It could main event any other pay per view if you put the WWE World Heavyweight championship on the line. That title will be on the line in the main event. Instead, Roman Reigns and Randy Orton find themselves clashing in a midcard program at SummerSlam with mixed reactions from WWE fans. It’s an interesting place for both of these superstars, one that finds them on a collision course despite going in different directions career wise.
SummerSlam: The Litmus Test
While it is arguable whether SummerSlam or the Royal Rumble is the second biggest event on the WWE calendar, SummerSlam is certainly the midway point for the WWE calendar. While the Rumble works directly into WrestleMania, SummerSlam is more about seeing who could actually be ready to move up the card. It’s a test to see if the current fanfare of a certain talent is real, or if it’s just smoke and mirrors. Over the years, we have seen a lot of wrestlers get handed the proverbial ball and it is based on their match and what they do post-SummerSlam as to if they can carry it.
At the second SummerSlam in 1989, the World Wrestling Federation tested out Zeus and Brutus Beefcake in the main event. Neither man could carry their own weight when compared to the likes of their partners Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. Beefcake slid down the card while the originally considered Zeus vs. Hogan WrestleMania main event was abandoned. Earlier in the card was the Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude for the Intercontinental championship. One year later? It was the main event.
In 1992, despite Hogan, Savage, Warrior and Ric Flair in the company, it was the Intercontinental title match that main evented the show at Wembley Stadium between Bret Hart and British Bulldog. Even though Bret lost the match, he proved to Vince McMahon he could headline a major card. In just a few short weeks, Bret Hart was WWF World champion.
1993 saw Lex Luger get his shot to try and become the next Hulk Hogan and despite a Lex Express and fanfare, by the Royal Rumble it was clear that Bret Hart was still the number one babyface in the company. In 1995, the WWF attempted to make Mabel their next big monster heel. That push died at SummerSlam when he stunk up the main event against Diesel. SummerSlam 2000 saw Kurt Angle receive his first main event in a pay per view, with a triple threat against The Rock and Triple H. Two months later Angle won his first WWF World title. Brock Lesnar officially became the Next Big Thing when he beat The Rock at SummerSlam 2002, becoming the face of the company for two solid years.
Which now brings us to SummerSlam 2004. In what is now a forgotten match in WWE history, Randy Orton went from the future of the business to the present when he defeated Chris Benoit for the World Heavyweight championship. It was the rise of a new superstar. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. Orton couldn’t carry the heat from winning the match and having Evolution turn on him. He was eventually pushed down the card to become a number in the Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak, while Dave Batista stole his thunder, won the Royal Rumble and beat HHH in the main event at WrestleMania 21.
SummerSlam 2004 was a test to see if Randy Orton could hang, and he could against Benoit. Unfortunately, he couldn’t hang on to the top as it just wasn’t yet his time. But that didn’t mean he was toast like Zeus or King Mabel before him. Orton stayed with his shoulders against the glass ceiling until 2007 before finally becoming the main event superstar he was meant to be. The lesson here is that SummerSlam might be the litmus test, but it takes a considerable failure to fall completely out of favour. It’s still a golden opportunity.
Randy Orton: The Hunter Becomes The Hunted
At 34 years old, Orton is really at the age where most wrestlers are into their peak. For Orton, who was at one point the youngest WWE champion ever, it feels like he’s nearing the end of his run. It’s hard to see what could be left to freshen up The Viper. Orton used to be The Legend Killer but rarely killed Legends at only 34 years old. But 34 isn’t the impressive number. The impressive number is 14. Orton is already a 14 year veteran. For comparison, Triple H was a 14 year veteran in 2006.
Orton is currently in a struggle to stay relevant at a time when people are bored of him. He feels a lot like Sting in the dying days of WCW (or his later years in TNA). Sting had done it all and there wasn’t much left for him to do. What’s left for Orton to do? If Randy has another 10 years in his tank engine, can WWE fans really put up with him for another decade? Orton is proof of a superstar that should have been in an older era. Orton at this point could have left the WWE for WCW so when he does return three years later, he feels fresh again. There isn’t anything I can think of that WWE or Randy Orton could do to not make him feel like same old.
It’s because of this that despite still being called The Viper, Orton is now just a stepping stone for the younger stars of the WWE. The hunter has become the hunted. It makes no sense for him to be killing legends when he’s a legend now himself. A legend stuck in his time. Nobody really sees how he could beat the likes of Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. Or worse off, how it would be best for business. If Orton doesn’t take a hint from his former group Evolution and start evolving, everyone is going to pass him by. For the man who got kicked off of the glass ceiling 10 years ago following his first major title win at SummerSlam, it’s time for him to think about what he can do to get right back up.
In snakes and ladders, the ladder takes you up and the snake slides you down. Randy Orton needs to know how to climb a ladder again.
Roman Reigns: Never Enough
There was a lot of excitement when people first heard about The Shield. Independent star Jon Moxley would be in the group. Same to former ROH World champion Tyler Black. It was expected the third member would be former member of the Kings of Wrestling in Chris Hero. Hero, then called Kassius Ohno, never got that shot. Instead the shot went to a Samoan big man named Leakee.
Nobody was happy.
At the inception of The Shield, he was the odd man out. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins were expected to carry the load for this unknown hoss. But the hoss showed a soft spoken charisma mixed with undeniable intensity. He was big, athletic and menacing. He was believable when he tore through the top babyfaces of the WWE. In due time, Reigns proved everyone wrong. Nobody thought he would be the breakout star of The Shield but there he was. As they feuded with Evolution, a vibe was forming. He was Batista, the guy who grabbed the dropped ball of Randy Orton and was ready to run with it.
Ever since Shield was broken up, WWE fans have seen Ambrose and Rollins change up their images as they feud against each other. Reigns still wears the Shield gear. Reigns looks like he’s a one man Shield faction and fights like it too. And without Rollins and Ambrose to hide his negatives, we’re starting to see them just as clear as we once saw his positives. Maybe he wasn’t Batista. Maybe he really was Orton.
Reigns now finds himself face to face against The Viper, and he’d do himself some good to see what Randy Orton had to do in order to re-invent himself. Being a Legend Killer was easy for Orton like a crutch, but it did nothing to establish himself beyond simple success. Reigns uses The Shield in the same way, and it is due time he finds a way to show he’s more than just his own early nostalgia. Against Orton one on one instead of a Money in the Bank, Royal Rumble or six man tag match, Reigns has a chance to show how great he can truly be. Or show he was just a flash in the pan.
But maybe I’m too hard on Roman Reigns. The fact is, we’ve been doubting Reigns since he first came in. He was the guy who didn’t have the indy darling cred. He was just a hoss. And as a hoss, he proved he had the same enigmatic charisma that the Bill Goldberg’s and Dave Batista’s before him had. For all of the doubt on his career, it sure seems like Reigns continues to leap with a Superman punch in the face to those doubts every time. Maybe he isn’t Batista or Orton. Maybe he’s John Cena, the guy people will doubt for his entire career despite proving people wrong night in and night out. The doubts may stay, but they’ll never stop his rise.
Conclusion
Maybe I’m trying to find deeper meaning in a match-up that feels lacking. It’s hardly a maybe, more of a definitely. But that deeper meaning is why I’m going to watch Reigns with intense detail and see just what he’s going to do to prove his critics wrong. And I’m going to watch Orton with intense detail and see what he’s going to do to prove that he still belongs at the upper echelon of the WWE. Maybe this match doesn’t have the dramatics like Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon. Maybe this match doesn’t have the big fight feel of John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar. Maybe this match doesn’t scream “future of the business” like Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose. Maybe it doesn’t mean that much to you, but it’ll mean everything to the careers of Roman Reigns and Randy Orton.
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