WWE NXT: 5 wrestlers we’d love to see Randy Orton face

Randy Orton reportedly wants to face someone in WWE NXT soon.

Whenever Randy Orton turns heel, the spotlight is on him. His current rivalry on Raw with Edge has been tremendous, featuring a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania 36 and a stellar performance in the much-hyped Backlash main event.

Orton and Edge are still going strong as bitter rivals, with Edge promising to end Orton after the latter punted Christian on an episode of Raw. It should all come to a head at Extreme Rules, and then Orton could face Drew McIntyre in a dream WWE Title match at SummerSlam.

But after that, Orton’s schedule is clear. WrestleTalk’s Louis Dangoor reports that Orton has been “campaigning” behind the scenes for a match with a WWE NXT star in the coming months, which would explain his recent Twitter back-and-forth with Tommaso Ciampa.

Here are five possible NXT opponents for The Viper.

Roderick Strong

Randy Orton gets criticized a lot by fans online for having boring matches, but sometimes he pulls out a gem, especially with the right opponent. Edge and Shinsuke Nakamura, for example, have helped bring the best out of Orton.

Roderick Strong is one of the best wrestlers in the company, and he’s been operating at a high level since 2018. Remember what he was doing on a weekly basis in 205 Live’s Cruiserweight Tournament? Or how about his current work with the Undisputed Era in NXT?

If Orton has a dream match with Adam Cole, which Dangoor mentions as a possibility in his report, then he’ll have to go through Strong first. And a match against The Messiah of the Backbreaker could be the real treat in the ring.