5 WWE Superstars and their reasons for turning heel in 2020

#2: Randy Orton gave a twisted explanation behind brutalizing Edge on WWE RAW

The rare inter-gender bump in WWE. Randy Orton hits Beth Phoenix with an RKO to take his feud with Edge to the next level. pic.twitter.com/86dHjUebsG

— SI Wrestling (@SI_wrestling) March 3, 2020

After Edge's highly-publicized WWE return at the 2020 Royal Rumble, Randy Orton turned on his colleague in an episode of RAW.

The Viper didn't explain his actions for a few weeks. But that changed when Beth Phoenix appeared to provide a medical update on her husband, Edge, in early March.

The Viper justified his attack by saying that he was only looking out for Edge as a friend. Edge saved Randy Orton from himself once upon a time, and Orton reasoned that he was paying back the favor by preventing The Rated-R Superstar from making an in-ring return. In Orton's mind, an in-ring return would have put Edge in great danger of a potential mishap and that would have taken him away from his wife and daughters.

Randy Orton's twisted logic painted Beth Phoenix as the enabler who encouraged Edge to put himself at such risk, while Orton thought he was the one looking out for Edge by being more realistic. As many know at this point, that segment ended with Randy Orton delivering an RKO to Beth Phoenix.

THAT. WAS. AWESOME.@RandyOrton has DEFEATED @EdgeRatedR in what very well may be the GREATEST WRESTLING MATCH EVER! #WWEBacklash pic.twitter.com/dcEfAuKtjm

— WWE (@WWE) June 15, 2020

Edge and Orton's feud crossed boundaries between fiction and reality. The Ultimate Opportunist defeated The Viper at WrestleMania, while Orton defeated Edge in their rematch at WWE Backlash. Edge suffered a torn triceps injury at WWE Backlash and he is currently gearing up for a return in the near future.