WWE SmackDown 5 Predictions For October 3, 2017

4. Rusev Eats An RKO

Rusev already avenged his embarrassing, ten-second RKO defeat to Randy Orton at SummerSlam, which came on the heels of a “Flag Match” loss at Battleground to John Cena. The man has already lost to legends throughout his career, and it’s time for Rusev to make good on this storyline by turning the tables on “The Legend Killer” once and for all to finally get that marquee victory in 2017.

The WWE wants to make Orton look strong at all costs, though. It’s why they had him defeat Jinder Mahal on a meaningless episode of SmackDown Live even after their WWE Championship feud completed, it’s why he has to get one over on everyone, and it’s why he can never lose cleanly. It makes sense for the WWE to protect one of its legends, and none of the blame should go to Orton; he sells the hell out of every move in every match.

I believe Rusev will win at Hell in a Cell, concluding this rivalry and giving him momentum. Orton is at a stage of his career where it appears that he wants to push talent, and Rusev is a worthy talent to push. The man, as he used to say time after time, is an elite athlete, and the WWE can do so much with him on promos. Let’s just say, the entire #RusevDay segment left me very “elated”.

But in order to win on Sunday, Rusev will have to eat another RKO, since the WWE will probably want to give fans a “positive shock” by having Rusev win. This will definitely be the case if they plan on having Mahal retain at Hell in a Cell.