Orton Didn’t Know About Elbow Finish Until The Night Of SummerSlam

Randy Orton reportedly did not know the finish to his match at SummerSlam until he showed up at the arena that night. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Brock Lesnar’s legitimate elbow strikes to Orton’s head and the TKO finish were done in an effort to make fans believe Lesnar went off-script.

Meltzer says the original plan was always for Lesnar to perform the majority of the offense in the match, and for the former UFC Heavyweight Champion to be crowned the winner. Randy Orton wasn’t told until he arrived at the Barlcays Center that night that he would be getting cut open the hard way by an elbow.

Orton was reportedly told that Lesnar knows how to graze him with an elbow and draw blood without seriously hurting him. The elbow ended up being more than a graze, and Orton required ten staples to close the cut. Orton stayed down acting like he was knocked out, which was in the script.

Medical personnel and the referee acted confused because while they knew Lesnar was going over, they weren’t filled in on the details of the elbow “graze.”

According to Meltzer, Orton was told to do it by the company and didn’t complain publicly, but didn’t seem thrilled by it and won’t be doing that kind of favor again.