Randy Orton to be attacked & betrayed by 2-time Intercontinental Champion on WWE SmackDown? Exploring potential heel turn

Randy Orton is set to return on WWE SmackDown tonight after a failed attempt at claiming the World Heavyweight Championship on Monday Night RAW. However, The Viper's return could be spoiled by someone very close to him.

After Gunther dethroned Damian Priest at the 2024 SummerSlam, Randy Orton was the first person who challenged him for the World Heavyweight Championship. At Bash in Berlin, The Viper failed to dethrone The Ring General, which meant he had to return to WWE SmackDown. With this in mind, The Apex Predator could reunite with his tag team partner Kevin Owens soon, but the latter may already have a different mindset.

Like Orton, Kevin failed to dethrone Cody Rhodes at Bash in Berlin for the Undisputed Championship. Although both men shook hands and shared respect after the match, it didn't go unnoticed that some vicious side of The Prizefighter was displayed during their match.

Due to the former Intercontinental Champion's frustration for the past few weeks on the Friday show and this past weekend, he could explode tonight on Orton. The wrestling veteran could empathize with Owens for losing the World Championship match in Germany, which could only anger The Prizefighter further after reminiscing about it and causing him to unleash his anger on The Viper.

What did Kevin Owens say about working with Randy Orton on WWE SmackDown?

The Stamford-based promotion is filled with talented legends and up-and-coming superstars, but despite the high-profile roster, Kevin thinks his WWE SmackDown partner is the biggest star of them all.

In a recent interview with Daily Mail, KO discussed his partnership with Randy Orton and had nothing but praise for The Viper. Owens shared that there is "something unmatched" when sharing the ring with his partner and the majority of fans love Randy, even stating he thinks his partner is a bigger star than John Cena and Roman Reigns.

"In my opinion, he's the biggest star in WWE. There's really something unmatched when you're in the ring getting ready for a match, whether it's against him or as his partner, and his music hits. The whole arena goes insane. A lot of superstars that have been the biggest names in WWE over the last several years, such as Roman or Cena, they were polarizing figures. You'd have some people that hated them, some people that loved them. Randy, I would say 98 percent of the audience loves him. And I think that's a testament to what he's meant for so long in WWE so getting the chance to team with him has been such a thrill for me."

It would be interesting to see what will happen to Randy Orton on his WWE SmackDown return.