Evil S.O.B. Randy Orton shoots on Ric Flair, then punts him

Last week, the promo duel between Randy Orton and WWE champ Drew McIntyre made it clear that the real world was fair game for this SummerSlam program.

After the #1 contender outlasted Kevin Owens, picking up the win by turning a Stunner attempt into an RKO, we found out just how real things were going to get.

See, Orton’s old Evolution running buddy Ric Flair got the Owens match booked when he ran his mouth at KO backstage last week. And that made Randy realize that the Nature Boy’s best days were behind him, and that he was now a liability to his quest for a 14th World title reign.

In a fiery promo telling Flair what washed up glory hound Randy thinks he is, Orton also dropped what was likely a thinly veiled reference to Ric’s dead son (and Charlotte’s brother) Reid, Look for rumor reports about the line in the coming hours and days.

Naitch pleaded with Randy, saying that when he almost died in 2017, all he wanted to do was tell people he loved them, be Charlotte’s dad, and help the Legend Killer break his WWE record for World titles.

None of that swayed Orton though. He lured Ric win with a hug, hit him with a low blow, and lined up for the punt.

It was around this time the lights started flickering. Perhaps it was a result of RETRIBUTION’s hijinks? Who knows, but it saved WWE from having to show Randy kicking a 71 year old in the skull.

McIntyre raced in, chasing his rival away and vowing to give the “evil son of a bitch” everything he had coming in two weeks.

It doesn’t get any realer than that.

Get complete Raw results and coverage of this week’s show here.