Tag: Randy Orton

Ken Anderson believes Randy Orton and John Cena worked together to get him fired

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Former WWE wrestler Ken Anderson believes it was Randy Orton and John Cena who had him fired from the promotion.

During his recent appearance on Tagging In with Chris Harris, Anderson opened up in detail about his WWE release. The unfortunate incident took place after Randy Orton had allegedly called Anderson dangerous.

“I got fired for dumping Randy [Orton] on his head. If you slow that video down, you can see that his neck never comes into contact with the mat. Even just the way that he bumped, he bumped in a manner where he lined up perfectly with the camera, so you can actually see that. He says I dumped him on his head, but you can see his neck; it’s a completely flat bump. From his shoulders to his ass was a complete straight line, flat bump.

“I believe that Randy and John [Cena] worked together. They decided that day, let’s f**king get him gone. And it worked,” Anderson shared.

Anderson was released just days after returning from a lengthy injury absence in 2009. The release allegedly took place after Orton had complained about him, following a back suplex he received on the May 25, 2009 episode of WWE RAW.

While Anderson believes Orton’s comments motivated his release, he still blames himself for his WWE exit.

“I’ve said this before, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but had I been doing what I should have done on a daily basis, that would have never occurred. They could have gone to Vince [McMahon] and said all whatever they wanted to,” Anderson added. “The fact that my name kept coming up in a negative light and I kept kind of f**king up in different ways, and that’s all on me. So, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but the reason I got fired is because of me.”

Anderson joined WWE in 2005 and was a part of the promotion until his release in 2009. A popular name on the roster, Anderson is also a former WWE United States Champion and the 2007 Money in the Bank winner.

Randy Orton explains WWE absence: ‘Just milking it guys’

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Randy Orton will be back when he’s ready.

The 14-time WWE Champion on social media Sunday addressed reports that he was currently dealing with a back injury. While he didn’t refute the report, he wrote that he was simply biding time until he returns to win his 15th title, something that alluded him at WrestleMania 42 last month.

“Lmao just milking it guys, leave me alone I’m trying to enjoy my summer before I come back and take that #15,” he wrote.

Orton has dealt with the injury for years

During Sunday morning’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that Orton’s absence from television was due to his recurring back injury, noting that it almost ended his career at one point. During his match at WrestleMania against Cody Rhodes, announcers mentioned that Orton was dealing with a back injury and it soon became the focal point of the match. 

Rhodes emerged victorious that night, pinning Orton to retain the WWE Championship. However, Orton was the one left standing at the end of the show after he jumped Rhodes, connecting with the punt kick for the first time in years. The kick legit injured Rhodes’ orbital bone, causing a nasty black eye that kept him out of action for a few weeks.

Five absent WWE stars who need big comeback storylines | Opinion

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

WWE’s uncertain atmosphere amid recent talent releases and prominent absences has led to questions on their wrestling future. 

WrestleMania 42 took place nearly a month ago and Backlash has already come and gone. Still, many talents have still not resurfaced on WWE TV. 

Here’s a few noticeably absent WWE stars whose returns must outshine their last matches and appearances on TV. 

Randy Orton 

He was heavily anticipated to defeat Cody Rhodes and win his 15th WWE World title at WrestleMania 42. Despite Pat McAfee’s involvement, that didn’t happen. Since then, Orton has not made any televised or public appearances, raising the question on what’s next for the WWE veteran. 

Prior to WrestleMania, Dave Meltzer had reported that Orton was hurting, dealing with undisclosed physical health issues. McAfee’s involvement was to also set up a tag team match with Orton against Rhodes and Jelly Roll at Backlash that never came to be.

There is no update or confirmation on Orton’s return timeline, but whenever it does happen, WWE needs to ensure he accomplishes his long-term goal of a World title.

Drew McIntyre 

Jacob Fatu has already moved on from Drew McIntyre after their WrestleMania collision to focusing on the bigger picture and Roman Reigns’ World Heavyweight title.

Reports indicate that McIntyre’s WWE TV absence is to wrap up filming Highlander, a reboot of the1986 movie, also featuring Henry Cavill. 

McIntyre could continue his callous attitude, unfazed by WWE authority on his return. Pitting him against Rhodes for the WWE Championship again would be monotonous as he needs to assert territorial dominance and could ideally challenge relatively new talent on the SmackDown roster like Trick Williams or another heavy hitter like Ilja Dragunov.

LA Knight

Knight has had a complex WWE run over the past couple of years.

He competed in a six-man tag team match at WrestleMania. Prior to the event, he addressed a bursa flare up that was keeping him away from in-ring action of any kind. While this might explain his ongoing absence, there is always going to be concerns about his WWE future given the current environment.

Knight’s return to WWE should be fueled to win the World Heavyweight Title or Money in the Bank which didn’t happen last year. Either way, he needs a defining run to remind fans and WWE management why he is one of the company’s most organically popular stars today. 

Bayley & Lyra Valkyria

The tag team squared off against Judgment Day on the Raw after Mania but have not made any appearances since.

Bayley’s unfortunate luck in capturing the Women’s Tag Team Titles has been looming since WrestleMania last year, but her partnership with Valkyria still has much potential. 

WWE must ensure their alliance is intact while also keeping both women relevant in the women’s division. This would help their positioning as a babyface tag team and possibly develop Valkyria as a singles competitor under Bayley’s mentorship.

John Cena compares ‘OVW Four’ to newer young talent in WWE

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

John Cena has opened up and compared the OVW Four to the younger talents in WWE.

In a recent interview with CBS Sports and SHAK Wrestling, Cena opened up on the concept of having new, younger champions in WWE. Bringing up the comparison with the iconic OVW Four, Cena shared how the new talents are going to get the spot after the veterans fade out.

The iconic OVW Four consisted of Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, and Brock Lesnar. “I don’t think one reason points in that direction. It could be someone like me who had an unprecedented stay of 23 years – keep in mind, that’s not the usual career length of a WWE Champion and Superstar. And alongside me, Randy Orton, side by side. Batista, a little bit of a shorter run, and Brock Lesnar in and out. But that class that you spoke of so highly, we had an anomaly of longevity and success, and that takes up time and spots,” he said.

“So now you’re talking about, as we wane out, certainly my chapter’s done, Batista’s chapter’s done, Brock – Randy’s kinda the only one left. Now, new performers are gonna get those spots, and those are going to go to the most seasoned performers that connect with the audience, and they just happen to be a little bit of the older scale. That doesn’t mean I don’t think we’re ruling out the possibility of a young champion in the very near future, because we are loaded with youth, speed, and talent,” Cena added.

Further speaking on the same topic, Cena also addressed his fandom for NXT’s latest addition, Mason Rook. “It’s no secret, I think, to those in the know that I chant with everybody else, ‘He’s big. He’s bad. He’ll bodyslam your dad.’ So if you don’t know who I’m talking about, I want you to go check that out. I’m a fan. – Cena is a fan of Mason Rook.“

Rook recently made his debut in WWE NXT following a career in the British independent scene and has already become a talking point on the roster.

Report: Ted DiBiase Jr. was never considered for the Randy Orton-Cody Rhodes WWE WrestleMania feud

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Long rumored to be a part of Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes’ WWE WrestleMania feud, a recent report revealed that Ted DiBiase Jr. was never considered for it.

At WWE WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Nevada, fans saw Ted DiBiase Jr. in attendance with his lawyer. Despite DiBiase Jr. being found not guilty in a fraud case, a recent report from Fightful Select revealed that he was never considered to be involved in Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes’ WrestleMania feud.

Based on DiBiase Jr’s past storyline connection to Orton and Rhodes, fans heavily speculated him to be a part of the feud. However, that did not happen, and despite him being in the stadium and filming his reactions, there were reportedly no “serious considerations” for DiBiase Jr. to get involved.

Fightful Select also reported that while DiBiase Jr. attended WrestleMania with his lawyer, he was not invited by WWE as a guest. Instead, he was in town for WrestleCon. One of Fightful’s sources speculated that he was sponsored by the water company on his shirt for a ticket.

Before WWE WrestleMania 42, Orton, while speaking to Culture Kings, revealed that he was owed $25,000 by DiBiase Jr., although the reason for this still seems missing.

Ted DiBiase Jr. opens up after acquittal

After being found not guilty on multiple charges in the fraud case, Ted DiBiase Jr. shared a statement on his social media regarding the acquittal.

“They got it right. And I give all the glory to God. I give all the credit to my lord and savior, to [my legal team]. I think they did an amazing job of portraying the truth,” DiBiase said. “Seven years of being slandered and made to be something that is completely false has about torn my family apart, but we’re strong. And I’ve had so many friends and so much family that have come around us. And I’m proud that we’ve walked through this. And I’m so thankful that it’s over.”

Myles Borne reveals advice Randy Orton has given him for WWE career 

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Myles Borne revealed Randy Orton’s advice for the longevity of his in-ring WWE career. 

Speaking with No Contest Wrestling, Borne discussed the conversation with Orton on their similar body styles and in-ring agility. He gave him notes on protecting himself while competing given their complicated history with back surgeries.

“He’s told me many times – we have similar body styles. He’s much bigger obviously, but our shape and everything, the way he moves, I felt that was natural for me so I started watching the way he would wrestle and the moves he would do.”

“And he would tell me… because I had back surgery before I got here, so learning from him, I started soaking in everything he was telling me. ‘This is a long career, you’ve gotta protect yourself,’ and the way that he wrestled to have that long of a dominating career, I was like, ‘Okay, I wanna follow that blueprint.’”

“So I started picking some things here and there to try to advance my career very fast. But now I’m trying to create my own path, so slowly but surely, I’m figuring out who I am.”

“But yeah, Randy was kinda the foundational block that I stuck onto to at least help me get through that door and navigate in the ring for the first few years.” 

Borne and Orton have often drawn reactions for bearing resemblance to each other. Borne signed with WWE in 2022 and made his NXT debut in July that year. In February this year, hewon the NXT North American Championship, marking his first WWE title win.

New details on Cody Rhodes defeating Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42 | Exclusive

Posted on by Ian Carey

Backstage chaos on the Saturday of WrestleMania 42 was described as “like WCW.”

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer addressed the decision to have Cody Rhodes defeat Randy Orton in the night one main event of WrestleMania 42 on Saturday, April 18.

Meltzer wrote that after Pat McAfee opted out of continuing with WWE, the decision not to go with Orton as champion was part of “all the chaos” taking place behind the scenes on Saturday. However, he also noted that the decision to have Rhodes win the match had been made before Saturday.

Meltzer also noted that the belief in WWE was that it wasn’t just the negativity from fans that led to McAfee opting out, but the response from WWE talent as well.

“I don’t know if he gave a reason but the belief in WWE was that he didn’t like the negativity of the fans, not the heel heat, but the negativity, plus even worse, the negativity of the angle from so much of the talent,” Meltzer wrote.

Meltzer wrote that there were WWE talent who felt Rhodes and Orton had a strong storyline dating back to Orton serving as Rhodes’ mentor in Legacy, and that McAfee and Jelly Roll being involved took away from the stronger story.

“So when (McAfee) asked out, the decision was made to go in the direction of Punk vs. Rhodes as a big match (perhaps for SummerSlam although I don’ t know that) and thus not go with Orton as champion. There were those who said the decision was part of all the chaos taking place behind-the-scenes on Saturday before the first show and the call was made the day of. However, those in the know, confirmed the chaos, even saying it was like WCW, but we were told the decision to go with Rhodes over Orton was made prior to the day of the show.”

Punk and Rhodes were involved in an angle on Raw this past Monday, teasing a possible title match between the two.

The full edition of today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter is available to subscribers.

Cody Rhodes shares update on WWE WrestleMania 42 eye injury 

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Cody Rhodes left WWE WrestleMania 42 with his left eye swollen and almost shut following his match with Randy Orton. 

As reported by our own Dave Meltzer, Rhodes was placed in concussion protocol as a precautionary measure, with evaluations yet to be completed. There was no orbital bone fracture, the seriousness of which could have led to him being sidelined. 

Rhodes shared an update on Instagram Stories that doctors informed him he ‘won’t lose the eye’. 

‘“You won’t lose the eye…’ has to be the most positive yet absurd thing I’ve ever heard in a doctors office,” posted Rhodes.

The main event at Night One of WrestleMania 42 saw both men bloodied by the end of it. After the match, Orton delivered a Punt Kick to Rhodes out of frustration for not winning the WWE Championship. 

Rhodes appeared on the Raw after Mania with a bruised eye. He confronted CM Punk who was in an unusually upbeat mood after losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns the night before. And his mood was contradictory to what Rhodes was expecting from him. 

The segment concluded with Punk stating ‘you never know when a championship opportunity is just gonna fall out of the sky’ and looked down at Rhodes’ Undisputed WWE Title. As he made his exit, Rhodes responded ‘just say when’. 

Randy Orton reflects on Vince McMahon’s role in protecting RKO finisher

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Randy Orton’s RKO is often deemed as one of the most dangerous finishers in WWE, and his former boss, Vince McMahon, had a major role to play in it.

Recently speaking with The Schmo for an interview before WWE WrestleMania 42, Orton was asked to name the Mount Rushmore of father-child wrestling combos. Orton opened up and shared several names, including Rey & Dominik Mysterio, Ric & Charlotte Flair, Dusty Rhodes and his sons, when a fan yelled and suggested Vince and Shane McMahon.

Opting not to say anything negative, Orton instead opened up and reflected on McMahon’s importance in his career. The 14-time World Champion narrated how McMahon helped him protect his RKO finisher.

“It’s funny because that RKO is everything. Vince [McMahon] had a huge hand to play because when I would be wrestling somebody, and I was younger, they would want to kick out of my finish. Vince would pull me aside and say, ‘We’re not going to do that. We’re not going to let that happen.’ I’ll never hit a guy with three RKOs to cover him and pin him,” Orton said.

“I’m 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’s a huge part of being a WWE superstar, what’s your finishing move.”

Although Orton did not always have the RKO as his finishing move. Instead, he began his WWE career using the O-Zone (Overdrive) as his finisher. He later transitioned it into the RKO and the much more devastating Punt kick.

Randy Orton wants a feud with Finn Balor before his career is over

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Randy Orton recently opened up about his desire to have a feud with Finn Balor.

In a recent interview with The Schmo before WWE WrestleMania 42, Orton opened up about his intentions of feuding with Finn Balor before finishing his in-ring career.

“Finn Balor to me, I’ve been in the ring with him, but I’ve 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’s nobody smoother than him.”

In a career spanning over two decades, Orton never faced Balor in a singles match, although the two have shared the ring multiple times. Recently, speaking on the same interview, Orton had also emphasized the importance of wrestling house shows to build chemistry between first-time opponents.

Orton, 46, is nearing the dusk of his career and revealed having just four years left in his WWE contract.

Randy Orton talks about the loss of ‘chemistry’ with less WWE house show matches

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Recently, in an interview before WWE WrestleMania 42, Randy Orton opened up on the importance of WWE house show matches and how they help build “chemistry.”

Speaking with The Schmo, Orton was asked about the successful approach to building chemistry between one and their opponent. Sharing a detailed answer, the 14-time World Champion emphasized the importance of wrestling at house shows.

“I think when we used to do more shows, and there were live events, if I was going to wrestle a guy, you know, pick let’s say me and Drew McIntyre had never wrestled before, we would do a two-week European tour together, and we would wrestle each other every single night. We’d be doing two, three, sometimes four live events stateside, and we’d wrestle each other every single night,” Orton said.

“And by the time that we got into the ring, it was on TV, pay-per-view, Raw, SmackDown, whatever, and had that first televised match, we would already had a chemistry built. So, we would have already had that chemistry kind of uh instead of doing it for the first time live. You don’t want to do anything for the first time live, but now we’ve kind of gotten into a situation where we do a lot of times,” he continued.

He further opened up on the different routine he had when he was younger and compared it with the current WWE locker room schedule.

“I’ve wrestled many guys since our schedule has kind of slowed down, for the first time on live TV, and that’s crazy to think. I think I heard last year, LA Knight wrestled like 77 matches, and that was like the most matches anybody had wrestled. And that’s wild because we were wrestling 180, 200, 220 matches a year for years and years. I had 15 years or so where I was averaging 185 matches a year. So that’s hard on the body. That’s tough. The travel’s gruesome. It’s hard on family life. But your body builds up a resiliency where you’re taking those bumps, that repetition, you’re able to build that chemistry with all that time in the ring off TV in front of a live audience, and you learn what works. And and that’s that’s the chemistry right there.”

At WWE WrestleMania 42 Night One main event, Orton faced and lost to Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Randy Orton says he has four years left on his WWE contract

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Randy Orton has opened up and revealed that he has just “four years” left on his WWE contract.

In an interview with The Schmo before his match at WWE WrestleMania 42, Orton discussed his contract status and revealed his intention to follow The Undertaker’s schedule once his contract expires.

“I do have four years left on my contract and maybe when that’s over, I’ll get The Undertaker schedule and pop around for WrestleMania every year and then ride until the wheels fall off, literally.”

At WrestleMania 42 Night One Main Event, Orton and Cody Rhodes clashed in a violent match, which left both men bloodied. However, the finish to the match saw Orton stand tall to close the night despite losing to Rhodes.

Orton, 46, has been a part of the WWE RAW roster since 2002. Two years ago, in 2024, Orton also confirmed signing a five-year contract with WWE. “I just signed a five-year extension to my contract,” Orton said. “I’ve got some time left to do this. I feel better than I’ve felt in over a decade,” Orton claimed back in 2024.

Report: Original scrapped plans for Randy Orton at WWE WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

At WWE WrestleMania 42, Randy Orton paired up with Pat McAfee to take on Cody Rhodes; however, such was not always the plan.

According to a recent report from PWInsider, the original pitch for Randy Orton’s WWE WrestleMania 42 story involved Aleister Black. Black was originally planned to be in McAfee’s spot.

“The role would have involved Aleister Black tormenting Orton, trying to bring out the old Apex Predator version of Orton. The idea was that if Black succeeded, it would prove Orton had never changed or evolved and was still the old Orton deep inside,” the report from PWInsider read.

The report noted plans for Black and Orton to face off during WrestleMania weekend, where Orton would hesitate on the Punt Kick and likely lose. He would later attack Rhodes, using the Punt kick to revive his “Apex Predator” persona and prove Black right.

However, WWE did not move along with this story, and instead, it evolved into McAfee aligning with Orton.

The Pat McAfee build was awful, but the WrestleMania ‘reset’ was almost worse | Opinion

Posted on by Jake Skudder

Pat McAfee being inserted into the Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton match at WrestleMania 42 was a terrible idea. It was such a terrible idea, in fact, that the company appeared to try and reset the entire angle on Saturday night by having Randy hit McAfee with an RKO in the closing stretches of the contest.

Cody Rhodes and Jelly Roll vs Randy Orton and Pat McAfee at Backlash

The plan originally appeared to be to put Cody Rhodes and Jelly Roll in a tag match against Randy Orton and Pat McAfee at Backlash next month. Our own Dave Meltzer reported that recently, and while I wouldn’t put it past WWE to pivot just to try and get one over on some reporters, I think the overall reaction to McAfee’s involvement from fans, especially how it appeared to overshadow Orton trying to go for World title number 15, meant they felt like they had to do something drastic at ‘Mania.

What was incredibly grating about the change-up wasn’t just that it appeared patently obvious on the show, it was the fact that they started a storyline and then tried to reset it at the biggest show of the year. Granted, I said previously how I felt this was WCW 2000 levels of storytelling, but if you’re going to start something then you need to end it in a satisfying way.

WWE maybe could’ve got away with this, if it was on a smaller show than WrestleMania, but Randy turning on McAfee, then punting Rhodes after the main event was a convoluted overcorrection on ESPN Unlimited’s first WrestleMania (which was already plagued by streaming issues).

You started, so you should finish

Again, I did not like how this story was built going into WrestleMania 42, but course correcting during the main event of Night 1 feels incredibly forced and a hat on a hat (or a swerve on a swerve). Was this designed to make Randy look like MORE of a heel coming out of the show? Well that didn’t work because people couldn’t wait to see him hit the Punt again. Was it a way of getting McAfee out of the way? Then why bring him in the first place if you aren’t going to pay off on the storyline? McAfee technically should be out of pro wrestling FOREVER now, if we’re going by the stipulation.

WCW 2000 levels of storytelling

They’ve booked themselves into a corner here, because we didn’t get the satisfying conclusion of Cody taking out McAfee in triumphant fashion, the heel took out the guy that was in his corner before pushing him out of the company. We now are either going to get a messy ending to McAfee’s WWE career or the stipulation will be rendered pointless because he’ll be back in a week…either way, that’s just poor storytelling.

I said it before and I’ll say it again, WWE in 2026 is not as bad as WCW in the year 2000, but storylines like this wouldn’t have felt out of place on a Nitro or Thunder at the turn of the century. Whether there are too many people trying to get involved (Ari Emanuel), someone has to take charge and just make storytelling decisions that take us from A to B in a satisfying way rather than have to throw swerves on storylines that feel like they were built by committee rather than a coherent, singular voice.

Cody Rhodes retains WWE title at WrestleMania 42 in bloody match

Posted on by Josh Nason

Cody Rhodes remained undisputed WWE Champion after night one of WWE WrestleMania 42, defeating Randy Orton in a bloody match that also featured the end of Orton’s tenure with Pat McAfee.

The ending sequence saw Orton accidentally take out referee Charles Robinson with an RKO followed by an attempted low blow on Rhodes. Rhodes then hit his own low blow, but Orton countered a Cody Cutter with an RKO.

McAfee, Orton’s mystery man revealed on the phone several weeks ago, ran out with a referee shirt and a neck brace, but Rhodes still kicked out. It was intimated McAfee was friendly with TKO and perhaps authorized to make the count, but that was never followed up on.

Orton then hit McAfee with an RKO followed by Rhodes hitting Orton with a Cross Rhodes for pin and win. Orton hit him with the title belt afterward and hit his old school punt, standing over him with the title belt to end the show.

By his own words, this means McAfee will no longer appear on WWE TV.

The reason McAfee was in an neck brace was that he attacked Rhodes before the bell with a microphone. However, Rhodes rallied, took out Orton, and then took out McAfee with a Cross Rhodes. He put McAfee on the Spanish announce table when Jelly Roll appeared. The musician got up on the other announce table, flipped McAfee off, and hit him with an elbow drop through the table. McAfee was then stretchered out with Jelly Roll never to be seen again.

Both Orton and Rhodes were bloodied up at different points in the match. An Orton back injury was played up on commentary during the match and after the show, which played into the match at several points.

The match was just under 23 minutes and was the first defense in Rhodes’ second run with the title he regained last month. Orton remains without a World title run for nearly six years.