beating like a champ and went along with everything that was asked of him, including covering up the fact that he was suffering from a concussion after the bout.

The Wyatt feud came to a screeching halt before it had a chance to get cooking due to Orton being unable to get cleared for Backlash, but even though he couldn’t compete he still made an appearance, drew one of the biggest pops on the show and made his presence felt with an RKO on The Eater of Worlds.

Orton is currently in a great spot on SmackDown and will hopefully be used to help make some of the younger talent, particularly Wyatt who has been the victim of terrible booking for multiple years at this point. With all the new faces making up the WWE roster, a veteran like The Viper is a must; especially one the audience still pays to see.