WWE RAW: 5 reasons why Randy Orton hit an RKO on Beth Phoenix

Modified Mar 03, 2020 05:22 GMT

#1. To reaffirm Randy Orton as a sadistic villain

Randy Orton took it to a whole new level

This is the Randy Orton that we truly missed seeing. When he was still a young rising prospect, he made his name as "The Legend Killer" - a sadistic heel who would go after anyone and everyone.

Women certainly weren't off-limits to his assaults either and Beth Phoenix isn't the first woman to experience the RKO. Orton admitted a few years ago that he's far more comfortable being a heel and he said this while being an established babyface on SmackDown.

He turned heel in 2018 but the run didn't quite have the same effect and results as one might have hoped. It took Edge to return to end his short-lived babyface run on RAW. And perhaps his return after 9 years motivated Orton, who normally isn't known to put in a 100% (not in the past decade, anyway) seems to be giving it his all in this rivalry.

RKO'ing Beth Phoenix reaffirmed him as the sadistic villain of old - which is exactly what he needed at this time.

Also read: 8 things WWE subtly told us on RAW - Former US Champion possibly loses his push, Aleister Black defeated by injured superstar?

About the author

Rohit Nath is a content writer from Bangalore, India. A former full-time employee of Sportskeeda, Rohit was a part of building Sportskeeda's WWE section in its rapid growth. His work has been featured in both Sportskeeda and Wrestlezone.

Some of the big names interviewed by Rohit are AJ Styles, Jinder Mahal, Jimmy Uso and Sasha Banks. Some of his popular weekly features include RAW Preview, "X things Subtly told us" and "Wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't".

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Edited by Habil Ahmed Sherule