Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar are on a collision course for SummerSlam.
The WWE announced last week that "The Viper" will take on "The Beast" at "The Biggest Event of the Summer" on Aug. 21 live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Though there was little storyline attached to the match and it was announced out of nowhere, it was a sound choice by the WWE.
Here are three reasons why Orton vs. Lesnar was the right move for SummerSlam.
1) Fresh Feud
Since his return in 2012, Lesnar has had lengthy programs with a lot of veterans, including the likes of The Undertaker, Triple H and John Cena, so he doesn't have many fresh big names left to tangle with. While an argument could be made that Lesnar should face Dean Ambrose, since he destroyed him at WrestleMania and the "Lunatic Fringe" is the current champion, or even Bray Wyatt, since their rivalry doesn't have any closure, Orton isn't a bad choice.
Stale character or not, "The Apex Predator" is still capable of putting on a great match, and he is more than worthy of having such a high-profile bout, even if he spent all of 2016 on the sidelines. A clash with someone as physical as "The Beast" is certainly risky for Orton as he returns from a serious shoulder injury, but the gamble should be worth it.
2) Marquee Match
The WWE had to announce an opponent for Lesnar prior to his UFC 200 fight with Mark Hunt, which he won via decision on Saturday, so it's forgivable that they opted to choose Orton without giving any sort of background or reason why these two would be involved in a feud together.
Given the cross promotion between the WWE and UFC, it had to be a big name. The WWE knew that the UFC would advertise SummerSlam at its milestone event in exchange for being allowed to use Lesnar for one more fight, so Vince McMahon's organization had to attach another well-known name to Lesnar's for the show to drum up potential interest in SummerSlam from casual wrestling fans who were watching the UFC event.
3) Offensive Arsenal
Lesnar is a UFC fighter and just showed how dangerous of a guy he can be in the Octagon, so upon a return to the squared circle, the WWE had to give him an opponent that can believably take him out. Sure, Orton doesn't measure up to Paul Heyman's client in sheer size and strength, but he has a believable offensive repertoire that could conceivably hurt his much bigger adversary.
Orton has an arsenal full of quick strikes like the RKO, punt to the head and through the ropes DDT, giving him a potential believable edge over Lesnar when it comes to unpredictable, striking moves out of nowhere.
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