“The Viper” Randy Orton details his journey back from injury and his quest for the World Heavyweight Title in a sit-down interview with Michael Cole. Don’t miss Bash in Berlin, streaming LIVE on Saturday at 1 PM ET/ 10 AM PT on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.
Stream WWE on Peacock https://pck.tv/3ZTjVE7 in the U.S. and on WWE Network http://wwe.yt/wwenetwork everywhere else
Stream WWE on Peacock https://pck.tv/3ZTjVE7 in the U.S. and on WWE Network http://wwe.yt/wwenetwork everywhere else
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00:00Randy, welcome.
00:02Thanks for joining me.
00:03Looking forward to this.
00:04There's a lot to talk about.
00:05I want to start back at Survivor Series, November of last year in Chicago.
00:11You returned to WWE after a year and a half.
00:14Very well documented, the injury issues you had.
00:17Did you ever think you were going to make it back?
00:20Thanks for having me.
00:22Gosh, there was about six months that went by while I was out for that year and a half.
00:29Where I thought that that was it, my career was over.
00:32And I was, it hit me like a semi truck.
00:35I mean, that's my, that's who I am.
00:38Being a professional wrestler, being a WWE superstar is everything.
00:43A lot of agony I went through because of how they approached the surgery.
00:48But the finished result, the end result at about three months was like,
00:52oh my God, I can start training again.
00:54And then I slowly started the recovery process.
00:58And I found myself stronger in the gym, recovering very quickly.
01:02And then before I knew it, I was, you know, calling Hunter and saying,
01:06hey, I think I'm ready to go down to the PC and start training again.
01:09The agony was obviously worth it because when you walked out at Survivor Series in Chicago,
01:14it was a monster pop.
01:16Tell me, walk me through that.
01:18What did that feel like?
01:19I was so nervous.
01:21I think this happens to a lot of guys.
01:23I think this happens to a lot of guys.
01:24I've talked to Shawn and Steve and Hunter and Taker about it.
01:30In fact, where when you're on the shelf for a good amount of time,
01:34you come back, doesn't matter who you are, even those guys I just listed,
01:39it's easy to get in your head and wonder like, you know, are they going to remember me?
01:43Are they going to give a, are they going to care?
01:46My confidence level was like around a three or a four.
01:50Like it took me probably until around WrestleMania to where I was like,
01:55okay, I'm good.
01:56I'm good.
01:57Yeah.
01:58Survivor Series is weird because you walk out and you get this monster pop
02:02and Randy Orton's back.
02:04Sure.
02:05And then at the end of the show.
02:06Okay.
02:07I didn't know if we were going to go there or not.
02:08CM Punk makes his return.
02:11Sure.
02:12Tell me what you felt at that moment.
02:15So Triple H is like, hey, I need to talk to you.
02:18It's like an hour before the show starts, he sits me down and he said, hey,
02:21so this and that and da, da, da, glad to have you back.
02:24Oh, one more thing.
02:27Punk's coming back and he's making his return tonight.
02:30And I was like, excuse me?
02:35Are you with me?
02:36But, you know, this is my first day back in a month and a half.
02:38So I'm just like, okay, cool.
02:42And as I'm out there and I'm awaiting Punk,
02:46I realized, like, like I had my moment.
02:50He comes out, he has his moment.
02:52I was okay with it after the fact.
02:55But going into it, it was a little bit of a mind.
02:58In the end, I'm glad he's back.
03:00We had a couple of great conversations since he's returned.
03:02And just kind of look back at that day and laugh, you know.
03:06A lot has changed in WWE.
03:09For the better?
03:12100% for the better.
03:14Once I got back on the road, I realized, like, oh, wow.
03:17Like, from a creative standpoint,
03:19things just operate so much more smoothly now.
03:23The morale in the locker room has also changed.
03:26We get to go home and rest.
03:28Oh, your daughter's being born?
03:30Sure, you can have off.
03:31Oh, you've been working hard for three years?
03:33Take a couple weeks.
03:35And if you have the majority of your talent healthy and happy,
03:38your shows are going to show that.
03:40And the fans are going to enjoy that.
03:44WWE isn't the only thing that's changed.
03:46Randy Orton's changed.
03:48Oh, a little bit.
03:49If you could go back in time and the Randy Orton of today
03:53could talk to the 23-year-old Randy Orton who started in this company,
03:57what would you tell him?
03:59Don't do what those other guys are doing.
04:01It was one of those examples of too much too soon.
04:05But if that wouldn't have happened to me, I don't think I'd be sitting here now.
04:08And it's kind of cool.
04:10Like if I think about from the fans' point of view,
04:14they've seen Randy Orton grow up, which is, it was fun for me.
04:18I hope they had a good time too.
04:20Well, and I've had the honor of calling most of yourselves.
04:22Sure.
04:23Just following that ride.
04:25Now the fans are on your side a little bit more.
04:27Does that affect your approach at all, what you do in the ring?
04:30I'd have to say it does.
04:32I remember a John Cena earlier in my career.
04:36Looking back, it was a very cool, teachable moment for me
04:40because I realized how a good baby face interacts with the fans
04:46not only on camera but off camera too.
04:49So a younger Randy Orton would look for the most vulnerable child
04:55in the first few rows and lock eyes with them.
04:59And I would make it like my job to try and get them to cry.
05:04And there might be a little part of me that still would like that,
05:07but I've suppressed it so much.
05:10I'd hate to say that I hate to say it, but I really enjoy being a good guy.
05:15I enjoy the response from the crowd.
05:18I enjoy that respect.
05:20And I feel like it was a very long, hard-earned respect
05:24where it didn't take John as long to earn that type of respect from them.
05:29It took me much longer because it took me longer to find myself.
05:34One of the things that's cool heading into Bash in Berlin
05:37is something that probably would have never been done in the past,
05:40and that's the fact that king of the ring, you and Gunther have this unbelievable match.
05:44He beats you. Put your shoulders up.
05:47Obviously a mistake in the ring.
05:49We would have moved on.
05:51Of course. Forgot about it.
05:53That night, Triple H said, referee's decision, he made a mistake.
05:57We're going back to give you the opportunity that you should have had.
06:01I love the fact that we can do this little callback,
06:04go back to the king of the ring and say, hey, Gunther,
06:06if you didn't beat me at king of the ring,
06:08you would have never got the chance to beat Priest for the title at SummerSlam.
06:11So I want my shot.
06:13And it's just, it's a great story, and it's real.
06:16That match was fabulous.
06:19You guys, you won.
06:20I was happy with it.
06:21That was the first time you were in the ring with Gunther, right?
06:23Yes.
06:24He is physical, isn't he?
06:26Once the fans see it, whether they like him or hate him, he's one of a kind.
06:31When I first came back in November,
06:34he would have been on the short list of guys that I would have wanted to kind of watch out for
06:39because I wasn't there on that confidence level
06:42where I knew that, you know, I could handle a powerbomb
06:46or I could handle one of those clotheslines.
06:48I'm at the point now where I really feel confident going into this thing, Michael.
06:53I'm flying my wife to Berlin to watch.
06:56I have the feeling that the energy in that venue is going to be just really cool to be a part of.
07:03And I don't want her to sit at home and watch.
07:05I want her to be there for it.
07:06And I can't wait for this match.
07:09Gunther and I aside, I can't wait to hear how the fans react to us.
07:13I'm excited to sit out there and call this thing
07:16because I want to see how they're going to react to Randy Orton.
07:19Sure.
07:20Are they going to sing the song?
07:21Right.
07:22Is it going to be new?
07:23Right.
07:24Is it going to be thunderous?
07:25Mm-hmm.
07:26And then you've got a man in Gunther who was born in Austria just across the border.
07:28Right.
07:29He cut his teeth in Germany on the independence scene.
07:31He's really a hero to many of the people in that country.
07:33Oh, yeah.
07:34He's a living legend over in Europe.
07:36You know, that's exactly what he is.
07:38So it's going to be interesting.
07:40But, you know, I'm the legend killer, baby.
07:43So, hey.
07:45You know, you talk about all the talent Gunther has, right?
07:47Yes.
07:48Why do you think he had to dig the dirt?
07:52Your grandfather was a screw-up.
07:55Your father was a screw-up.
07:58You, Randy Orton, you are the biggest screw-up of them all.
08:04The match was already set.
08:06This is for the title.
08:07And the prize that's on the line makes this match what it is.
08:11If I'm Gunther, the only reason I would try to make it personal
08:16is because I think that maybe this Randy Orton's got a leg up on me.
08:19So I need to do everything I can, you know.
08:23Did it bother me?
08:24Yeah.
08:25I mean, no one, like, wants to hear anything negative said about their family
08:28or themselves, for that matter.
08:30But did it really get under my skin?
08:32Not at all.
08:34A couple final questions.
08:35The first is this.
08:36You are creeping closer to history.
08:4014-time world champion, tied with Triple H for second of all time.
08:45If you win at Bash in Berlin, you become a 15-time world champion,
08:50second place to yourself, one win behind John Cena, Ric Flair.
08:58Do you think about it?
09:00Being tied with Hunter at 14 and only being behind Flair and John,
09:06I mean, I'm in a really good spot already.
09:08But that's not to say that if I could break yet another record
09:13and that being holding this prize more than anybody else
09:16or getting closer to being the man that beats Flair's record or Cena's record,
09:21like, I mean, come on.
09:23That's every little boy's dream, every little girl's dream.
09:27I've beaten a lot of records.
09:28I've set some records.
09:30There's a lot of them.
09:31But if there was one record that I really wanted to go after,
09:36it would definitely be to hold that title more than anybody else.
09:39I think it's probably the hardest record to achieve at this point in my career.
09:45Twenty years ago, you became the youngest world champion in history.
09:49Twenty years later, you are a surefire Hall of Fame.
09:53It's been my honor and privilege to be able to call most of your matches in your career.
09:57Watching your growth to where you've become today is absolutely sensational.
10:02Good luck against Gunther.
10:04I'm hoping you win number 15.
10:05Thanks.
10:06Go out there and do it.
10:07Thanks, Michael.
10:08God, thank you.