4 reasons why Randy Orton RKO'd WWE SmackDown GM Nick Aldis - Major message sent to Roman Reigns?

WWE Friday Night SmackDown aired last night on the FOX Network.

The blue show took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. According to WrestleTix, nearly 12,000 fans were in attendance.

The show was notable for one primary reason. Last night marked the return of Randy Orton to SmackDown after a year and a half. With his return came a competition between Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce, the two General Managers of the main roster. Both men wanted to sign Orton to their brand.

In the end, thanks to Paul Heyman's plan backfiring in glorious fashion, Randy Orton chose to sign with SmackDown full-time. This will allow him to target The Bloodline moving forward. As a signing gift to his new boss, Orton then hit the RKO out of nowhere to the SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis.

It isn't clear why Orton laid Aldis out. In this article we will look at a handful of reasons why it happened. This includes as a favor to another personality, to send a message to a champion, and beyond.

Below are four reasons why Randy Orton RKO'd WWE SmackDown GM Nick Aldis.

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#4. He may have done it to put Nick Aldis in his place

Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce.

Nick Aldis hasn't been with World Wrestling Entertainment for very long. He began working for WWE behind the scenes back in August. In October, Triple H made the announcement that Aldis is the new SmackDown General Manager.

In the time since then, Nick has straddled the fence when it comes to babyface and heel behavior. He will stand up to heels when necessary and lay down the law, but he also shows signs of arrogance and a willingness to defeat the red brand by any means necessary.

Orton is no fool and he can certainly see the arrogance in The National Treasure. Given that Randy has worked with corrupt bosses before, including the likes of Eric Bischoff and Stephanie McMahon, he may want to put Aldis in his place immediately. Nick now knows what can happen if he crosses The Viper.

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#3. Randy Orton may have sent a message to The Bloodline

The Bloodline runs the blue brand.

As noted, the main reason why Randy Orton signed with WWE Friday Night SmackDown is The Bloodline. He has stated that his goal is to lay out every member of the group. The Viper started with Jimmy Uso tonight, but he certainly hopes to target more stars.

Orton's vendetta with the group dates back a year and a half. Prior to Randy taking time off for an injury, he was viciously assaulted by the faction on WWE SmackDown. The Viper never forgot and he wants revenge.

By hitting the RKO on Nick Aldis, The Apex Predator sent a major message to Roman Reigns and the rest of The Bloodline. If this is what he'll do to his own boss, just imagine what The Legend Killer is willing to do to the people who crossed him a year and a half earlier.

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#2. He could have done it for WWE RAW's Adam Pearce

As noted, Nick Aldis signed Randy Orton to a WWE Friday Night SmackDown contract. With that being said, he wasn't the only one trying to get Orton signed to a deal. Monday Night RAW's Adam Pearce was also hoping to sign Randy full-time.

Unfortunately for the RAW brand, Pearce couldn't get the former World Heavyweight Champion to sign on the dotted line. This means Nick Aldis has more to gloat about, having previously signed the likes of Kairi Sane and Carlito before Adam could bring them to his show in WWE.

Orton doesn't seem to have any issues with Pearce. If anything, he likely knows that the RAW GM is never going to hear the end of it from Aldis. As a result, the RKO out of nowhere could've been done with Adam Pearce in mind. It deflates Nick's bragging immediately and has to feel good for Scrap Daddy.

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#1. The Viper did it because he can

The main reason Randy Orton hit the RKO on Nick Aldis comes down to one key thing: he is a snake. While it is fun to think about the many reasons why the former WWE Champion did what he did, there may not actually be much of one.

Randy Orton is a future WWE Hall of Famer and so much of his legacy comes down to him being willing to strike anyone and everyone for any reason or for no reason at all. He does as he pleases, whenever he pleases.

The Viper could have struck simply because the opportunity was there for him to do so. He may not have any animosity towards Aldis, nor does he inherently have a reason behind his actions. Randy just did it to do it and will move on accordingly.