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Randy Orton has looked back on his iconic 2009 heel persona. He had a very memorable run as a heel that year, which saw him do a lot of heinous things.
The Viper tried to 'murder' John Cena at one point during a match by attempting to blow him up with pyro, punted Vince McMahon, hit Stephanie McMahon with an RKO, and assaulted her in front of a handcuffed Triple H. He made the McMahons and John Cena's lives hell that year. Many fans on social media still talk about his 2009 villain era.
During a recent interview with Billboard, The Apex Predator was asked why he thinks 2009 Randy Orton lives on and carries so much weight today. He responded by saying:
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"I remember in ’09, it all kinda clicked as a bad guy. I just kind of let loose and acted a little bit more crazy. Even down to the body language and stuff. But I think what it came down to was who I was facing in the ring in ’09. I was booked really strong. I think I won the Rumble that year and main-evented WrestleMania with Triple H," said Orton.
He added:
"I did the thing where he was handcuffed and I assaulted Stephanie [McMahon] in front of him and he was an inch away. He had to sit there and watch as I messed with her. I kicked Vince in the head. I destroyed the entire McMahon family, and looked real strong doing it."
Randy Orton shares his thoughts on how the “RKO” has transcended wrestling and entered pop culture
The RKO is one of the most popular wrestling moves of all time. There are hundreds of memes about it, and there are many non-wrestling fans who know about.
When Randy Orton was asked for his thoughts on the RKO transcending wrestling and entering pop culture, he said:
"Yeah, I just look at it like I’m lucky. Right place, right time. I had a great fans. I met Logan Paul for the first time, and it’s funny because he was a wrestling fan, but I don’t think he was following it quite as much — but he was aware of what the 'RKO' was. That’s what he told me when I first met him, and I thought that was pretty funny. But to your point, it’s kind of like transcended wrestling and me and became a thing of its own."
Randy Orton and John Cena will face each other for the WWE Championship this Saturday at Backlash. It's 2009 all over again.
