WWE announced last week that Randy Orton will get a rematch against Brock Lesnar at the September 24th live event from Chicago. As for why the match is taking place at a house show instead of a pay-per-view main event – as you may have guessed, it comes down to money.
Brock Lesnar’s WWE contract stipulates a lower compensation level for live events than PPV’s. WWE wanted to draw a big house for the Chicago live event and decided to use one of Brock’s limited dates to assure the show is a success.
Additionally, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports Brock Lesnar was given the option to pick his opponent. In light of their recent high-profile SummerSlam main event, The Beast chose Orton because that’s the biggest-money match he could make.
As reported earlier, The Allstate Arena near Chicago announced today that the Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton rematch would happen at the 9/24 WWE house show from the venue. Paul Heyman and Randy Orton later confirmed the match on Twitter and WWE has now made it official, as seen below.
It’s very interesting that the Saturday night house show is just one night before the RAW Clash of Champions PPV in nearby Indianapolis. Neither Lesnar nor Orton are scheduled for that pay-per-view. F4Wonline.com notes that the 9/24 house show is not currently scheduled to air on the WWE Network, despite speculation.
Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar rematch announced for Sept. 24 Live Event in Chicago
The Beast and The Viper are going to war again. Just more than a week after a controversial TKO loss to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, Randy Orton confirmed on Twitter that he will receive a rematch against The Conqueror at the WWE Live Event in Chicago, Illinois, Saturday, Sept. 24.
The match at SummerSlam was arguably Lesnar’s most savage performance since returning to WWE in 2012, and one of the most agonizing defeats for The Apex Predator in some time. The Beast laid into Orton with a barrage of strikes that busted him open and forced WWE officials to call the match off, awarding the victory to Lesnar.
Orton received 10 staples as a result of Lesnar’s assault, and The Beast was fined by Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon for his actions. Hopefully, she has her checkbook ready for “The Rematch.” Come to think of it, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon might want to set a few dollars aside, too. Orton does not take well to being upstaged, and it’s just as likely that Lesnar ends up on the receiving end of some ruthless aggression this time around.
Be sure to head to WWE.com’s Events section for ticket availability and special VIP packages to witness “The Rematch” in person.
Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton are scheduled to meet in the squared circle again next month.
Chicago’s Allstate Arena announced on Monday that Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton has been booked to headline a live event on Saturday, September 24th. The event is scheduled to be an untelevised house show, but WWE Network cameras may be rolling.
Finn Balor was originally scheduled to defend his Universal Championship at the show, but that has been scratched due to Balor’s injury.
Here is the rest of the lineup for the 9/24 live event in Chicago:
Street Fight for the United States Championship
– Roman Reigns (c) vs. Rusev
Tag Team Match
– Sami Zayn & Neville vs. Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
Tag Team Match
– The New Day vs. Gallows & Anderson
Randy Orton reportedly did not know the finish to his match at SummerSlam until he showed up at the arena that night. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Brock Lesnar’s legitimate elbow strikes to Orton’s head and the TKO finish were done in an effort to make fans believe Lesnar went off-script.
Meltzer says the original plan was always for Lesnar to perform the majority of the offense in the match, and for the former UFC Heavyweight Champion to be crowned the winner. Randy Orton wasn’t told until he arrived at the Barlcays Center that night that he would be getting cut open the hard way by an elbow.
Orton was reportedly told that Lesnar knows how to graze him with an elbow and draw blood without seriously hurting him. The elbow ended up being more than a graze, and Orton required ten staples to close the cut. Orton stayed down acting like he was knocked out, which was in the script.
Medical personnel and the referee acted confused because while they knew Lesnar was going over, they weren’t filled in on the details of the elbow “graze.”
According to Meltzer, Orton was told to do it by the company and didn’t complain publicly, but didn’t seem thrilled by it and won’t be doing that kind of favor again.
Chris Jericho ended up in a backstage incident with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam last night as Jericho was concerned about Randy Orton’s condition.
According to Dave Meltzer, multiple sources report that the incident began when Jericho came to the gorilla position as Lesnar vs. Orton ended, to find out what exactly happened and to see if Orton was alright. Jericho asked Michael Hayes if that was the planned finish and when Hayes wouldn’t respond, Jericho said, “That’s bullshit.”
Lesnar came through the curtain, heard the “that’s bullshit” comment and thought Jericho was talking about the match. One version has Lesnar calling Jericho a “pussy” and the other has him saying “shut up” to Jericho, then telling Jericho to mind his own business. The two came face to face and had words, leading to Lesnar reportedly pushing Jericho with his fingers. Jericho then did a forehead press while another version has him shoving Lesnar against the wall. While the two were up against the wall, Lesnar reportedly told Jericho to kiss him or punch him. Triple H then jumped in and broke things up but the two ended up going at it again until Vince McMahon finally broke it up. Vince told Jericho that everything was a work and to be professional after Jericho continued yelling about Brock.
Triple H reportedly told Vince that Lesnar was to blame, and that Jericho was just standing up for himself. That was the end of the incident between the two. Jericho then saw Orton’s condition and got mad but Orton assured him that he knew what was coming.
WWE released the above video on Monday of Randy Orton receiving medical attention backstage at the Barclays Center in New York after last night’s SummerSlam 2016.
During Orton’s main event match against Brock Lesnar, he got busted open the hard way by an elbow from Brock Lesnar. He required 10 staples to close the wound.
Lesnar was declared the winner last night by TKO, and according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the finish went according to plan. After the pay-per-view went off the air, he internet lit up with speculation that Lesnar had went off-script because WWE usually has a policy against allowing blood on their programming.
Shortly after midnight, WWE issued an update on Randy Orton’s condition after SummerSlam. The huge gash on Orton’s head caused by Brock Lesnar’s repeated elbows required ten staples to close. There’s no word on if Orton will be at SmackDown this week or not. WWE.com reports:
WWE.com has learned that Randy Orton has received 10 staples to close a laceration on his forehead following the brutal assault by Brock Lesnar that resulted in a TKO at SummerSlam.
Lesnar was declared the winner via TKO at SummerSlam on Sunday after hitting Orton with an elbow that legitimately cut open his forehead.
As seen at Sunday’s SummerSlam, Brock Lesnar busted open Randy Orton the hard way with an elbow to the head that ultimately ended the match. Medics checked on Orton after he started bleeding, Lesnar was declared the winner by TKO. After the bell, Lesnar continued beating down Orton then hit an F-5 on Shane McMahon.
After SummerSlam went off the air, fans who were live in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY saw a bloody Randy Orton recover and be walked to the back by McMahon. Orton quietly made his exit as his music played and some fans booed.
Here’s the elbow that caused the gash on Orton’s head, and the aftermath:
Inside The Ropes spoke to Randy Orton yesterday ahead of his main event with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam tomorrow night. Below are highlights that they sent to us:
On how important pinning Brock Lesnar would be….
“Yeah you’re right its been a while, ever since the end of the streak against the Undertaker at WrestleMania. Everyone knows that Lesnar’s not around a lot and I don’t think that’s fair to the WWE universe. He comes and goes as he pleases and kinda runs things while he’s there and I don’t like it. I’m there every week, I will be from here on out. So what would a win mean for me? I think for me it’s what I need to cement myself as the guy right now with all these new guys coming up, to lead as an example for everyone else, it’s like the one thing I need, to be who I need to be, to be who I am to be the best ,when I’m in the ring wrestling the top guys. Brock’s a top guy and we’re gonna tear down the main event at SummerSlam.”
On what SmackDown has to prove and it’s former status as a B show….
“The whole A show B show thing is bullshit now. As far as I’m concerned SmackDown live is where its at. We’re more stacked than RAW. RAW has some impressive men and women especially the new comers Balor for example, very excited to work with him in the future hopefully on SmackDown live because SmackDown live is where it’s at. I might be biased but I think fans are seeing it that way too.”
Orton also talks about AJ Styles and who he’d like to work with on the SmackDown brand. The full interview is above.
WWE’s Scott Standford interviewed Randy Orton on the PIX 11 Morning News in New York City today, where they promoted Sunday’s SummerSlam event and the idea that he’s never crossed paths with Brock Lesnar before.
Orton says he’s never gotten in the ring with Lesnar (he has) because Lesnar “took off.” Orton talked about Lesnar being “very successful” in the UFC, and said he wants to face Lesnar because he’s the biggest dog in the yard and Orton has something to prove. Orton admitted he’s fully aware he’ll be going to “Suplex City,” and feels he can survive 20 suplexes and hit an RKO for the finish.
Although SummerSlam this Sunday is in New York, Orton says his favorite place to wrestle so far is Seoul, South Korea. Orton says he’s never seen a crowd as lively as the ones there.
The Viper also talked about his influences in pro wrestling, saying that he idolized his father and Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
Randy Orton spoke with TMZ while in New York City for SummerSlam this week, as seen above.
Orton says he is nervous about facing Brock Lesnar on Sunday, and he knows he will get tossed around but he also knows what it takes to beat The Beast.
The Viper talks about how he knows Lesnar better than anyone else in WWE, and how he will use that to beat Lesnar. Orton also knows the secret to taking down Lesnar – the RKO.
– Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa will be revealing their new tag team name soon. The two will face NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival at Takeover on Saturday night.
– Enzo Amore went sneaker shopping earlier this week in New York City and the WWE cameras were with him. Footage will be released this weekend to promote SummerSlam. On a related note, Enzo and Cass also did a Tapout in Brooklyn today, seen below:
– WWE posted this video with Randy Orton daring Brock Lesnar to test him in their SummerSlam battle on Sunday night. Orton says there’s one problem with Lesnar trying to take him to Suplex City – the RKO.
– The dark main event after last night’s RAW in Anaheim saw Randy Orton defeat Bray Wyatt after reversing Sister Abigail into the RKO.
– SmackDown star Alexa Bliss turns 25 years old today. She’s been teasing a match on tonight’s show.
– Roman Reigns takes a ride to a private helicopter in this WWE RAW Fallout video from last night in Anaheim. Reigns and other WWE Superstars flew out to New Zealand after last night’s show.
– Brock Lesnar has officially been removed from UFC’s Heavyweight rankings. Lesnar had been the #8 ranked heavyweight after his win over Mark Hunt at UFC 200. In related news, troubled fighter Jon Jones has also been removed from the Light Heavyweight and Pound 4 Pound rankings due to his own USADA infractions.
– WWE has released the following teaser videos for “Lesnar vs. Orton: 15 Years in the Making.” We’ll get extended versions of these sit-down promos tonight on RAW.
– Mark Henry will be WWE’s Ambassador for the Summer Olympics in Rio this month. The games kick off later this week and Henry will be there, as revealed on last night’s RAW.
– Randy Orton tweeted the following after his surprise RKO outta nowhere on Brock Lesnar at the end of last night’s RAW in Atlanta:
– This backstage video from last night’s RAW features Anderson and Gallows ragging on The New Day after their latest attack on the WWE Tag Team Champions. Gallows makes a case for not being able to take the champs seriously, saying The Club will continue to win titles, make money and beat people up. Anderson teased another “too sweet” beatdown next week.
During Randy Orton’s return at Sunday’s Battleground pay-per-view, Orton popped the crowd with a joke about Brock Lesnar’s recent failed drug test. “It only takes one RKO to get to Viperville, no enhancement needed,” Orton said during The Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho on Sunday.
The remark was in reference to Brock Lesnar testing positive for performance enhancing drugs at UFC 200, where he was victorious over Mark Hunt. The United States Anti-Doping Agency says Lesnar tested positive on June 28th, and again on July 9th – the night of UFC 200. According to ESPN, the flagged substance was clomiphene, the same anti-estrogen blocker Jon Jones tested positive for.
Dave Meltzer offered an update on this on Tuesday’s episode of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, addressing speculation that it may have been an off-script remark by Orton. Meltzer reports that the line was planned by whoever worked with Orton on his script for the night, and the whole segment went according to plan. It’s unknown if WWE consulted with Lesnar before airing the remark.
This was WWE’s second time this month making light of a performer failing a drug test, after Seth Rollins cut several promos on RAW about Roman Reigns failing a Wellness Policy test.
Lesnar returns to WWE television on next week’s RAW in Atlanta for the first time since WrestleMania 32.
As seen in the videos below, Randy Orton returned to WWE TV at Battleground tonight for a Highlight Reel segment with Chris Jericho.
Orton had been away for more than 9 months with a shoulder injury. He will return to the ring at SummerSlam next month. A new promo for his match against Brock Lesnar can be seen above.
During a promo tonight at Battleground, Orton referenced Lesnar’s failed UFC 200 drug tests. After teasing a RKO to Lesnar in their match, Orton said: “No enhancement needed.”
As reported, WWE will release a new Randy Orton DVD and Blu-ray in November of this year. The title still has not been announced and interview/history segments should be revealed soon but below is the full match listing, courtesy of WrestlingDVDNetwork.com:
DISC 1
OVW Debut:
Randy Orton vs. Johnny Spade
OVW • June 24, 2000
?
Randy Orton vs. Flash Flanagan
RAW [Un-Televised]• April 16, 2001
?
Randy Orton vs. Prototype
OVW • June 16, 2001
?
WWE Undisputed Championship Match
Undertaker vs. Randy Orton
SmackDown • May 30, 2002
?
6-Man Elimination Tag Team Match
Dudley Boyz vs. Evolution
RAW • July 14, 2003
?
Intercontinental Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton
RAW • July 5, 2004
?
Intercontinental Championship Match
Edge vs. Randy Orton
RAW • July 19, 2004
?
Randy Orton vs. Triple H
RAW [Un-Televised] • December 13, 2004
DISC 2
D-Generation X vs. Rated RKO
Cyber Sunday • November 5, 2006
?
WWE Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton
Survivor Series • November 18, 2007
?
WWE Championship Match
Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton
Royal Rumble • January 27, 2008
?
Last Man Standing Match
Randy Orton vs. CM Punk
Extreme Rules • May 1, 2011
?
Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler
RAW • August 29, 2011
DISC 3
Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Randy Orton vs. Christian
SmackDown • August 30, 2011
?
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
CM Punk vs. Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Christian vs. Rob Van Dam
Money in the Bank • July 14, 2013
?
TLC Unification Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
John Cena vs. Randy Orton
Tables, Ladders, Chairs • December 15, 2013
?
Randy Orton vs. Dean Ambrose
RAW • July 7, 2014
?
Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
WrestleMania 31 • March 29, 2015
?
#1 Contenders Triple Threat Match
Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro
RAW • August 10, 2015
BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVES
Intercontinental Championship Match
Randy Orton vs. Shelton Benjamin
Bad Blood • June 13, 2004
?
No Holds Barred Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Randy Orton vs. Christian
SummerSlam • August 14, 2011
?
Randy Orton vs. Damien Sandow
NXT • March 27, 2013
?
Randy Orton & Team Hell No vs. The Shield
SmackDown • June 14, 2013
– John Cena will be the ESPN Off The Top Rope guest for Jonathan Coachman this week. Due to the WWE Draft, the segment will air in the 10:15pm segment tonight. After tonight, the weekly segment will move to Wednesday nights, according to Coach on Twitter.
– Dolph Ziggler isn’t the only wrestling star at the Republican National Convention this year as former WWE star Zeb Colter is headed there Friday. He tweeted:
– In an update from earlier, there will be a 30-minute WWE SmackDown post-show on the WWE Network tomorrow night before the Draft goes live on the USA Network at 8pm EST. Renee Young will be on the panel with guests to be announced. The second-screen experience that airs on the WWE Network while SmackDown airs on USA will run for three hours.
– WWE will release a new Randy Orton DVD and Blu-ray on 11/14 in the UK and 11/15 in the US. More than 20 matches have been selected for the set and will be revealed soon.
– Triple H tweeted the following to hype the 6 NXT stars being included in the WWE Draft tomorrow night:
– WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus revealed on her website that WWE Network cameras recently filmed her at her Stratusphere Yoga HQ in Toronto. Trish discussed the women of WWE and other topics for future Network programs.
– Ryback announced on Instagram that he’s launching a new project soon at FeedMeMore.com. The Big Guy wrote:
Feed Me More is about waking up hungry and being our very best each and every day. It is about setting goals, working towards those goals and being thankful for the journey and the discipline not always the result. Than it is not being complacent and staying hungry setting new goals and once again keeping the mindset of Feed Me More! 10 percent of all proceeds through FeedMeMore.com will also go to the Las Vegas Rescue Mission to help feed the homeless.
– Randy Orton is at the WWE Performance Center this week training for his match against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Orton revealed that Wednesday was his first day getting back into ring shape and showed off what his back looked like afterwards:
On Monday’s RAW it was announced that Randy Orton has officially been added to Battleground on July 24th. Orton will be a guest on The Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho to discuss his upcoming match against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.
WWE announced on SmackDown that Brock Lensar’s opponent at SummerSlam will be none other than Randy Orton. It will be the first encounter between the two legends in nearly 14 years.
Orton has been out of action since undergoing shoulder surgery earlier this year. Having battled chronic neck and shoulder injuries in recent years, Orton will have his hands full when he squares off against The Conqueror. Lesnar of course must first go through UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt at Saturday night’s blockbuster UFC 200 pay-per-view.
WWE SummerSlam 2016 takes place on Sunday, August 21st at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Once again, SEScoops will be on site for SummerSlam and we’ll have exclusive coverage all weekend long.
Visit our partner site MMANews.com for full coverage of UFC 200, including the Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt Main event.