Randy Orton was not featured on the latest edition of Monday Night RAW. His absence was quite noticeable as his RAW Tag Team Champion partner, Riddle kicked off the show to face Jimmy Uso in the opening bout. ‘The Viper’ was not his Riddle’s corner for the match. WWE‘s commentary team noted that Orton wasn’t there due to a “family commitment.” However, it seems that is not the legitimate reason for his absence.
Randy Orton was busy with other work
As per a report from Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics.com, Orton was actually representing WWE at the FOX upfronts in New York. For those unaware, upfronts are events held for advertisers and media by network executives at the beginning of important advertising sales periods.
In Orton’s absence, Riddle was able to beat Jimmy Uso, giving RK-Bro some big momentum heading into their title unification bout against The Usos on SmackDown Live this week. RK-Bro will put their RAW Tag Titles on the line against The Usos and their SmackDown Tag Titles.
It will be a winner takes all affair this Friday night for a match that has been built up for weeks.
Have you ever wondered how RK-Bro might perform in AEW? While speaking on the Keepin’ It 100 podcast, Disco Inferno spoke hypothetically about how RK-Bro would be “neutered” under the AEW system. The WCW veteran created a big contrast between the two promotions, as he pointed out how Tony Khan doesn’t prioritize character development while WWE focuses on every aspect:
“If you took like RK-Bro [Randy Orton and Riddle] and put them in the AEW system, they’d be neutered, or they’d have backstage interviews for a minute and a half, you know, they wouldn’t have the in-rings where they’d confrontate, you know, they just won’t be doing that. Because they don’t do that on their show and that’s the thing is like, dude, you’re not spending enough time on character development, which is why your characters are underwhelming,” Inferno said.
