Randy Orton seems to be at a bit of a crossroads in his career right now, especially when you take into account that this time last year, he was gearing himself up for a WWE Championship match against Bray Wyatt who captured his first singles title by emerging victorious in the Elimination Chamber.
The Viper’s year has been slightly hit-and-miss this year based on the feuds he has had. Not many were fans of him dethroning Wyatt at WrestleMania 33, and even fewer were pleased with how WWE booked Orton to drop the WWE Championship to Jinder Mahal.
That’s something fans still can’t believe actually happened.
FASTLANE
Since then, Orton has gotten involved with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens as they ran riot on SmackDown LIVE where they proved to be a genuine nuisance. Now, Orton’s main focus is on Bobby Roode and the only singles championship he is yet to win in WWE - the United States title.
The Glorious One defends the championship this Sunday at the Fastlane event against The Apex Predator and judging by the recent reports from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it sounds like Roode is going to be retaining the gold at the SmackDown-exclusive pay-per-view.
That’s because they’ve revealed which match Orton could be a part of at WrestleMania 34 next month in New Orleans, Louisiana. In all honesty, it doesn’t sound like something fans are going to be overly excited by.
UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP
The source suggests that Orton will, yet again, be involved in the United States Championship match. However, it’s thought that at the Grandest Stage of Them All, WWE will book a triple threat match instead. Based on what’s been happening on WWE television recently, it’s clear that The Modern Day Maharaja will be brought into the fold too.
It was thought that WWE originally planned on having Mahal featured in the match at Fastlane. However, it seems like they’re holding off on this until WrestleMania where they can continue playing the ‘uncrowned United States Champion’ card with Mahal beating both men in recent weeks.
Orton is usually involved in some huge matches at WrestleMania. Wyatt at WrestleMania 33, Seth Rollins two years prior to that and being featured in the incredible story featuring Daniel Bryan where he lost the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to the current SmackDown general manager in a match also featuring Dave Batista at WrestleMania XXX.
While it might seem like a slight step down and with Orton looking to get his foot in the door for other opportunities outside of WWE, capturing this title will certainly be another big milestone in his career.
What do you make of the speculated WrestleMania 34 match for Randy Orton? Have YOUR say in the comments section below.