Randy Orton recently spoke with Ultimate Kiko at Culture Kings in Las Vegas, Nevada for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling and WWE.
The following are some of the highlights.
On when he realized he was a main event star in WWE: “Well, that would have been a while ago. Um, I think brushing elbows with the likes of Ric Flair and Triple H and even Batista in Evolution. That got started in ’03. I had an injury about 6 months after I debuted. Almost ruined everything. And I came back and I think my first match back after a four month recovery, I was in a match with the Dudley Boyz, against me and Batista, and both me and Dave got injured in that match. I broke my foot clean in half. Batista tore his tricep and this whole idea of Evolution, I thought that was it. I knew coming back from the shoulder that we were going to get this thing going. But then I broke my foot. I was out another four months. So I think 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 Evolution with the likes of Ric Flair and Triple H. That’s when I realized, oh maybe I got something here that I didn’t see it in myself at the time, but I knew that they saw it in me.”
On changing his whole mindset: “And I think that’s when I realized that, oh, I’ve got a fighting chance. I’m not going to make it a fact that I’m injury prone. For a while there, it was I was labeled injury prone. And I mean, I’m talking 20 years ago. I’ve had my injuries. We all have. But the resiliency of being able to come back and do it for years, maybe get something repaired, fix a knee, a spine, a shoulder, whatever. But then to put the boots back in on, get in the ring and do it again. That resiliency, I feel like that’s a rare thing in our business for someone to have 20+ years, and do it at the level I’ve done it for as long as I’ve done it.”
