By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

The Orton-Triple H feud that's set to culminate at WWE's monumental 25th anniversary of WrestleMania in April took a strange turn this week as the storyline introduced a faux stipulation that lasted less than five days.

On Raw, Orton announced that he would seek a World Heavyweight Title match against either Edge or John Cena at WrestleMania. After all, he won the Royal Rumble Match and rightfully earned the chance to determine which world title would be on the line in the PPV bout. However, just after announcing his decision, the Game walked to the ring brandishing his signature sledgehammer.

At first, the situation seemed logical. Orton—protected by Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, doctors, lawyers, and a small security force—listened as an impassioned Triple H began talking about their issues. However, something inexplicable then happened: Triple H brought up Evolution and how he decimated Randy Orton years ago after he first won the World Heavyweight Championship.

WWE seemingly dropped the entire premise of the story—Triple H's uncontrollable rage as he tries to avenge his now-injured family—in order to shift the trajectory of the narrative. If I can draw a quick poker metaphor here: It's as if Triple H had been the aggressive bettor throughout the first two rounds of betting, but suddenly checked on the third round, relinquishing his control of the game and granting Orton the opportunity to take advantage.

Does this make any sense? Perhaps with a little digging, it might. Presumably, Triple H saw that Randy Orton was too cowardly to choose the WWE Title match against him over the World Heavyweight Title match against either Edge or Cena (both of whom Orton has no personal disputes with). In order to coax Randy Orton into a title match that Triple H desperately wants so that he can legally beat the hell out of him at the biggest PPV of the year, the Cerebral Assassin changed gears by using history.

It was a 180-degree change. Just last week, Triple H stalked Orton through the backstage hallways as he swung and threw his sledgehammer at the leader of Legacy; this week he's adopted a calm, collected disposition so that he can adequately build the rage inside Randy Orton.

The idea that Triple H changed his entire attitude so that Orton would take the bait and choose the WWE Title match at WrestleMania was ultimately a wash. On the one hand, it gave reason for Orton to pick the match against Triple H over the other one. But on the other hand, it temporarily killed Triple H's steamrolling anger.

The next series of events were equally bizarre. Orton accepted Triple H's challenge and reversed his decision on the match he wants at WrestleMania, but he had a stipulation: Triple H couldn't lay a hand on him until their match. Triple H reluctantly accepted the compromise, which allowed Orton to take some verbal swipes at the Game by describing how good it felt to kick his father-in-law and brother-in-law in the head. When Orton gloated about how great it felt to give Stephanie an RKO, Triple H jumped back into the ring and had an intense stare-down with his current rival.

Orton's abuse of his own stipulation by bragging about his attacks and publicly reminiscing about how good it felt just to get under Triple H's skin was by far the best element of the week, at least in terms of this storyline. But then something happened that changed everything: Orton showed up on Smackdown and blindsided Triple H with a sneak attack in the middle of the Game's match with Umaga.

Smackdown concluded with Orton's chin raised high after he, with the help of Legacy, mauled Triple H to the point where he couldn't even stand. It was clear—and Jim Ross even noted it on commentary—that Orton was the first to throw a punch at Triple H and that the Game was "physically provoked." So the big question is: Why?

If Randy Orton has seen how utterly useless his faction has been as of late against Triple H and his uncompromising sledgehammer, why in the world would he destroy the stipulation that protected him from what has been a deranged and ruthless attacker? This latest assault now gives Triple H free reign to attack Orton at will without the risk of losing the WWE Title match at WrestleMania that he desperately craved.

First Randy Orton's character came across as cowardly (which doesn't really fit his role), and now he comes across as stupid too (which never fit his role). What is WWE up to?

Was this week simply a way for WWE to logically set up the title match between Orton and Triple H? The storyline went from "Triple H on the attack" to "Triple H strikes a deal with Orton" before setting them back on the exact course they were headed a week ago. After radically shifting the direction and then shifting right back again four days later, this week almost felt like a wash overall—as if it never even happened.

Of course, there are pros and cons with just about everything. In this case, the pros include getting the title matches for WrestleMania settled as well as adding a new dynamic to the Orton-Triple H rivalry by putting the momentum in the heel's corner. Another pro would be the fact that WWE is constantly changing the situation.

The biggest con obviously involves taking a proverbial step back to last week as Triple H will likely be stalking Legacy all over again. Why not milk the stipulation that they can't attack one another for a week or two? Orton relished the opportunity to get under Triple H's skin on Raw. It would have been nice to see what he could have come up with this Monday night.

But by opting to destroy the verbal agreement between Triple H and Randy Orton on Smackdown, WWE decided to keep the tension high. Ultimately, storylines should be judged by how well they entertain week-by-week. This week may have involved some bizarre twisting, but constant transformation of the feud proved compelling nonetheless.

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