WWE RAW Flops and Hits: Seth Rollins busted open, Vince McMahon’s interesting gift for young superstar (22nd November 2021)

#3 Hit on WWE RAW: Riddle (with Randy Orton)

Randy Orton met a different version of Riddle on WWE RAW this week – one that had completely mirrored The Viper. The Original Bro talked about how he is trying to be more like Orton. The latter wasn’t too pleased with these actions, and it certainly sowed the seeds of a potential split.

Randy Orton did not shy away from letting Riddle know that he is not a big fan of identity theft. If you go back to watch the episode, there is a moment during Dolph Ziggler’s entrance when Orton angrily looks at his partner while they are standing inside the ring.

This moment was brief but impactful and would make for a great addition to the promo when the eventual betrayal transpires on WWE RAW.

Riddle faced tough competition inside the ring against Dolph Ziggler. The one-half of The Dirty Dawgs was excellent in all of his offenses, and he even removed his opponent's fake mustache and goatee.

However, Riddle truly had truly embraced Randy Orton’s persona as he started to move inside the ring, just like The Viper on WWE RAW. He was vicious in his attacks, which added another layer of brilliance to his already impressive performance.

Towards the end of the match, Orton looked proud of his tag team partner as Riddle borrowed his moves. The latter then delivered an excellent RKO to seal his victory over Ziggler while The Viper cheered at ringside.

He then entered the ring and delivered Bro Derek on Robert Roode before celebrating with Riddle on WWE RAW. It was an entertaining opening match and set the right tone for the rest of the show. The impressive performances from everyone, especially the tag team champions, accounted for great story-telling and left us pondering over what could happen in the future.

A lot of people have warned Riddle about Orton’s history of tuning on his partners. His fascination with copying Randy Orton can motivate him to channel his inner Viper. However, WWE RAW can pull off a major surprise by having The Original Bro turn on his tag team partner and justifying it as learning from the best.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but one of them now shares a legendary identity while the other is transforming into one of the best performers the business has ever seen. Either way, this is an excellent storyline in the making, and hopefully, the creative team will make the most of the same.