Major WWE Star Jumps To SmackDown
This main event level WWE star is now "exclusively" on SmackDown, not Raw.
Randy Orton has officially jumped brands from Raw to SmackDown following Friday's episode of blue brand action, and it now appears the recent returnee will appear exclusively on the Nick Aldis-led show.
WWE ran a show-long storyline on SmackDown teasing that Randy would ink a deal with one of the top two weeklies by the end of the night. Eventually, despite pitches from Raw GM Adam Pearce and Bloodline mouthpiece Paul Heyman against it, Orton signed on the dotted line with Smackers.
Randy also encouraged Heyman, Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa to inform Roman Reigns that, "Daddy's back!". So, it'd appear that Triple H and his creative team have Orton vs. Reigns in mind soon. That could happen before the end of 2023, or they might hold off until January's Royal Rumble.
Either way, it's a blockbuster match, and the announcement proved popular with the live crowd there for SmackDown.
It'd be a lie to suggest that WWE's rosters on Raw and SmackDown are ironclad. The company has repeatedly undermined the 2023 Draft since it happened, and there's every chance Orton will occasionally show up on Mondays when needed anyway.
Still, Randy vs. Roman is big news.