Elimination Chamber 2017 Randy Orton v Luke Harper

This Sunday at SmackDown LIVE’s Elimination Chamber 2017 pay-per-view, Randy Orton will answer Luke Harper’s challenge, as The Viper goes head-to-head against The Wyatt Family’s estranged brother.

The utter distain between Orton and Harper has grown to a fever pitch in recent weeks. After much infighting, Bray Wyatt set up a match between them on the Jan. 24 edition of SmackDown LIVE in an effort to quell their unrest prior to Royal Rumble. But, moments after Orton emerged victorious in that contest, The New Face of Fear suddenly hit Harper with Sister Abigail. This only added fuel to the fire, as Harper showed when he attacked The Eater of Worlds the following Sunday in the Royal Rumble Match —a contest WWE’s Apex Predator ultimately won.

However, despite the recent rebellion by the once-loyal Wyatt Family member, it may not be as cut and dry a situation as it appears. In a puzzling turn of events on the following SmackDown LIVE, Harper teamed with WWE Champion John Cena against his alienated cohorts and had no problem locking horns with Orton, though he would not fight Wyatt at all. Though he did take down Wyatt the next week during Orton's match against Cena, this still begs the question: Does Bray Wyatt still have control over his outcast disciple? If so, could this this play into the outcome when Harper battles The Viper? Or will the dangerous Harper prove to be a devastating obstacle as Orton prepares to step into the main event at WrestleMania?