WWE Spoilers: ‘Monday Night Raw’ Superstar Turns Babyface
Fans tuning into the upcoming episode of Monday Night Raw can expect to see Randy Orton turn babyface, according to a report from WrestlingNews.co.
The episode — which was shot on Friday in Manchester, England — saw “The Viper” team up with babyfaces Ricochet and Humberto Carrillo in a winning effort against AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows.
According to the report, the match teased tension between Orton and Ricochet. The pair didn’t come to blows, but they still could in the coming weeks.
However, the fact that Orton helped the duo secure a victory suggests that he and WWE’s resident superhero will put their differences aside to compete against Friday Night SmackDown and NXT at this month’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
Orton’s turn shows a different side to the superstar that fans saw on the previous episode of WWE’s flagship show. During the event, he obliterated Rusev with an RKO following weeks of rivalry between both superstars in the lead up to Crown Jewel.
It remains to be seen if the “Bulgarian Brute” plans on getting some payback of his own, but his attention will likely be focused on Lana’s big news.
The WrestlingNews.co report also highlights that WWE has been testing the water on an Orton face turn in recent weeks. During a dark segment on an October episode of 205 Live, he helped Kevin Owens take out Tony Nese, Mike Kannellis, and Drew Gulak.
If Orton is set to play a good guy going forward, chances are the call was made by WWE’s creative team. “The Viper” has been vocal about his dislike of playing this type of character in the past. As quoted by Wrestling Inc., he told E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness that he was “sick of [the] babyface thing.”
Have to give it to @AliWWE, one of the best counters I’ve seen. But in the end … you know how it ends. #KeepWatching https://t.co/4mBAufPtXu
— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) October 7, 2019
Of course, during his previous babyface runs, Orton has been presented as a tweener who takes great pleasure in inflicting pain on any superstar, regardless of how the WWE crowd responds to them.
It’s also worth noting that WWE has triggered this turn after Orton committed his long-term future to the company. As The Inquisitr reported earlier this week, the 39-year-old signed a new multi-year deal following weeks of speculation that he was interested in joining AEW.
It is believed that Orton teased joining WWE’s main competition as a way of getting a bigger contract. Now that he’s signed up for years to come, however, he will likely retire in the company that made him a household name in the first place.
