Update On Plans For Randy Orton For This Year’s Summerslam

It was previously reported that Randy Orton had been pitching matches with Adam Cole, Tommaso Ciampa, or another NXT wrestler for Summerslam. However, Wrestletalk reports that Orton is set to be the challenger for WWE Champion Drew McIntyre at the annual summer event. The news was corroborated by TalkSport’s Alex McCarthy.

It’s believed that Orton is needed for the match with McIntyre because of the lack of top heels on the RAW brand. However, this doesn’t mean that a match with Ciampa won’t happen, as WWE could simply move forward with it at a later date.

Orton was originally meant to face Edge before the Rated-R Superstar tore his triceps at Backlash. That was when Orton began to pitch a match against an NXT talent.

In fairness, I was also told Orton’s immediate thoughts after learning Edge was injured was to pivot to either Adam Cole or Tommaso Ciampa at SummerSlam.

Not sure on current plans, but common sense says Randy is top heel/best matchup for Drew. https://t.co/YDxEkxr1zE

— Alex McCarthy (@AlexM_talkSPORT) July 8, 2020