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Randy Orton has been one of WWE's top Superstars for a long time now. The 13-time World Champion is one of the most accomplished Superstars in WWE history, and he's reached a point in his career where he doesn't even need a title on him to
Randy Orton is known to be a safe worker in the ring and phenomenal on the mic He has given some top WWE Superstars the best rivalries and matches of their lives. This has allowed The Viper to pick up a few friends along the way, and we already know how close Orton is to WWE Superstars such as Ric Flair.
However, there are several other WWE Superstars who are fond of Orton outside the ring, and even though they’ve taken several RKOs and a few Punt Kicks from The Legend Killer, they remain close to him.
Orton has been helped by several current and former WWE Superstars become who he is today, and Orton has given back by helping out those who came into the business after him.
In this article, we will look at the five WWE Superstars who are friends with The Viper in real life.
#6 Triple H helped Randy Orton get started
It’s no secret that Triple H is one of the closest friends to Randy Orton in WWE. Orton was introduced by Triple H and Ric Flair as part of Evolution in WWE.
Since then, they have been allies and foes in the ring, but outside, their friendship has been as strong as ever. We've seen the two men put on some of the best grudge matches in WWE history.
Triple H is one of the most decorated WWE Superstars in history, while Randy Orton could be on his way to breaking all records in the company by the time he retires.
On an episode of WWE Network’s Ruthless Aggression series, Triple H spoke about how he saw potential in Orton and got him on track:
“We talked and I said ‘Randy, you have every gift imaginable to be the biggest star this business has ever seen, and the only one that can stop you is you, and you are hellbent on doing it and I don’t know why.’”
Triple H has been all praise for Orton and loves what the Superstar does in the ring for WWE. Last year when Orton re-signed with WWE, Triple H had the following to say:
"I'm glad to put the rumors to rest. For almost two decades, Randy Orton has been a cornerstone of WWE...and Randy Orton will remain a cornerstone of WWE for a long time!"
Orton has always seen Triple H as a mentor, and the two WWE Superstars have mutual respect and love for one another as they have competed in several matches as partners and rivals.
#5 Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton are still good friends
Cody Rhodes has slowly become one of the most influential men in the wrestling industry thanks to his dedication and pure hard work. Even though he’s the son of one of the most legendary WWE Superstars of all time, just like Randy Orton, he will be remembered for his own skills in the ring which have helped him become an incredible wrestler.
While Cody has stated that his father helped train him to enter the wrestling ring, he has also cited several other wrestlers including The Viper as his trainers.
Cody Rhodes left WWE and worked elsewhere before building All Elite Wrestling (AEW) from the ground up. Orton, on the other hand, continued his reign over WWE and took a jab at Bullet Club, in one of his promos.
A fan went to Cody Rhodes on Twitter to call Randy Orton out and teach him a lesson, but Rhodes displayed nothing but love for his former WWE colleague.
"You crazy?! Randy could call me a rat piece of sh!& and I wouldn’t care ha. Without Learned a lot about wrestling from him, and pretty much everything I know about travel from him. “Ice cream,'"
Apart from that, Randy Orton had teased about moving to AEW a few times before signing another contract with WWE, and Rhodes and his fellow AEW managers took it all too well.
During an interview with Sam Roberts on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast Cody Rhodes has spoken about how Orton has been one of the men who has helped him find his place on the big stage.
#4 Edge and Randy Orton are good friends
WWE legend Edge has always been seen as one of the best WWE Superstars of all time, and the former WWE Champion made a miraculous return to the ring earlier this year. Edge’s run in the 2020 Royal Rumble was special and he came face to face with a man many of us know as his friend, Randy Orton.
However, on the episodes of WWE RAW and the events that followed, Randy Orton and Edge got into a bitter on-screen rivalry. Backstage, the two men remain the closest of friends and The Rated-R Superstar seems to prefer working with The Viper.
Talking about the first time he met Randy Orton, Edge revealed the following to USA Today’s For The Win:
“The first time I met him, I still remember it, I really do. That meeting where Bob [Orton] introduced us, and I just remember thinking ‘hey, he’s taller than me.’ And thinking that he’s got all the tools by just looking at him. You know, he’s a good-looking guy, all of those things – but you don’t know what they bring to the table from an in-ring aspect. The first time I saw him work, I went ‘OK, he’s special.’ And then the first time that we ever actually wrestled against each other was for the Intercontinental title, and pretty much from the get-go, from the first time we locked up there was just something different between us. And it’s either there or it’s not. You can work to get there with someone, but with him and I that spark was immediate. And I’ve had it like that with maybe one other person.”
WWE Hall Of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray, known by his ring name Bubba Ray Dudley, also spoke about how the two men’s real-life friendship and backstory helped elevate their rivalry:
“Now we get to something completely different with Edge. We get a backstory, we get history, we get friendship, we get family.”
The two men’s friendship has helped give WWE fans some of the best storylines over the decades where they have teamed up with one another and also gone head to head on several occasions.
Even though Randy Orton has been around forever in WWE, Edge is the only man with whom he's held the WWE World Tag Team Championships.
#3 Randy Orton is friends with Batista
Former WWE Superstar, and current Hollywood Superhero, Batista will forever be remembered for being The Animal in the WWE ring. Randy Orton found success in Evolution where Batista was seen as the powerhouse of the faction.
Together, Batista and Randy Orton were the youngbloods in Evolution, and they had several great rivalries when the faction broke up.
Randy Orton has recalled running into Batista in WWE countless times and claims that the two men became friends while traveling together in WWE. The Viper was all praise for The Animal when he was asked about the latter’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.
While Batista is still waiting to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame (2020), it is likely that Randy Orton, along with Triple H and Ric Flair, will end up inducting the former World Heavyweight Champion.
At a time when Randy Orton was under fire for making some shots at independent wrestling and Bully Ray, the outspoken Batista stepped in to support Orton.
Even though both men haven’t shared the wrestling ring for a long time, it looks like they’re still pretty close to one another and views each other as true friends outside of the business.
#2 Chris Jericho is friends with Randy Orton
Chris Jericho has managed to make his name into a brand over the years. The pull-factor of Jericho is so high that the wrestling community gets drawn to whichever product he is selling in no time, whether it's WWE, AEW, or any other.
Over the years, we’ve heard several stories revolving around Jericho and other WWE Superstars. We are also aware of the countless friends he’s managed to make in the wrestling industry, calling for a Festival of Friendship at times.
Back at WWE SummerSlam 2016 when Randy Orton had a dream match with Brock Lesnar, The Beast busted his skull open and left him in the middle of the ring with a concussion. Jericho showed true friendship by stepping up to the man who no one wants to pick a fight with and confronted him on what he’d done to Randy Orton. Y2J revealed that he was simply looking out for a good friend when he did so.
Randy Orton later opened up about the incident and said that Jericho wanted to ensure that "his boy" was fine in the ring:
“Basically, what happened is Jericho saw what was going on in the ring and wanted answers as to whether my best interests were in mind as far as my health and safety,” explained Orton. “I had my family there, sitting front row, and Chris knew that, as well. He was just coming up to check on his boy, that’s what it boiled down to, and I think that’s awesome.”
The two men have shared some posts over the internet even after Jericho departed from WWE
Apart from that, we’ve seen the two men praise each other’s work, and Jericho has even thanked Randy Orton for watching the product Jericho is currently featuring on, AEW.
This shows the love and respect both men have for each other, and we will likely watch them compete against one another one last time before one of them hangs up their boots.
#1 Randy Orton is friends with John Cena
John Cena needs no introduction, and therefore we’re going to dive straight into business. Cena and Randy Orton came up the WWE developmental circuit very close to each other and debuted on the main roster in quick succession.
The two men have had some incredible matches and rivalries in WWE, and while one remained the premier babyface for the company for a long time, the other played a magnificent heel.
During an interview with Corey Graves for WWE’s After the Bell, Randy Orton hesitated to reveal that Cena helped him a lot while he was progressing in WWE.
"And John Cena. God, I hate saying it, but I learned a lot from that m***********. I really did. Talk about slowing down and breathing and listening to the people. He was a master. He was a f****** ninja at listening to the crowd."
Ric Flair and Cena are the only two men who are more accomplished than Orton in WWE today, and it’s interesting watching the rivalries the two megastars have had against one another over the years.
That’s not all as Orton has Tweeted to Cena several times, and even asked him to ask The Rock for a match at WrestleMania as a favor knowing that the two men are currently in the same business.
It’s no secret that Randy Orton and Cena love each other backstage, and Cena has gone on to call Orton, his "best friend from day one". It’s great for fans to know that the biggest babyfaces and heels can get along with each other when no performing in the ring.
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