Rumors claimed the WWE would turn Randy Orton face sometime in the near future, but it appears that time is now since WWE Monday Night RAW just had the Viper snapping back at the Authority.
In a related reported by The Inquisitr , turning Randy Orton face is a business decision that was apparently forced by the injuries sustained by Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns. While the WWE active roster includes a lot of heels at the moment and even Bray Wyatt is back, there’s a notable lack of faces available at this time. So while Orton is giving in to management, on Twitter he also said, “I never want @RandyOrton to turn face… It doesn’t suit him…”
The evening started with Vince McMahon showing up to announce that the stakes for Team Cena versus Team Authority needed to be raised another notch. Although fans were booing for much of this speech, they had to give a cheer when Vince suggested that if Team Authority loses, then Triple H and Stephanie McMahon will no longer be The Authority. It was also suggested at one point that Randy Orton should be considered as part of Team Authority for the upcoming Survivor Series tag team elimination match.
Randy Orton’s face turn apparently became official following his defeat at the hands of Seth Rollins during Monday Night RAW . Orton went on a rampage and attacked Rollins, Jamie Noble, Joey Mercury, and Kane. The Viper even bit the hand that feeds him, going after Triple H.
But Orton’s assault on The Authority was short-lived, since Rollins curb stomped him on both the announcer table and the ringside steps. From a storyline perspective, Orton was also considered “injured,” since he was shown with his head bleeding slightly and ringside WWE officials had him stretchered out from the arena.
The reason the story was written this way is because Randy Orton is scheduled to miss Monday Night RAW and WWE SmackDown tapings for at least several weeks while he begins filming The Condemned 2 on November 11, 2014. There’s also the possibility that the Viper will miss Survivor Series , although that rumor has not been officially confirmed. It’s also been noted that recent WrestleMania 31 promotions have removed Orton as one of the main wrestlers portrayed on posters.
Assuming a Survivor Series appearance does happen, Randy Orton’s face turn pretty much guarantees he’s probably no longer considered part of Team Authority. It’s uncertain whether Orton would join Team Cena, although it’s possible Orton will be written out of the storyline entirely since the PPV event takes place on November 23, 2014, giving WWE Creative no other events in-between to work with in developing the change.
What do you think about Randy Orton’s face turn? Do you think the Viper should join Team Cena?