WWE WrestleMania 36 Results: Despite Losing To Edge, Randy Orton Is Primed For A Huge Push

Edge defeated Randy Orton at WWE WrestleMania 36 in his first singles match in nine years, marking an emotional moment for “The Rated R Superstar” and WWE fans across the world even though the match itself was, at best, very underwhelming.

It was way back in 2011 that Edge was forced into premature retirement due to cervical spinal stenosis, which seemed to end his career for good while he was still smack dab in the middle of his prime. Following in the footsteps of stars like Daniel Bryan whose in-ring tenures appeared to be over due to career-ending injuries, Edge was able to pull off a minor miracle, get cleared and resist a tempting offer from AEW to sign a lucrative, $3 million per year deal with WWE, instantly reestablishing himself as one of WWE’s most beloved babyfaces in the process.

Though it initially looked like Edge was headed for a highly anticipated Rated RKO reunion with Orton, “The Viper” instead turned heel in epic fashion when he unleashed a world class beatdown on his former tag team partner. Despite Orton’s long and storied history, his heel turn actually came as a huge surprise. Orton, after all, had emerged as one of the most popular babyfaces in all of WWE in the months prior, as his RKO and his anti-hero persona had made him a huge hit among fans. But Orton is at his absolute best as a ruthless and despicable heel, and because he’s also known as one of the safest and smoothest in-ring performers in all of WWE, the company made the wise creative decision to have Orton work with Edge and ensure that the risk of injury is minimized as Edge works his way back into the mix.

The feud between Edge and Orton was easily the most entertaining and compelling in all of WWE in route to WrestleMania 36. The involvement of Matt Hardy led to the Edge/Orton rivalry becoming a huge viewership hit for Monday Night Raw, which is precisely why WWE continues to use older veteran stars in such high-profile roles in the first place. It also shows why WWE recently inked Orton to a five-year deal that has firmly re-positioned him as one of the most heavily featured performers in all of WWE. Over the course of the past year, there haven’t been many stars who’ve been able to consistently generate the type of roof-rattling crowd reactions Orton gets nowadays, which is rather ironic given the resentment toward him when he was in his prime and consistently winning world titles.

Though incredibly popular, Orton has let it be known that he despises being a fan favorite, and as exemplified by his fantastic work during his rivalry with Edge, there may not be a better and more natural villain in WWE than the 13-time world champion. At 40 years old, he and the 46-year-old Edge—with no fans inside the Performance Center—fell well short of the lofty expectations that come with being one of most highly anticipated matches at WrestleMania. The good news, though, is that WWE started off Edge’s return tour on the right foot while putting Orton in position to climb further up the card, even despite his loss to his former tag team partner.

The feud has reignited a massive push for Orton, who’s cemented himself as WWE’s top heels, and made him the ideal foe for Drew McIntyre. With McIntyre widely expected to leave WrestleMania 36 as WWE Champion, it certainly appears as if Orton is being positioned as the top heel on Raw in order to emerge as a possible title challenger for the popular McIntyre during the typically down post-WrestleMania months. That sounds like a very intriguing feud given how hot Orton and McIntyre’s characters have become in recent months, and with the way Orton as been performing—combined with the strong crowd reaction he had been generating—this is the right time for Orton to get his biggest push in recent memory.

Although Orton’s overbearing push was once a major point of controversy among fans, he he entered that territory—much like stars such as John Cena and The Undertaker—in which fans appreciate him so much for all he’s done that they no longer tire of him the way they once did. As long as that’s the case and as long as Orton continues to be an elite performer, there is no reason to pull the plug on his push anytime soon.

While a loss might hurt a star who’s not of Orton’s caliber, “The Viper” will be fine moving forward even after his disappointing match with Edge, and even bigger things are likely in store for him after he captivated fans in route to WrestleMania 36.