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In 2006, Randy Orton took on both Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 22, in an attempt to become the next World Heavyweight Champion. It was a "David versus Goliath" match of sorts, with the smaller, Rey Mysterio taking on two big men in The Viper and Angle.
Despite the obvious height disadvantage, Rey Mysterio came out on top and became the new World Heavyweight Champion. However, Randy Orton has revealed that he was initially expected to win the title at WrestleMania.
Randy Orton made an appearance on The Kurt Angle Show, where he and Angle discussed their match at WrestleMania 22. They both agreed that the match was relatively short, but The Viper also disclosed that he was meant to win the championship.
Unfortunately for Orton, plans changed due to his poor behavior backstage.
"I do remember that they were going with me. So I think prior to that I was supposed to be with Triple H and do the big story going into Mania and I had messed up somewhere along the line, and I think now my punishment was kind of over with and they were ready to go with me again. I wanna say they were running with me, they wanted to put the title on me for this Triple Threat. I could be wrong, but that's my memory anyway. Then I think I got a little bit of heat for some young, dumb, punk sh** that I did and I think they ended up going with Rey."
Things could have gone in a completely different direction if Randy Orton had won. One can only imagine what WWE would look like now.
Randy Orton was not comfortable doing a particular storyline
That same year, Orton was involved in a feud with Rey Mysterio. The two clashed at No Way Out 2006, but the rivalry was made more personal thanks to its storyline.
WWE chose to incorporate Eddie Guerrero's death into the storyline — a decision that did not sit well with Randy Orton. He described how it took convincing from Rey Mysterio and the blessing of Vickie Guerrero for him to get on board with the idea.
You can read more about what The Viper had to say about the rivalry over here.
The decision brought a lot of heat on Randy Orton, who described it as being one of those rivalries that helped him along the way in his career.
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