Beth Phoenix came to Raw to provide a medical update on her husband Edge. Instead, she managed to do what no one else could and get Randy Orton to explain why he attacked The Rated-R Superstar during a confrontation that got intensely personal and culminated in a quick-strike RKO to the former Women’s Champion.
As to the long-awaited why, The Viper justified his attack as a return of a long-unpaid favor. Edge saved Orton from himself once upon a time, and Orton reasoned that his old friend’s pursuit of an in-ring return could put him in the path of even greater danger that would take him away from his wife and daughters. Beth, he said, was the real villain here, labeling her an “enabler” who refused to recognize that Edge was a “junkie” for the roar of the crowd, and it was Orton who did the hard thing and took away his supply.
That might have been understandable enough, in a twisted sort of way, but The Apex Predator’s final turn of the knife made it even more personal, when he implied that his love for Edge and his daughters was more than Beth could ever muster. The Glamazon answered with a slap to the face followed by a swift kick to the gut, and Orton retaliated with an RKO before walking out without a word. Several of Beth and Edge’s old friends rallied to Phoenix’s side as she became the latest member of Edge’s family to fall victim to Randy Orton’s “love,” though it’s hard to imagine how this action could have possibly saved anyone. If anything, it’s just made things worse.