Why did Roman Reigns and Randy Orton have heat in real life? Explaining what happened backstage in WWE

Roman Reigns and Randy Orton are some of WWE's top stars today. The former has cemented himself as one of the best from this generation, while the latter is already considered a legend. However, their status in the company wasn't always equal in the past, which may have led to some backstage heat.

Randy Orton and Roman Reigns have engaged in several backstage quarrels throughout the years. The first occurred in 2013 after a tag team match in a house show. It was reported that the former Shield member and The Viper botched a spot during a match and got into a shouting match backstage. Since Reigns was still a rising star at the time, arguing with a veteran like Orton didn't bode well for him.

Orton and Reigns reportedly had another backstage argument during their feud in 2014. It was reported that Randy Orton was accused of halting The Tribal Chief's solo push. Still, their eventual match at that year's SummerSlam was unaffected if the reports are to be believed.

“Some superstars are concerned Orton may be slowing down Reigns’ rise to the top as the company’s top babyface — the belief is that while Daniel Bryan remains out through injury, John Cena can’t carry the entire load on his own so a new babyface like Reigns is really needed to improve business and ultimately benefit everyone down the card,” the report said.

Although Randy and Roman don't have the closest bond, it's safe to assume that both men have maintained a professional relationship, especially when working in storylines together.

Were Roman Reigns and Randy Orton scheduled to square off in 2022?

RK-Bro vs The Usos in May 2022

The Bloodline was entangled in a feud with RK-Bro before Randy was injured. Orton's latest match before his 2023 return was an Undisputed WWE Tag Team match against The Usos, who eventually won. As it turns out, their story wasn't supposed to end there.

According to Fightful Select, Randy was supposed to feud with Roman Reigns at last year's SummerSlam for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. However, plans changed after Orton's injury was learned to be severe. As a result, Brock Lesnar faced The Tribal Chief instead.

Has Randy Orton forgotten what The Bloodline did to him?

Orton returned to the Survivor Series 2023 Premium Live Event to team successfully with Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, and Seth Rollins. On the following RAW episode, The Legend Killer revealed that he hasn't forgotten what The Bloodline did to him and still has his sights on Roman and his faction.

It would be interesting to see what will happen between Roman Reigns and Randy Orton after the latter's return.