4 WWE Superstars Randy Orton requested to work with and 2 he did not

Randy Orton has competed in over 2,300 matches and faced over 300 different opponents during his two decades in WWE.

When WWE fans think of legendary rivalries that Randy Orton has had throughout his career, his battles with the likes of John Cena and Triple H likely spring to mind.

In contrast, given the number of people that The Viper has shared the ring with during his illustrious career, it should come as no surprise that he has not always gotten along with some of his WWE colleagues.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at four WWE Superstars that Randy Orton requested to work with, as well as two that he did not request to work with.

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#5 Randy Orton requested to work with Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson

It is no secret that Randy Orton has been a big supporter of former WWE Superstars Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson (AEW’s Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) for a long time.

Throughout the second half of 2019, it was widely reported that Randy Orton’s alliance with The Revival (now known as FTR) was something that he personally pitched to WWE’s higher-ups.

In 2020, Harwood confirmed on the Jim Cornette Experience podcast that Randy Orton spoke to Vince McMahon and Triple H on multiple occasions about using them more on television.

“With Randy, who has become one of our mentors and one of our really close friends, we talked to him every single day. He fought for us so hard to get us on TV with him every single week because he believed in our work ethic and he believed in what we brought to the table. And we watched him go to Vince every single week, or Hunter [Triple H] or whoever, and say, ‘We gotta keep this up.’” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]

The three-time WWE Tag Team Champions briefly aligned with Randy Orton during his WWE Championship rivalry with Kofi Kingston in August 2019, but the storyline came to an end following the WWE Draft in October 2019.

#4 Randy Orton did not request to work with Mr. Kennedy

As long-term followers of backstage WWE stories will know, Randy Orton did the exact opposite of requesting to work with Mr. Kennedy when he allegedly made a complaint about the former United States Champion.

Back in May 2009, Kennedy teamed with Cena, Batista, Jerry Lawler and MVP to defeat Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase Jr., The Big Show and The Miz in a 10-man tag team match on RAW.

One of the most memorable moments from the match came when Kennedy hit Randy Orton with a back suplex, resulting in The Viper complaining that his opponent hurt his neck by executing the move in an unsafe way.

Kennedy, who was released later that week and never worked for WWE again, told Wrestling Inc. in 2016 that Randy Orton and Cena both decided to raise the issue with Vince McMahon.

“So anyway, here's the thing, he [Randy Orton] went to Vince and said something, that I was dangerous to work with. And I think Cena had a hand in that too. Like, Cena helped out and he said, 'Hey, we need to go to Vince.' I didn't get along with him too well.”

While Randy Orton claimed to have suffered a neck injury due to the botched move, Kennedy maintains that his opponent’s neck did not even come into contact with the ring canvas.

You can make up your own minds by checking out the video above.

#3 Randy Orton requested to work with John Cena

Including live events, Randy Orton faced John Cena in 124 one-on-one matches on WWE’s main roster between November 2005 and February 2017.

After almost three years away from each other, it looked as though the long-term rivalry could be renewed in November 2019 following an interesting comment that Randy Orton made on Instagram.

In response to a magazine that featured a picture of Cena and the words “up for a challenge”, Randy Orton suggested that he should go head-to-head with his old rival one more time at WrestleMania 36.

Cena revealed in an interview with Sports Illustrated that he was unaware of Randy Orton’s challenge, but he was “very eager” to return to WWE at the time.

“I wasn’t even aware of that. I never make the matches, I’m just grateful to be able to perform in WWE. Every day away from it, I miss it more and more and more. I’m becoming more honest with myself about how much I miss it. I’m very eager to get back into a WWE ring soon.”

As it turned out, Randy Orton lost against Edge in a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania 36, while Cena was defeated by Bray Wyatt in a cinematic Firefly Fun House match.

#2 Randy Orton did not request to work with Kofi Kingston

The Kofi Kingston versus Randy Orton storyline in 2019 largely revolved around the real-life tension between the two men that began in January 2010 when Orton allegedly made a complaint to WWE management about Kingston.

At the time, the up-and-coming Kingston looked on course to potentially win the WWE Championship, or at least stay in the main-event picture for long enough to be viewed as a legitimate World Championship contender.

Unfortunately, the future New Day member botched a finish to a Triple Threat match on RAW against Randy Orton and John Cena, prompting the former Evolution member to repeatedly shout “Stupid! Stupid!” towards him on live television.

Kingston confirmed in a 2019 interview with FOX News that rumors of Randy Orton derailing his push were accurate.

"It was a very real thing, not a storyline thing, when Randy Orton didn't want me to get to a certain point in WWE. As you saw ten years ago, I was kind of on the rise and logic would suggest that I would have become Champion based on the run I was having at the time and Randy Orton put a stop to all of that."

Up until the conclusion of that 2009-2010 rivalry, Randy Orton had faced Kingston in 19 matches in WWE, including live events. However, following that storyline, they only went one-on-one on another three occasions before their rivalry was revisited in 2019.

#1 Randy Orton requested to work with The Rock

One month before Randy Orton issued a WrestleMania 36 challenge to John Cena, the WWE veteran also began touting a possible match at the event against The Rock.

Ahead of the first episode of SmackDown on FOX in October 2019, Randy Orton acknowledged The Rock’s return for the special show and challenged the Hollywood star to face him on WWE’s biggest stage.

.@TheRock I see you will be at #SmackdownOnFox this Friday. How about you & I have a discussion about who’s the greatest 3rd generation of all time and we answer that question April 5th in Tampa At Wrestlemania 36. A vipers sense of smell is unmatched. I smell what you’re cooking

— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) October 4, 2019

Politely rejecting Randy Orton’s request, The Rock joked on Twitter that he is still recovering from The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection’s three-on-two handicap defeat against Evolution from WrestleMania 20.

“U think Bob O Sr & Chief Maivia along with our pops' Bob Jr & the Soulman ran up and down those roads for decades taking bumps just so we can sell out WM36 so you can RKO my a** thru the earth. My body's still recovering from that Evolution beatdown you gave me at WM20.”

Randy Orton simply replied, “My man. So I guess that’s a ‘no’,” and talk about the match possibly taking place quickly died down.