WWE Week in Review, Aug. 31: Randy Orton Dominates, AJ Lee Shocks the World

As the hot summer season comes to a close, we look back on the strong streak of terrific television WWE has provided us with in recent months. More specifically, we look back on the action-packed week we're just now coming off of, which was filled with excellent matches and unlikely alliances.

Randy Orton took full control of Raw and SmackDown this week, laying waste to archenemy Daniel Bryan on both programs. With The Shield by his side, is there anything that will stop the so-called face of the WWE from getting his way?

The raging rivalry between CM Punk and Paul Heyman somehow grew even more uncomfortable this past week, as Heyman delivered a brutal beating to his onetime best friend. At Night of Champions, the two will collide in a Handicap Elimination match, also involving Curtis Axel.

Rob Van Dam received a boost of momentum this week, scoring big wins over game opponents. As the new No. 1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship, will RVD be able to capture the gold at Night of Champions?

Here, I will break down the week in wrestling by analyzing the Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown and WWE Main Event broadcasts, including each show's highlights, low points and other noteworthy, monumental moments. Also, an award will be given to the show and Superstar that shined the brightest over the course of the week.

Match of the Week: Randy Orton vs. Christian: Raw, August 26

The WWE Universe witnessed a number of excellent matches this past week, but none were better than Randy Orton vs. Christian from this week's Raw. Their feud over the World Heavyweight Championship from the summer of 2011 was one of my favorites of that year, so I, for one, was psyched to see them collide on the flagship show for the first time in years.

Interestingly enough, the roles were reversed this time around, as Orton was portraying the heel on Monday night while Christian was the babyface. What didn't change from two years ago, though, was their amazing chemistry inside the squared circle.

As expected, the two had an awesome matchup that saw both competitors come out of it looking good. Orton resorted to dirty tactics to score the victory, which helped further his slow-burning heel turn in the process.

This wasn't the first time we've seen these rivals clash, and I have a feeling it won't be the last.

Superstar of the Week: Randy Orton

Honestly, I've lost track of how many times I've named Randy Orton the Superstar of the Week as of late, but there's no denying just how hot Orton has been in recent weeks. After capturing the WWE Championship in controversial fashion at SummerSlam, Orton has since seen his stock skyrocket.

On Raw, The Viper pulled out a victory over longtime rival Christian before laying out Bryan for the second consecutive week to close out the show. His strong momentum didn't end there, though, as he went on to soundly defeat The Miz on SmackDown and humiliate Bryan yet again at the end of the broadcast.

Say what you will about his arrogant attitude, but Orton's alliance with Triple H has garnered him a great deal of success thus far.

Show of the Week: Friday Night SmackDown, August 30

After three tremendous months of WWE programming, the successful summer season has come to a conclusion. That's not to say that WWE didn't go out on a high note, however, as all three of its weekly shows proved to be extremely entertaining this past week.

Of course, most of the content revolved around the drama involving Daniel Bryan, Triple H and WWE champion Randy Orton. Between Raw and SmackDown, I would certainly say that the blue brand managed to be the better show this time around.

While Raw wasn't necessarily bad or anything, SmackDown simply didn't feature as much filler and most of the matches served a purpose. The show was held hostage by Orton and The Shield, who delivered brutal beatings to the likes of The Miz, Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan over the course of the night.

This week's SmackDown featured a little bit of everything, which was what made the program worth watching. Here's hoping WWE can keep up the superb work in the months ahead.

This Week's Highlights

Daniel Bryan vs. The Shield: It wasn't as great as the last time Bryan ran the gauntlet, but it was still an entertaining match highlighted by an outstanding effort from Bryan and Seth Rollins. Bryan's subsequent matches against Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns were understandably rushed due to time constraints.

CM Punk vs. Curtis Axel: The match itself was solid, but the post-match attack from Axel and Paul Heyman on Punk made for a strong segment. Heyman showed incredible intensity while dismantling his former friend, leaving this viewer in anticipation for the Handicap Elimination match at Night of Champions.

AJ Lee's pipe bombshell: To say this was the best Diva promo in years would be a massive understatement. AJ hit it right out of the park with this gem of a promo that truly showed just how amazing her mic skills can be. I'm afraid it was nothing more than a shameless plug for the Total Divas show, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the promo was excellently executed.

Randy Orton vs. The Miz: We've seen these two cross paths numerous times in the past, but they seem to work better when Miz is the face and Orton is the heel. They had a solid match that ultimately ended in the right person going over.

Curtis Axel vs. Cody Rhodes: This more than made up for their disappointing matchup from last week's edition of SmackDown. They were given a substantial amount of time to shine on Main Event, and it allowed Axel to pick up a nice win.

This Week's Low Points

Cody Rhodes and The Miz vs. Fandango and Damien Sandow: I'm glad we have a few feuds going on right now in the midcard, but this was just a mess. There was nothing wrong with the match, but it was over within mere minutes and the crowd didn't really seem to care.

Titus O'Neil vs. Jack Swagger: It was fine for what it was, but since it happened at the end of Raw, the live crowd was essentially dead for it. It's good to see a feud going on in the tag team division, but WWE needs to give fans a reason to care. Thankfully, the tag team match between the two tandems on Main Event was better than this mediocre matchup.

Natalya vs. Brie Bella: Similar to SummerSlam, I couldn't have cared less for this bout. Natalya is a good worker and all, but not even she can elevate Brie Bella to an exceptional contest. This isn't even including the fact that it was ultimately foreshadowed by AJ Lee's pipe bombshell.

Rob Van Dam vs. Damien Sandow: I expected much more from this match than what we ended up getting. Both are good workers, so why not give them a nice, competitive contest? I don't have a problem with RVD feuding with Alberto Del Rio, but RVD's pairing with Ricardo Rodriguez is still mind-boggling to me.

Kofi Kingston vs. Fandango: They worked well together in their previous encounters a few weeks back, but the finish to this rubber match ruined it for me. Fandango walking out yet again was meaningless, especially since he's not worth protecting at this point.

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