WWE Superstar of the Week for March 14

A lot happened in WWE this week. Brock Lesnar made an appearance that saw him stand in the ring while Paul Heyman did all the heavy lifting, Sting finally spoke, sort of, and Alex Riley returned to the ring in NXT.

As we get closer to WrestleMania, every major feud will be getting a lot of attention. It seems like WWE is trying to pack as many Superstars into the pay-per-view as they can with multi-person matches, and it could lead to oversaturation.

Before we get to who the Superstar of the Week is for March 14, let's take a look at a few Superstars who came close.

Honorable Mention: John Cena

We all knew Rusev and John Cena would end up in a match for the United States Championship, but we didn't know how until this past Monday on Raw.

Stephanie McMahon made it very clear that Rusev held Cena's WrestleMania status in his hands, and it was up to Cena to convince Rusev to give him another shot at the title.

Some may see what happened on Monday as being the actions of a heel and not a guy who is supposed to be inspiring, but there is no denying that Cena's actions gave him some needed intensity.

Cena attacked Rusev following a promo that saw the Bulgarian Brute trash America once again. He put Rusev in the STF until the big man passed out, woke him up by splashing water on his face and put the hold back on until Lana gave in to his demands.

It's not often that most of the arena chants Cena's name these days, but he got the crowd on his side by being the aggressor in this instance.

You may think Cena was being too violent, but you can't deny that it was a nice change of pace from his usual shtick.

Honorable Mention: Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt has been one of the most consistently entertaining performers in WWE for quite some time, which is just one of the reasons he deserves to have a major WrestleMania moment against The Undertaker.

Wyatt has been carrying his feud with Taker all on his own, and he has done an amazing job of making it an engaging program with nobody to play off of across the ring.

The Undertaker's voice responded to Wyatt's challenge on Monday, but Wyatt still carried the bulk of the performance on his shoulders.

His mic work is always great, but it was the way he reacted to the lightning and burning rocking chair that sold the performance. His facial expressions told a story all on their own.

There are few people who can make a feud interesting without any help from their opponent, and Wyatt is one of them. If everyone were as good on the mic as Wyatt, nobody would complain about WWE being boring ever again.

Superstar of the Week for March 14: Randy Orton

It was just a matter of time before Randy Orton turned on The Authority, and that moment finally came at the end of Raw when he systematically destroyed Seth Rollins.

The night started off with The Authority welcoming Orton back into the fold. Orton went on a verbal tirade against everyone in the ring, only to act like he was kidding.

Rollins bought the deception hook, line and sinker. He thought Orton would never reveal his master plan to everyone before enacting it, but that is exactly what The Viper did.

Orton and Rollins teamed up in the main event, and when Rollins needed to tag out, Orton pulled his hand away and took a page from Steve Austin's playbook by using both hands to give him the one-finger salute.

The crowd went nuts, and the expression on Rollins' face was one of shock and horror. Roman Reigns went on to win the handicap match, but it was Orton who would be standing tall at the end of the night.

He proceeded to take Rollins apart using everything at ringside as a weapon. The stairs, a steel chair and the announce table were used to make Mr. Money in the Bank suffer, and Rollins sold every move like a pro.

Orton has always known how to play to the crowd, and this was no exception. Everyone in the arena was on their feet cheering as Orton delivered an RKO that shattered the announce table.

"

Randy Orton's roast of The Authority had me DYING! #Raw

— Graham Matthews (@WrestleRant) March 10, 2015"

Now that the wheels have been set in motion, it seems inevitable that the two will meet in a grudge match at WrestleMania in two weeks. There is little doubt that these two incredible performers will have one of the best bouts of the night.

Orton may have had periods of stagnation in his career, but he has always been a hard worker who gave everything he had to the fans. His turn on Raw was easily the most entertaining segment of the night, and that is just one reason why Randy Orton is the Superstar of the Week.

What do you think? Did Orton have the best performance? Who else deserves to be acknowledged in your opinion? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

A Note from the Author

After reading the comments the past few weeks, it was clear that many of you did not agree with the people chosen as the Superstar of the Week. Hopefully this addresses that.

This column is not simply about who had the best match or who gave the best promo. If it was, there would only be three or four people who would qualify for the honor. It would get very repetitive after a few months.

This article is designed to recognize people for a number of different reasons. The reason R-Truth was chosen was because he went from being completely irrelevant to being a big part of a major storyline.

AJ and Brie Bella were acknowledged because they validated WWE's decision to give the Divas more time in the ring to perform by having a great match.

Sometimes it will be the person who had the best match or promo, but other times it will be about the person who made the biggest leap forward in their career. It might even be the person who took the biggest risk. The criteria is not set in stone.

Brad Jones does a great weekly article about the best match of the week, so that ground is covered. You are allowed to have your own opinion on the matter, which is why you are encouraged to share it at the end of every SOTW article. Your comments are always appreciated.

Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter @BR_Doctor.