WWE News: Randy Orton Finds Himself As A Top Target For The Club
Randy Orton is scheduled to return to the WWE sometime this summer, but will he even recognize the place when he gets back? The WWE landscape will have changed dramatically when The Viper finally appears again. By the looks of it, the brand split will have taken shape by then, so Orton will either be reporting to RAW or SmackDown, not both.
Orton’s been through the brand extension before, having been drafted to RAW in 2002, SmackDown in 2005, back to RAW in 2006, and again to the blue brand in 2011. Needless to say, his repeated brand-shifting has not affected his Hall of Fame candidacy.
However, the main event picture might look a little different when Randy Orton steps back into a WWE ring. Seth Rollins and John Cena both beat Orton back from their respective injuries, but now Roman Reigns and AJ Styles also occupy top spots. Styles is the most interesting of those four, as he’s only been in the WWE for less than six months, all of which Orton has missed. AJ recently said his top two opponents of choice upon signing with the company were John Cena and Randy Orton. Well, Styles is getting his first wish in the here and now.
Daily pic of @RandyOrton ? pic.twitter.com/SaHgSaDbNr
— Orton's German Girl? (@MelissaH25) May 24, 2016
Whether Orton ends up in Styles’ cross-hairs remains to be seen, but it’d certainly make sense down the line. AJ also helped facilitate the signing of his former Bullet Club running buddies, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, known in WWE simply as The Club. Their initial impact fell a little flat, but perhaps due to some backstage persuading, Gallows and Anderson have provided the punch many expected in their run-ins with Reigns, and now Cena. Might the same fate await Orton when The Apex Predator is all healed up? Karl Anderson recently spoke with Amarillo.com and revealed who’s at the top of his WWE wish list (thanks to Wrestling Inc for the transcription).
“Being in the WWE is a dream in itself. Being in the ring with John Cena on Monday night was something crazy. I’d love to get in the ring with Randy Orton. Roman was cool to be in the ring with, Dolph Ziggler would be really sweet. But I think Randy Orton right now would be pretty cool for me. He’s somebody I look up to. We’re about the same age but he’s been on TV for a long time so it’d be pretty cool to get in there with him.”
It’s difficult to foresee WWE splitting up Gallows and Anderson, as they’re much more valuable together than apart. AJ’s presence just enhances the entire package, and the lingering cloud of Finn Balor adds even more intrigue. So with that being the case, Anderson and Orton squaring off one-on-one might not go much further than a match on RAW or SmackDown. But whether Randy Orton and The Club end up on the same show or not, Anderson feels like the brand split will offer up a lot more chances for the entire roster.
“The brand extension is going to offer different opportunities. What they did back 2001 or 2002 or whenever it was I think John Cena ended up on Smackdown and ended up turning himself into a global superstar. One of my best friends Finn Balor is in NXT and when he gets up to either Raw or Smackdown we’ll get to see him. He’ll be amazing and there are other superstars from NXT that will get to come up that the world needs to see. There is a ton of depth on the roster and we’re all excited for the opportunity. It’s going to give everyone a chance to grow.”
[Image via WWE]
