WWE SmackDown started out with a mic drop moment after Randy Orton hit the ring, and while he did have issues with Kevin Owens, that’s not who he called out. Instead, Orton called out the boss man himself Triple H, and he had plenty to say, including accusing Triple H of protecting one of his favorites. Triple H said that wasn’t the case, and in fact he’s been denying the matcha against Owens to protect Orton from getting injured again, and he took another jab at Orton as he explained how unhinged Owens is right now. Orton was finally able to convince Triple H and get his wish though, as Trips made the match between Orton and Owens official for Crown Jewel.
Time To Play The Game
Orton immediately grabbed a microphone and called out Triple H, and this was after talking to him backstage before he came out to the ring. Triple H obliged, hitting the ring and telling Orton, “I would’ve preferred to not do this out here Randy, but since you can’t ever seem to show up to work on time, which we can talk about later, I guess we’ll do this now.”
Videos by ComicBook.com
Orton told Triple H that everyone knew the reason he wouldn’t green-light the match was to protect Owens, but Triple H pushed back on that. Orton added, “You have a soft spot for the guy. I get it. He’s a likable guy, I liked him, just admit it H.” Then Triple H clearly had it, saying, “I am not protecting Kevin Owens. I am trying to protect you!”
“Look, I’ve known you since the day you walked in here. I’ve known Kevin Owens when he walked in here. He wanted to be called the prizefighter when he walked in here because it’s just business,” Triple H said. “He has never had a friend in this business, no matter what he said.
Truly Betrayed
“But, for the first time ever, and I don’t know why, he let his guard down. He trusted you and he trusted Cody Rhodes. He trusted both of you, and he let his guard down. I don’t know if he sees the good person he wants to be in Cody Rhodes and sees the miserable prick in you he doesn’t want to be, but he likes you guys,” Triple H said. “He trusted you, and in his mind, you guys turned on him. And I am telling you when I spoke to him afterwards, there is something disconnected in him. He is not the same Kevin Owens, and quite frankly, I don’t want to put him in the ring with you.”
“Take this with all due respect. You just came back after 18 months on the shelf. You didn’t tear your ACL. You didn’t put your shoulder out. You had steel rods put in you and were told you might never wrestle again,” Triple H said. “I just got you back, and I don’t want to see you put back on that shelf, maybe permanently. Do you hear what I’m saying?”
Orton then appealed to their past rivalries. “I didn’t ask Paul Levesque to come out this ring. I wanted the cerebral assassin. The Game, the guy that brought a sledgehammer everywhere he went. The guy who threw me out of my own dining room window and beat the hell out of me on my own front lawn. What would you do if you were in my shoes? This is not me being impulsive. This is me talking man to man. You know what it’s like to have all of this taken away from you just like that. If you were in my shoes, you wouldn’t just sit back and let it slide. You would do what you’ve always done, and that’s handle our business the only way we know how, in the middle of this ring,” Orton said.
Triple H finally finally gave in, saying, “I hope to God you know what you’re asking for. You want Kevin Owens at Crown Jewel…you got him. Randy, from this moment forward I suggest you protect yourself at all times.”
Now the former friends will face each other at Crown Jewel, but we are certainly going to hear from Owens before then too. What did you think of the segment? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!