WWE: Randy Orton pulled off an amazing injury fakeout on AJ Styles

WWE fans were concerned that Randy Orton suffered a serious injury at a live event in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Sunday, but it was all a ruse designed to bait AJ Styles.

They don’t call Randy Orton “The Viper” for nothing. A true snake, Orton pulled off an injury fakeout for the ages, RKO’ing AJ Styles on the Dec. 30 episode of Raw to cap off an incredible segment that initially had fans worried The Apex Predator would be retiring.

It all started when Orton came out on crutches and in a knee brace to address the WWE Universe in a segment that was announced prior the show. Orton rambled, looked nervous, and pulled off a fantastic acting job that had fans worried that a wrestler they’ve watched for ages could be hanging up his boots.

Orton had all the details down. The troublesome MRI on the morning after the knee injury in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Dec. 29, the lack of knowledge if he would be able to wrestle again, and the resolved determination of a veteran wanting one last WrestleMania.

And then Styles, Orton’s current rival, came out to taunt him. Styles is the heel in this feud, and he played his role perfectly, begging Orton to RKO him at one point.

He got his wish. After Styles kicked Orton’s crutches out of The Viper’s hand, Orton couldn’t keep up the ruse any longer. Orton snapped, but, first, he baited Styles in before hitting an RKO after delivering this golden line, “The difference between you and me is that you’re patient. I’m not.”

Orton vs. Styles looks like the big-ticket feud heading into WrestleMania season, even though they already had a feud earlier this year to determine who truly built SmackDown. This feud, however, seems even more interesting, especially after Orton’s injury fakeout.

And by all accounts from Hershey, Orton’s injury did seem legit. The referee threw up the “X” mere minutes into his match against Styles, hinting that it wasn’t planned. I mean, who would plan for that as a finish just minutes into a live event match?

But WWE did it all to heat up this feud, and Vince McMahon will hope that this segment gave Orton some babyface fuel and Styles some more heat. Styles has little trouble gaining heat, but Orton, who recently said the “n” word on a live video game stream with Styles, isn’t exactly the kind of person fans want to cheer for.