WWE Fastlane 2018 Predictions: Bobby Roode To Retain?
Source: WWE.com
WWE United State Championship
Bobby Roode (c) vs. Randy Orton
This match is really interesting from the perspective that the US Title is the only championship that Randy Orton has never held in his WWE career. I think that’s because Orton’s role has mainly been as a “top guy”, as he held the Intercontinental Championship once (for a lengthy reign) and since then he’s never looked back, only winning World Titles and Tag Team gold.
At this point, the US Title has been positioned as even more valuable than the WWE in some regards. I know I personally viewed the US belt as more important than the “top” title last year when Jinder Mahal was carrying it. Now that AJ Styles is WWE Champ, my perception has changed but Bobby Roode is the best person I can think of to carry the US belt while helping to regain the momentum the title had back when John Cena elevated it via the US Open Challenges.
Orton and Roode have a lot of similarities. They’re both big, good looking dudes that perfectly fit the “Vince McMahon mold” of what a sports entertainer is supposed to be. Roode should have been working for WWE LONG before he eventually made the jump from TNA/Impact wrestling.
I think the actual match between Orton and Roode will be very entertaining. Both guys are blueprints for how to work the “WWE style” and I think they’ll do a great job of keeping the crowd invested into this match. Much like any Randy Orton match, he always has the chance to win because he can always hit the RKO to end the match. Roode is a clever and crafty veteran himself, that has the move scouted and will be looking to hit his Glorious DDT for the victory.
We also can’t forget that Jinder Mahal is tied to this feud as well, and wants to be a part of this match. Jinder even defeated Orton one-on-one earlier tonight on SmackDown. I’m personally thrilled to see Jinder not advertised – because I think he’s terrible in the ring and on the mic – but I fully expect him to get involved in this match in some capacity.
On paper, I would give Randy Orton the win in this match considering he’s still one of the top superstars in the world of pro wrestling and he needs a big story heading into WrestleMania but at the same time, WWE has a chance to build Roode into something bigger by giving him “the rub” of beating Orton right before the biggest show of the year. My guess is that Orton will be in a position after reversing a Glorious DDT into an RKO when Jinder hits the ring to cause a DQ finish. This will somehow lead to some type of multi-man match for Roode’s US Title at WrestleMania.
This is all once again assuming that Jinder isn’t added to the actual match. But either way, I see Bobby Roode heading into WrestleMania as US Champion.