Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton Feud Has Emerged as Battle of the WWE Brands

Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton was already an exceptional addition to WWE SummerSlam 2016 when it was initially announced back on July 7. But now that the two find themselves on separate shows, the feud has become a battle of the brands.

During the 2016 WWE draft on July 19, it was almost a guarantee that Orton and Lesnar would wind up on the same show. If not, how else would they be able to promote their upcoming affair?

Thus, when Lesnar was drafted to Raw and Orton was selected by SmackDown's Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan, fans were shocked that they were split up. It was then assumed that the build for their bout would mostly consist of Orton and Lesnar (aka Paul Heyman) hyping it up on their respective brands.

Although that was the case for the first few weeks, The Viper crossed the battle lines to Raw on Aug. 1, striking Lesnar with an RKO out of nowhere. This threw Lesnar, Heyman and everyone else for a loop, with the audience roaring as Orton escaped the arena through the crowd.

Of course, there was some criticism from fans that WWE went against its own brand split by having Orton appear on Raw. The majority, however, were thrilled with the turn of events that gave the program that extra spark it desperately needed.

Credit: WWE.com

Virtually everyone knows about their history in WWE's former developmental system, Ohio Valley Wrestling, from the early 2000s. It has been documented time and time again over the years, so while WWE should bring it up throughout their rivalry, it is nothing new to most fans.

On paper, it was an extraordinary match, given it was the first major meeting between the two. But it lacked that special something, and the Raw vs. SmackDown narrative was the solution.

Lesnar wasted no time in evening the score, invading SmackDown the very next night and plowing through security with ease. When Orton turned his attention to his opponent Fandango for a split second, the former UFC Heavyweight champion quickly capitalized and laid him out with an emphatic F5.

This was only Lesnar's third appearance on the blue brand in his latest run with the company, so his one-off from last week instantly made the Tuesday night show must-see viewing. It added a sense of legitimacy and excitement that was previously missing, proving what could happen on Raw could easily happen on SmackDown as well.

Once Orton showed up on Raw, it immediately became a debate among fans of who belonged to the better brand. Although the match won't carry any sort of stipulation, they will undoubtedly be battling for brand supremacy on Aug. 21.

Interestingly enough, this is a fitting theme for the feud considering the careers of Orton and Lesnar constantly paralleled but never crossed. They were on the same show for a time in 2002 (leading to their one and only encounter to date), but other than that, they were largely separated when they started out.

Not only did they debut on opposite brands in the spring of 2002, but they eventually moved by the end of the year. Orton was groomed into a future star as part of Evolution on Raw, while Lesnar began his reign of terror on the SmackDown side.

Better yet, it's a fresh feud and an improvement over watching Lesnar rekindle rivalries with the likes of John Cena, The Undertaker and Big Show. The match would have delivered either way, but the added intensity from the brand supremacy storyline has fans anticipating the encounter even more.

Granted, WWE should not be doing crossovers every week—only in this instance does it make sense, given the circumstances. With SummerSlam being a dual-branded pay-per-view, it is acceptable for them to be promoting their match on every platform possible.

The SmackDown vs. Raw rivalry is off to a strong start with Orton vs. Lesnar. If the match continues to be built up the right way in the coming weeks, both brands will benefit from the epic encounter regardless of who emerges victorious.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a Digital Journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

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