Rusev reportedly lost to Randy Orton at Sunday’s SummerSlam event in seconds because it was WWE’s way of starting a program between the two.
According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the idea behind it is that it was a “fluke loss” for Rusev and it will play a factor into their storyline. There is also the belief that Orton needed a pay-per-view win after his poor run of PPV matches with Bray Wyatt & Jinder Mahal. The loss was not to punish Rusev but a major pro-Orton decision.
