Randy Orton sat down for a fan Q&A in Las Vegas two days before WrestleMania 42 and covered everything from his prediction for Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar to his contract status, his dream RKO target, the wrestlers he believes will carry WWE into the future, and why he will never leave for Hollywood.<\/p>\n
The full conversation took place at a public event in Las Vegas ahead of WrestleMania 42 Night One, where Orton challenges Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Orton Predicts Oba Femi Beats Brock Lesnar<\/p>\n
Orton made a direct prediction for Sunday\u2019s WrestleMania 42 Night Two opener, picking Oba Femi to defeat Brock Lesnar.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can throw a steel ball real far, and he sure as hell can Power Bomb a beast. Something tells me Oba is going to get the victory,\u201d Orton said before referencing his own history with Lesnar. \u201cBrock\u2019s the man. I got a nice big scar on my head from Brock from about 10 years ago. But I\u2019m a big Oba fan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orton also took a playful jab at Oba Femi\u2019s age relative to his own record as the youngest world champion in WWE history.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like at 46 now, how am I still the youngest world champion in history? Like, what are these other dudes doing? Oba is like almost 30. I won the World Title probably four or five times by the time I was his age.\u201d<\/p>\n
Four Years Left On His Contract, No Hollywood Plans<\/p>\n
Orton revealed that he has four years remaining on his current WWE deal and made it clear that he has no interest in pursuing an acting career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just turned 46. I do have four years left on my contract, and maybe when that\u2019s over, I\u2019ll get the Undertaker schedule and pop around for WrestleMania every year and then ride it to the wheels fall off, literally. But I got to get that championship, man. It\u2019s been a while, and I want number 15. And I think at this point, I\u2019m willing to do anything to get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orton also spoke about his relationship with his WrestleMania opponent Cody Rhodes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing with Cody is, I know I\u2019ve done some nasty sh*t to him recently. This is not personal. I really, truly love the guy. Man, we\u2019ve got a lot of history. I remember when he was just a kid, bright eyed and bushy tailed and happy to be there. But nothing lasts forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked what he wants fans to remember about him, Orton drew a clear line between himself and wrestlers who leave for other opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think what I would love the fans to remember the most about me is that I never left. Since day one, I\u2019ve been here. I\u2019m not going to go move to LA and be away from my family for six months to try and act. I\u2019m a pro wrestler down deep to my bones, and I think that\u2019s what you\u2019re going to remember, is that I loved what I do for a living, and I love entertaining y\u2019all, and I love being in that ring, and it really is like a drug while you\u2019re out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orton then painted a picture of generational fandom that illustrated the point.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could have been watching in middle school, and you saw a young Randy Orton. But then you go to high school, you stop watching. You go to college, getting in a fraternity, and those guys watch wrestling. So now you start watching wrestling again. And oh sht, there\u2019s Randy Orton. Then next thing you know, you\u2019re out of college, you\u2019re in the workforce. You stop watching. You get married, you have kids, your young son or daughter grows up, you introduce them to wrestling, and then, holy sht, there\u2019s Randy Orton again. This dude don\u2019t stop. That\u2019s how I want to be remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wants To Break The Undertaker\u2019s WrestleMania Record<\/p>\n
Saturday will be Orton\u2019s 21st WrestleMania appearance, and he has his sights set on breaking The Undertaker\u2019s record for the most appearances in the event\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now at 21 WrestleManias as of Saturday, I believe Triple H is at 23 or something and The Undertaker is in the late 20s. I\u2019d like to surpass that record by the time it\u2019s all said and done. I know that I\u2019ve done more pay-per-views than any other talent, and the numbers the other guys are at, like Kofi is up there, but I don\u2019t think anyone can touch that record. I like being in the history books, just consistently being at all these shows.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rock Is His Dream RKO Target<\/p>\n
When asked if there is anyone he still owes an RKO to, Orton said The Rock sits at the top of his list, with Stone Cold Steve Austin also mentioned. He estimated that he has hit approximately 220 to 230 different people with the RKO over the course of his career and rattled off some of the more memorable ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve RKO\u2019d everybody. Influencers, talk show hosts, Mark Cuban. Back in the day, I was hitting 90-year-old ladies. I RKO\u2019d Meatloaf. I knew not to let go of his head, because there was no way that dude was kicking out in time. I bent that poor old man in half. Mae Young, that\u2019s the 90-year-old woman.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I have never RKO\u2019d Rock. If for some reason all the stars were to align, Rock would be at the top. Stone Cold\u2019s on that list too.\u201d<\/p>\n
His Favorite Version Of The Viper<\/p>\n
When asked which version of himself he is most proud of, Orton bypassed the popular 2009 pick and made a case for his pandemic-era run.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople talk about the \u201909 Randy Orton, and I get where they\u2019re coming from with that. But during COVID, I was at every show. I was champ. I think I punted more people in the head during COVID. There\u2019s like a list of five guys that I kicked in the face, and then they went to the other team. I did a lot of cool sh*t during COVID, and I was a bad guy through and through. I was the Viper.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that the goal is for 2026 to top all previous versions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just getting started in \u201926. The idea would be 2026 to be the version of the Viper that everybody wants to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Names The Future Faces Of WWE<\/p>\n
Orton was asked who he believes will carry WWE into the future, and Oba Femi was his first answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cOba is at the top of the list. Trick Williams is there. Ilya Dragunov. Je\u2019Von Evans. Theory. There\u2019s so many guys. But then there\u2019s guys like Finn Balor. I\u2019ve been in the ring with him but never had a singles match, let alone a feud. I would love to be able to say that I did by the end of my career. I think Finn Balor is an amazing talent. There\u2019s nobody smoother than him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orton acknowledged that he is not as in touch with NXT\u2019s product but pays close attention when talent gets called up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t go down to NXT. I\u2019m not as in touch with their television or their product. I just know when they send guys up our way, I see them. All those guys and gals in the locker room just gotta be ready to cash in on that opportunity when it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Praises Dominik Mysterio\u2019s Growth<\/p>\n
When asked for his Mount Rushmore of father-son duos in WWE, Orton listed Rey and Dominik Mysterio, Ric Flair and Charlotte, Dusty and Cody Rhodes, and Rikishi and The Usos.<\/p>\n
He was particularly effusive about Dominik\u2019s development.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember when I first laid eyes on Dom, and I was like, oh, poor kid, you know, but his dad\u2019s Rey, he\u2019s going to get this opportunity. But look what he\u2019s done. How long\u2019s Dom been around? Five years, four years. Dom is an amazing talent, and we are so lucky to have him. Where he was to where he is now is just amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Credits Vince McMahon For Protecting The RKO<\/p>\n
Orton credited Vince McMahon with ensuring the RKO remained a protected finish throughout his career, and shared a story about meeting Logan Paul that illustrated the move\u2019s cultural reach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first met Logan Paul, he was like, oh, you\u2019re Randy Orton. I was doing the RKO, doing my vines 15 years ago. I had no idea who you were, but I knew what the RKO was. That RKO is everything, and Vince had a huge hand to play, because when I would be wrestling somebody, and I was younger, and they would want to kick out of my finish, Vince would pull me aside and say, we\u2019re not going to do that. We\u2019re not going to let that happen. I\u2019ll never hit a guy with three RKOs to cover him and pin him. I\u2019m not going to dilute my finish. That is always going to be a kill shot, and I can hit it out of nowhere. Vince has a huge part to play when it comes to my finish, and that\u2019s a huge part of being a WWE superstar. What\u2019s your finishing move?\u201d<\/p>\n
Orton also credited the talent he works with for keeping the RKO fresh after more than two decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know that I do keep it fresh. I just jump up, grab head and land on my back. I think a lot of it isn\u2019t even necessarily me keeping it fresh. It\u2019s the talent that I get to work with. You got someone like Evan Bourne, or Seth Rollins, Chad Gable, guys that do the springboards in the ring, like plucking a guy out of the air. I\u2019d be nothing without the guys that I work with. They\u2019re why the RKO has lived on this long.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also praised Shane McMahon\u2019s willingness to take physical risks, calling him \u201cbig balls\u201d and referencing the King of the Ring 2001 incident with Kurt Angle where the glass was supposed to break and did not.<\/p>\n
Credits His Father\u2019s Legacy For Early Career Protection<\/p>\n
Orton shared how his father Bob Orton\u2019s reputation in the locker room helped protect him when he debuted in 2002, and explained that instead of living in a shadow, his family name opened doors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was lucky enough. You have guys like JBL, Arn Anderson, Dean Malenko, Jack Lanza, Tony Garea, there in the locker room when I debuted. And they knew my father and respected my father, and would say he was a wrestler\u2019s wrestler, and had all the respect of the boys in the back. The fact that they had such high regard for my dad, that helped me even more, because they made sure to take care of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He singled out JBL\u2019s treatment of him specifically.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe horror stories you hear of JBL messing with the new guys, he didn\u2019t mess with me like that because of my dad. JBL\u2019s very first overseas tour of Japan on the indies was with my father, and my father took care of him for the three months they were over there. So when JBL was able to take care of me, he returned the favor. If anything, there wasn\u2019t a shadow that I had to bust out of. It was more like it helped me get my foot in the door, and it helped me earn the respect quicker from my peers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wishes He Had A Less Physical Finisher For Longevity<\/p>\n
In a candid moment, Orton admitted he has spoken with The Undertaker about the longevity advantage of having a less physically demanding finisher and revealed what move he wishes he had instead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve talked to The Undertaker about this. His chokeslam, right? No matter how old we get, no matter how much our bodies might not allow us to continue to do what we love, doing the RKO, there\u2019s going to be a certain point in 10 years where I\u2019m not going to want to take that bump anymore. I told Taker, man, you just need a young athletic talent to come out, feed, and then jump. Give me an Austin Theory, boom. And it\u2019s effortless. And you could be 75, 80 years old, come out there and do that same thing. But hitting an RKO, there\u2019s going to be a time where you\u2019re going to have to stop doing that. So if I had to answer, I wish I had a finishing move that I would have spent over two decades on that wasn\u2019t as physical on me, like the chokeslam.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Moment He Knew He Belonged In WWE<\/p>\n
Orton was asked when he first realized he belonged at the top of WWE. He traced it back to the formation of Evolution with Ric Flair, Triple H, and Batista, and two separate injuries that nearly derailed his career before it started.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had an injury about six months after I debuted. Almost ruined everything. I came back, and my first match back after a four-month recovery, I was in a match with the Dudley Boys against me and Batista, and both me and Dave got injured. I broke my foot clean in half, Batista tore his tricep, and this whole idea of Evolution, I thought that was it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when I came back and I realized that they just stopped everything in its tracks, and even though I was out with two separate injuries in a short amount of time, that they were waiting for me to return just to be part of this group with the likes of Ric Flair and Triple H, that\u2019s when I realized, oh, maybe I got something here. I didn\u2019t see it in myself at the time, but I knew that they saw it in me.\u201d<\/p>\n
What Makes WrestleMania Different<\/p>\n
Orton said every WrestleMania feels like the biggest and best, and explained what separates the event from weekly television.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter what year it is, whatever WrestleMania we\u2019re at, it\u2019s the biggest and the best. It\u2019s a showcase of everything that\u2019s going on in that moment. The one thing that stays the same is at WrestleMania, if you\u2019re a low-risk guy, you\u2019re going to take those risks. We\u2019re going to give the fans what they pay for. You\u2019re going to see things you don\u2019t normally see on a Raw or a SmackDown. You\u2019re going to see debuts. There\u2019s going to be all sorts of sh*t that you see that you weren\u2019t prepared to see. That\u2019s our job, is to wow you guys out of the stadium.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plans To Watch Night Two As Champion<\/p>\n
Orton said he plans to watch WrestleMania 42 Night Two from a suite with his family after his match on Night One.<\/p>\n
\u201cSaturday, when I\u2019m done with business, what\u2019s nice is I\u2019m going to be up in a suite with my family Sunday, watching day two as champion, of course. I\u2019m looking forward for all those nerves, all the adrenaline, to shut off, for me to just enjoy the show and be a fan like one of you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
He closed the event by addressing the crowd directly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSaturday night, Night One, WrestleMania 42, I want you to enjoy as you watch your boy go up on that turnbuckle, stretch his arms out, do his pose and hold that 15th title up in the air. And I want to hear each and every one of you screaming for me, because you know that I deserve it. I know that I deserve it, and I\u2019d love to be able to stand in this ring right now, talk to you, and confidently say that I do deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Randy Orton challenges Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 42 Night One on Saturday, April 18 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n