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Tank Toland believes Randy Orton may have disliked him during their time together in WWE.
Toland worked with Orton in WWE’s Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) developmental system in June 2003. He also appeared on SmackDown under the name James D*ck between October 2005 and February 2006 before receiving his release.
Speaking on Rene Dupree’s Cafe de Rene podcast, Toland recalled how OVW founder Danny Davis once asked him to pass on a message to Orton. The Viper, a main-roster star at the time, allegedly took the message the wrong way and responded negatively.
“I don’t think Randy liked me, though, to be quite honest,” Toland said. “I think it stems back to he was doing a Six Flags show and Danny said, ‘Hey, can you go and tell Randy I wanna see him?’ I went in there, I was like, ‘Hey, Randy, Danny said he wants to see you.’ That’s all I said to him. I think he took that as I was trying to give him orders or something like that, from what I understand.” [57:01-57:40]
Dupree claimed Randy Orton’s ego was “out of control” around 2005, which is when Toland said the interaction occurred. The former La Resistance member recently stated that the RAW Superstar developed a bad attitude after his first World Heavyweight Championship win in 2004.
Tank Toland received Randy Orton’s first RKO
In 2003, Orton created his own version of DDP’s Diamond Cutter and began using it as his finisher. The modified move, now known as the RKO, has become one of the most popular finishers in wrestling history.
Toland also revealed that he was the first person to be on the receiving end of Orton’s iconic move in OVW.
“He said, ‘Hey, you know DDP, how he does the Diamond Cutter?’” Toland continued, “I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ He’s like, ‘Well, since he’s not with the company anymore, I wouldn’t mind using that, if you don’t mind, as my finisher?’ I said, ‘No, no, not at all. Of course.’” [5:11-5:25]
Two decades later, Orton is among the biggest names in WWE. On this week’s RAW, he and Riddle retained the RAW Tag Team Championship against long-term rivals The Street Profits.
Please credit Cafe de Rene and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
