Dixie Carter fired back at Randy Orton after Orton dropped her name during Tuesday's most recent edition of SmackDown Live.
This past Tuesday, as Orton and AJ Styles were building towards their eventual matchup at WrestleMania 35, Orton took issue with the fact Styles had been referring to himself as the man who ran SmackDown Live, more specifically, that SmackDown Live was the "house that AJ Styles built." Suggesting he was far more deserving of that title than Styles, Orton listed a string of reasons Styles had it all wrong.
Orton said during the show:
"This is the house that AJ Styles built, right? Well, what I don't understand is, in 2002 AJ Styles was wrestling for $10 a night in a high school gymnasium, in front of 12 people, while I was here making my WWE in-ring debut. In 2004, AJ Styles was shaking hands with his opponents in the bingo halls and I was here becoming the youngest WWE Champion ever. In 2005, AJ was down in Florida getting a tan with Dixie Carter while I was here facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania. In 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, I was here and I was a champion. This isn't the house that AJ Styles built, this house was built long before AJ Styles ever stepped foot in this ring. This is the house that Randy Orton built."
One of the more interesting parts of that speech was Orton's reference to Dixie Carter. Clearly, he was referring to Styles' time in TNA and that's not often something WWE choose to do during its programming (refer to other wrestling promotions). It's probably not a coincidence Orton didn't use the actual name of the promotion.
Carter took to social media after the show had ended and referenced that segment. Dixie wrote, "@AJStylesOrg & I never had to tan as we were always golden. My historical recollection is different than yours @RandyOrton. #SDLive"
WWE's association with TNA and members of that promotion is not completely new. Carter was used during the Style's and Kurt Angle documentaries on WWE Network and Tommy Dreamer is often a guest on Edge and Christian's comedy show. For Carter, it's probably good promotion for her to get a name drop on SmackDown Live and why not take advantage of it?
What This Means
Will anything come of this? Perhaps not. But, it would be interesting if, as part of the build-up to their WrestleMania match, Dixie Carter was brought in to serve a purpose for the storyline. That would certainly give this match a unique twist that fans aren't expecting.
Next: WWE Discussed Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 35