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Randy Orton underwent knee surgery to repair a medial meniscus tear in his left knee, according to a WWE.com report. Orton says he knew for a while he had knee issues. “I’ve known I needed the surgery since late last year, but I’ve been waiting for the right time to get my knee cleaned out,” Orton told WWE.com. “Right now was the right time.”
Orton says he is “staying motivated to comeback and dominate the blue brand.”
Smackdown was already weak on the babyface depth chart, with only A.J. Styles, Daniel Bryan, and Jeff Hardy among top tier babyfaces. In contrast, the heel depth chart runs seven deep in terms of wrestlers who would be believable competing against the top tier babyfaces – Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura, The Miz, Big Cass, Andrade Cien Almas, Rusev, and Shelton Benjamin.
With Orton likely missing several months of action, this could lead to babyface turns by one or two heels. Rusev has been cheered loudly for months, and Samoa Joe is popular with a big part of the fanbase and is matched against heel Big Cass, so those are the two top candidates robe turned. Otherwise, WWE may have to look at wrestlers currently in tag teams for some babyface singles matches such as members of New Day and The Club.
Smackdown has styles, Joe, Nakamura and bryan. If you can’t build a mainevent around that for the next 3-6 months something is wrong.
Almas, Jeff hardy, rusev,, miz should be chasing the us title. charlotte, asuka, Becky, Peyton the four some they build around and they have sanity, new day, usos, bludgeon brothers to build around for tag titles.
WWE is a babyface territory meaning heels should come across as having the advantage only for the babyfaces to triumph in the end. Having more heels for the babyfaces to challenge is a good thing. How many top babyfaces did hogan have between 1985-89..piper, bundy, wonderful, andre, studd, savage, rude were all heels.
Orton should turn heel upon his return
“and Shelton Benjamin”
Don’t think Shelton has been established as a main event threat in this return at all.