We’ve reported how the finish to Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar at WWE SummerSlam went as planned for the most part. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that the idea behind the match was to create a scenario where nobody knew where reality ended and where people thought Lesnar was going against the script.
Orton was apparently planning for a typical main event until he arrived to the arena. He was then told that he was not going to have a normal match, that the match wasn’t about going back & forth and keeping both Superstars strong, but about making Lesnar look stronger. Original plans had the match being a one-sided destruction for Lesnar, with Orton down on the ground bleeding. That was to come off like Lesnar “went against the script” and really hurt Orton, causing confusion and the end of the match due to referee stoppage.
Orton was also reportedly told that Brock knew how to graze him with his elbow to open a cut without hurting Orton, and was told that was what would happen during the match. It turned out that Brock really elbowed Orton and hit him with stiff punches, causing Orton to need 10 staples to close a wound. Orton did as he was supposed to do – stay down and act like he was knocked out. WWE trainers and the referee looked confused because they really were. This confusion led to the referee stoppage due to blood and Orton’s condition, which was really the only way for the referee to end it.
