Randy Orton Has Revived His Career with the Roman Reigns Feud

Following Triple H's announcement on Monday's Raw that Randy Orton and Roman Reigns will face off at the SummerSlam pay-per-view on August 17, it feels like time to reflect on how this feud has revived Orton's career.

Indeed, for the first time in a while, something The Viper is doing on WWE programming feels like a relevant, important part of the show.
One reason for this is that it is a new feud. Fans have had to sit through Orton taking on guys like John Cena, Kane and Daniel Bryan too many times to count. No wonder his character suffered.

Credit: WWE.com

This current program, meanwhile, is fresh—Reigns and Orton have never had a lengthy singles feud together before. It's not another dull repeat.
Crucially, this feud has greatly rejuvenated Orton's character.
Since turning heel at last year's SummerSlam and joining with The Authority, the star has struggled to really hit his stride as a bad guy.
Even with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, he mostly just came off as Triple H's henchman. Nor did he shine in his average feuds with Cena or Bryan.

Credit: WWE.com

The booking was mediocre, sure, but a large part of the blame could be placed on Orton's shoulders. His interviews often came off as flat, dull and one-dimensional. His attempts at acting in backstage segments with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon left a lot to be desired too.
As a wrestler he's phenomenal, but he appears to have always battled more with the personality side of things.
This storyline with Reigns, however, has made his character genuinely interesting again for the first time in years. Per the storyline, the former Shield member costing Orton a title shot at SummerSlam has sent the star completely over the edge—to the point he has become more dangerous, violent and erratic than ever before.
The best example of this is the lengthy beating an outraged Orton delivered to Reigns on last week's edition of Raw. With some help from Kane, Orton managed to subdue the new star and violently throw him into everything in sight at ringside.

Credit: WWE.com

The ranting, raving Orton then managed to RKO Reigns through the announcers' table. (Although it took a couple of tries for it to break; this must have been really painful for poor Reigns.)
This stunningly brutal, show-stealing segment was a great reminder of Orton's superb 2007 run as a killer heel—and a reminder of the truly wonderful things he's capable of when booked correctly.
You have to wonder why WWE scripted him to get into useless backstage squabbles with Kane or Triple H for months and months when he's clearly far better off as a dominant, sadistic heel who wants to decimate anyone who gets in his way.

Credit: WWE.com

His promo work on Raw on Monday night—he passionately vowed to destroy Reigns—was also very strong and helped put the pay-per-view bout over.
Of course, I shouldn't get too ahead of myself. It's still early yet. It's possible the two won't click in their match at SummerSlam. Who knows what can happen?
But right now it looks like the feud with Reigns has turned things around for Orton in a big way.