the story between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt has seen them work as partners and opponents. Both fighters enjoyed experimenting with new depths of their characters when placed at an angle together. The label run came in 2016 when Orton became an impactful member of the Wyatt family.
However, that only caused a dispute between the two that grew more intense. Orton and Wyatt had two notable fights at different points with polarizing receptions. WWE trusted them to put on a unique performance compared to any other couple on the list. Each of the following tidbits will shed a deeper light on Wyatt and Orton’s story.
10/10 Main event PPV about the WWE Championship due to the presidential debate
The first story between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton began without a title or much at stake. WWE surprised everyone by having Wyatt vs Orton in the main event of the Smackdown exclusive no mercy 2016 pay-per-view
There was a huge presidential debate that was expected to dominate the ratings in the United States that night. WWE planned this by having the WWE Championship match between AJ Styles, John Cena and Dean Ambrose open the show. Wyatt defeating Orton was awarded the main event spot, so viewers got to see the title match before the debate began.
9/10 Randy Orton joined the Wyatt Family by helping Bray Wyatt beat Kane
Bray Wyatt scoring the first big win over Randy Orton in their feud saw him use the numerical advantage with Luke Harper by his side. Orton eventually bowed down to them by surprisingly becoming an official member of the new Wyatt Family.
Kane feuding with Bray after the latter’s win over Orton saw Randy get involved to help Wyatt get even more wins. Previous versions of the Wyatt Family are considered the best for their chemistry, but Orton made his star power greater than ever.
8/10 WWE sacrificed Heath Slater and Rhyno for their tag team career
The Smackdown side of WWE after the 2016 brand split felt more chaotic in a good way. An act like Heath Slater and Rhyno could gain momentum and be rewarded by becoming the first ever Smackdown Tag Team Champions.
However, any act with a shelf life could quickly be abandoned in favor of bigger names. Slater and Rhyno saw their momentum run out when WWE made them lose the tag titles to Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. The Wyatt family enacted the old role of Freebird with Luke Harper defending the titles as well.
7/10 Putting over American Alpha did not work as expected
The fallout from the Wyatt Family winning the Smackdown Tag Team Championship was always putting on a new team. Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt were scheduled to have a WWE Championship show in the future, so the tag titles weren’t that important to their storyline once they proved they could win together.
WWE had the Wyatt Family lose the Smackdown Tag Team Championship belts to American Alpha in a main event on Smackdown. Chad Gable and Jason Jordan were the main NXT tag acts to be called up in the draft. Unfortunately, not even a win over top talent could convince Vince McMahon to push a tag act if he didn’t believe in them.
6/10 Won Worst Match of the Year on Wrestling Observer twice
WWE placed Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt in polarizing feuds twice. Both the 2017 and 2020 shows had plenty to criticize. Most fans seemed interested in the matches and segments between the two, but the booking left a lot to be desired.
Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards are typically one of the most discussed annual award lists since their readers vote. Wyatt vs. Orton twice won the less-desired “Worst Fight of the Year” award and fight purists hated the execution.
5/10 They were the only survivors of the great Survivor series fight of all time
The beginning of the brand division was the high point of the now defunct WWE survival series concept of having Raw vs Smackdown matches. WWE booked a tremendous traditional 5-on-5 elimination match in 2016 between the top male performers on Raw and Smackdown.
Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt were the only survivors on the Smackdown side with AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose and Shane McMahon taking on Raw’s Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. The match received a top five rating in all Survivor Series matches in Cagematch for the layered storytelling ending with Orton and Wyatt standing.
4/10 Jinder Mahal helped Bray Wyatt win the last First Feud match
WWE had drafted Bray Wyatt to Raw in 2017 at the end of his feud with Randy Orton to prevent the need for further title rematches. Wyatt dropping the WWE Championship to Orton set up a huge movie-themed non-title rematch before officially moving to Raw.
Jinder Mahal was getting the most random main event boost in WWE history at the time he became the No. 1 contender to Orton’s title. This led to Mahal interfering late in the Orton/Wyatt match to hand Bray back a non-title victory.
3/10 Randy Orton won every match in his second fight
The first show between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt was already criticized, but their second feud was even more polarizing. Wyatt’s Fiend character was in need of big wins after losing the Universal Championship to Goldberg and Roman Reigns that year.
WWE made Bray look worse than ever by having Orton win every major match. The bigger moments, like Orton setting Wyatt on fire, seemed to set up a bigger vendetta for The Fiend. It ended with Orton crushing Wyatt in WrestleMania 37 in a hated match before WWE fired him months later.
2/10 WWE paid Randy Orton Vs Edge Feud on the show between Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt took some time off after Randy Orton set him on fire, which led to Orton having a huge role in the 2021 Royal Rumble. Edge and Orton started the match as the top two contenders and lasted all the way. until the end.
Edge’s victory at the Rumble led to a major singles match the following night, where he earned a decisive final victory to best Orton. WWE did this to pay off their earlier feud when Edge lost and left due to injury while Orton was still on a bigger show with Wyatt.
1/10 Rumors claim that Randy Orton ended Bray Wyatt’s title reign because of Brock Lesnar
the controversial Summer Slam 2016 The main event between Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar left many viewers uncomfortable. Even Chris Jericho faced Brock backstage in their infamous fight for the hard elbow drops that broke Orton the hard way.
Lesnar and Orton planned this with WWE, but the sight of Orton dripping blood and getting elbowed was too much. Dave Meltzer indicated that WWE took this into account by wanting to reward Orton with a title run for his professionalism. Bray Wyatt’s first world title reign was sacrificed to give Orton his reign at WrestleMania 33.