RAW star should be Randy Orton's opponent if he makes WWE return, legends say (Exclusive)

Legendary pro wrestling journalist Bill Apter has given his thoughts on Randy Orton possibly facing Matt Riddle if he returns to WWE in-ring action.

Orton has not wrestled over the last 12 months due to a serious back injury. His father, WWE Hall of Famer Bob Orton Jr., recently confirmed that his son is training again, but doctors have told him not to return to wrestling.

On Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine, Apter said Orton should revisit his storyline with Riddle if he laces up his boots again. This time, however, the two should be enemies instead of allies:

"Maybe that'll wind up the two of them opposing each other," Apter suggested. "Riddle is a more mature Riddle than he was with Randy. He's not playing around. He doesn't have the scooter. It's a different Riddle, and maybe that wouldn't settle well with the current character, that [Riddle] character, and Randy Orton." [6:31 – 6:54]

WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long also appeared on the show. He agreed that Riddle would be the ideal rival for Orton:

"I'd like to see Riddle as an opponent," Long said. "I think that Riddle would give Randy Orton one hell of a match, I'm telling you. That's it right there. That's the match right there." [7:20 – 7:33]

Watch the video above to hear more about Orton's approach to wrestling, including the method acting he used to do earlier in his career.

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Should Matt Riddle feud with Randy Orton over the RKO?

Randy Orton has not competed in a match since RK-Bro lost a tag title unification bout to The Usos on the May 20, 2022, episode of SmackDown. Although The Viper has not been active for a year, Matt Riddle occasionally references his absent tag team partner on television. He also uses Orton's RKO finisher.

The Wrestling Time Machine host Mac Davis believes on-screen allies often have great matches against each other after they separate:

"I love watching when you have a team like those two, who aren't a real tag team, but you get two guys who have rode together and worked together for a long period of time, when they have a match, they've been talking about and thinking about what things they can do for a long time to have that match, so it would be really cool to watch." [7:33 – 7:50]

With or without Orton by his side, Teddy Long thinks Riddle has all the tools to be a big star in WWE:

"That Riddle, he's smart, he's a smart kid, man. I've watched him, and he watches, he pays attention. He's another guy that's got it, man. He's gonna be okay." [7:51 – 8:02]

Regarding Riddle's use of Orton's RKO finisher, Bill Apter added that the move could become part of a potential storyline between the two:

"Keep in mind, the angle there is Riddle knows how to do that RKO, so is he gonna take his mentor and RKO and finish his mentor off?" [8:04 – 8:17]

On the latest episode of RAW, Riddle teamed up with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to defeat Giovanni Vinci, Gunther, and Ludwig Kaiser.

Would you like to see Matt Riddle vs. Randy Orton? Let us know in the comments section below.

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