WWE Extreme Rules 2012: Randy Orton Needs Dominant Win vs. Kane

Randy Orton is supposed to be the face of the SmackDown brand.

WWE held a draft last year for the sole purpose of getting him on the blue brand because the talent pool had gotten so depleted. Somewhere along the way, The Viper lost his bite and has become just another wrestler. 

All of that has to change at Extreme Rules with a falls count anywhere match against Kane. 

Moving to SmackDown is not the easiest way to keep your star shining bright. No disrespect meant to that show—there are a lot of times when it is a better wrestling show than Raw—but WWE clearly doesn't care much about Friday nights. 

Orton was going to be the superstar who made new stars—like Sheamus, Daniel Bryan, Cody Rhodes, etc.—while at the same time being put in spots to succeed as the top star. 

Instead, Orton has become a adrift in secondary feuds on the secondary show. Things started out promisingly enough, with Orton putting Mark Henry over in world title matches.

Since that time, things have gone downhill. 

Some of this is not Orton's fault.

He was supposed to do a long program with Wade Barrett, but he suffered an arm injury in early February that took him out of commission for at least a few months. 

Still, WWE hasn't found a feud that works for Orton since the early stages of that Barrett feud. He was thrown into a feud with Kane because neither one had anything else going on at WrestleMania season, and someone backstage decided their feud must continue. 

In an effort to get Orton his mojo back, WWE has to make him look dominant at the pay-per-view this Sunday.

At a time when star power is of the utmost importance for WWE, the No. 2 star on the full-time roster being put in so many feuds that are poorly thought out or against someone fans don't care about is not smart for business. 

Orton has to go over strong in this match and move on to much bigger and better things than trying to prove to Kane he has already embraced the hate. 

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