Once often known as “The Legend Killer,” Randy Orton has develop into a legend in WWE himself over the span of over twenty years. From his origins in Ohio Valley Wrestling alongside the likes of John Cena and Batista, to his principal roster debut as a member of Evolution, to becoming the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history on the age of 24, to what he’s still doing within the ring now, mixing it up with the likes of the Bloodline, Kevin Owens, and GUNTHER, he’s develop into a top icon within the industry.
Orton could also be a well-respected multiple time world champion now, but that wasn’t all the time the case. Back in his early days, Orton was known to cause a ruckus inside locker rooms, with stories of defecating in handbags and bullying making the rounds over time. Following a 60-day suspension over marijuana usage, Orton went to anger management classes for 4 weeks to tone down his bad behavior and disrespect to others backstage. He told WWE Magazine back in 2006 that it cost him $15,000 and he needed to survive campus. He explained he began to understand he was incorrect in plenty of situations, and knew he had gotten a fame of being “being hard to work with and being a d***.”
He said back in 2006, that he didn’t “flip out” anymore after attending anger management. Despite the work on himself and adjusted behavior, there are still some wrestlers who cannot stand Orton from things he’s done up to now. He’s also not exactly been a saint throughout his profession even after doing the work on himself, ruffling the feathers of a number of the newer stars within the WWE over time.
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston isn’t any stranger to a sudden stop to his pushes in WWE, but one back in 2009 got here by the hands of Orton when the pair were facing off within the ring. Kingston was put in a storyline with Orton where he interfered in a match between “The Viper” and John Cena, so Orton targeted him while Kingston’s fans were fully behind him. The push got here to an end, nonetheless, and Kingston was sent back down the cardboard after an in-ring incident with Orton that caused real heat between the pair.
During a match on “WWE Raw” involving Kingston, Cena, and Orton in a triple threat, Kingston was speculated to take Orton’s punt kink to the pinnacle. Kingston seemingly forgot the script to the match, and when Orton knocked him down, he kept getting back up, presumably considering Orton was meant to hit him with an RKO. Orton hit the RKO slightly than the scripted punt, and audibly yelled “Silly!” at Kingston multiple times before pinning him for the victory. Orton was visibly upset when his hand was raised by the referee and spat within the ring. Orton caused a scene backstage and complained about Kingston, and thus, Kingston’s push was halted and his feud with Orton was abruptly ended.
Kingston never commented on the difficulty until 10 years later in one other feud with Orton over the WWE Championship. Kingston posted on social media that he was not the identical kid Orton buried in 2009. Despite the post, there have been no reports of warmth backstage between the 2 for this feud, and it’s likely the pair have mended fences since their initial issues back within the day.
Kelly Kelly
Orton found himself in hot water in 2011 after he appeared on a a radio show based out of Phoenix, Arizona while he was WWE Champion. One among the hosts of this system mentioned he would need to be a “method actor” if he worked with Kelly Kelly and Orton replied, “I could name just a few method actors in WWE. Like, ten guys,” implying that the Divas Champion slept around backstage.
Orton apologized to Kelly on Twitter. He said he put his foot in his mouth and he was going to attempt to make it right. Orton urged fans to trash him all they wanted, but to drop the subject out of respect for Kelly.
“The indisputable fact that she has dated just a few guys I work with doesn’t make her a nasty person, and can be none of my or anyone else’s business,” Orton wrote. “Yesterday I got caught up in a live radio interview and brought Kelly’s personal life into it. It was completely uncalled for. Kelly I hope at some point you’ll be able to forgive me.”
The comments about Kelly got Orton heat backstage, and people behind-the-scenes in WWE said while Kelly has been romantically linked to quite a few wrestlers, many believed Orton shouldn’t have made that fact public, because it went against the healthful imagine that Kelly portrayed on WWE TV. Others believed Kelly to be a genuinely nice one who didn’t must be singled out as promiscuous. A sourced noted that if one other wrestler said what Orton did about Kelly, he can be due for a profession burial, but he got away without repercussion because he was considered considered one of the corporate’s “golden boys.”
Mr. Kennedy
One wrestler who infamously cannot stand Orton is Ken Anderson – also often known as Mr. Kennedy in WWE. Kennedy found initial success in the corporate, feuding with The Undertaker and even winning Money within the Bank, but his push was abruptly dropped and he was gone from the corporate shortly thereafter in 2009. His departure got here after he hit a botched belly-to-back suplex on Orton, who landed on a shoulder that was troubling him on the time.
Rumors inside WWE began swirling that Orton was upset and called for Kennedy to be fired, allegedly claiming Kennedy was an unsafe employee and said his injury was “career-threatening.” Anderson also suggested that John Cena, alongside Orton, complained to Vince McMahon about his in-ring work, which prompted him being let go from the corporate. Orton posted to his own forum back in 2009 that Kennedy was “in denial” and didn’t know tips on how to work. He said Kennedy dropped him on his head and he was sore the next week. Orton claimed that Kennedy never apologized to him.
Kennedy took accountability for his own release a few years later, in an interview in 2023. He said no person got him fired, he got himself fired, and the incident with Orton was “just the straw that broke the camel’s back,” as he said he was on thin ice with McMahon already. Kennedy confirmed he and Orton had buried the hatchet, nonetheless, and even had a discussion during a TV taping just a few years prior to the interview.
Rochelle Loewen
One other infamous backstage rumor regarding Orton is a story of him defecating within the bag of a female star back in his earlier days, around 2003. That woman was Rochelle Loewen, a former WWE Diva Search contestant. Loewen confirmed in an interview in 2020 that Orton had not left a fecal mess in her bag, but slightly self-tanning lotion and baby oil. She did say she would not put it past Orton to do what the web thought Orton had left her. Loewen also claimed that Orton had a “vendetta” against her all the time she was with the corporate.
She said she thought it was because she initially didn’t know his name, because she wasn’t an enormous fan of wrestling before she worked for WWE. Loewen said that she told Orton she thought he looked familiar and asked if he was from Canada. In line with the previous Diva, he looked her up and down before telling her he hated Canada and he hated her.
Loewen claimed that after she finished filming for the day, she got here back to search out her things destroyed. Loewen claimed Orton acted that way because he was infatuated together with her, but he also had nothing to do with the Diva Search competition.
Bubba Ray Dudley
When Orton was in Evolution alongside Batista, the pair rubbed a legendary tag team the incorrect way during a match. As explained within the WWE “Ruthless Aggression” series about that era of wrestling, when Evolution faced off against The Dudley Boyz within the ring, everyone walked out of the dark match with injuries and beliefs that everybody had worked stiff against one another. Batista suffered a triceps injury so serious that WWE considered replacing him within the stable and Orton’s ankle injury caused him to miss 4 months of motion.
The bad blood between Orton and Bubba Ray Dudley, also often known as Bully Ray, lasted for years after the match. In 2008, Orton said he never liked the tag team star and called him the “most off form, fat, non-work-ethic-having person” he knew. Batista believed that Bully Ray wasn’t a fan of him or Orton because he was “jealous to start with” and he was all the time a “d***” to the younger stars when Evolution first formed.
In November 2024, Bully Ray said that he and Orton had squashed all of their issues from the previous era of WWE. He said neither one desires to speak a nasty word concerning the other ever again and so they were “hugging and kissing” after they saw one another. He admitted, nonetheless, to having called Orton a “miserable prick” back within the day.
CM Punk
CM Punk can reportedly be notoriously difficult to get together with backstage so it’s no surprise that he and Orton weren’t the largest fans of one another during Punk’s first run in WWE. In April 2024, the lads sat down for an episode of “WWE Playback” where they reacted to their WrestleMania 27 match from 2011. Orton said he didn’t see eye-to-eye with Punk and he felt his own insecurities affected their relationship. He said he didn’t specifically “hate” Punk, but felt insecure around him on account of “The Second City Saint’s” “backstage gimmick.”
Punk admitted he also felt some animosity toward “The Viper,” but said they butted heads so often during his first run with the corporate because they were so alike. He admitted they didn’t get along, but said due to that, they created magic within the ring together.
A couple of years later, Orton returned from injury at Survivor Series: WarGames in 2023 and led his babyface team to victory. That was also the night Punk returned to WWE after almost a decade away, having been fired from AEW months prior. Fans of Orton thought Punk’s shocking surprise return at the tip of the event overshadowed Orton’s return from his major back injury. Orton said on WWE’s “The Bump” he was initially annoyed, because WWE let fans know he can be coming back ahead of the surprise of Punk. He said he could tell he had matured quite a bit over time, because a part of him desired to be “irate” before he realized they each got an awesome response from the gang. Orton said on a private level, he was glad Punk was back, and there appears to be no heat between the 2 over their dueling returns.
Road Dogg
One WWE Hall of Famer who Orton had heat with back within the 2010s was Road Dogg, who graduated from D-Generation X member to carry multiple executive positions inside WWE, and is now the co-lead author of “WWE SmackDown,” the brand where Orton competes. Road Dogg talked about their heat on a 2022 episode of his “Oh… You Didn’t Know” podcast. He and Billy Gunn teamed up with “The Viper” throughout the WrestleMania Revenge Tour in 2013, and his behind-the-scenes issues with Orton, which stemmed from a perceived lack of respect, affected their matches.
He described an incident where it was just Orton, himself, and Gunn on a bus, with Orton last one on. Road Dogg said he was annoyed that they were waiting on Orton, who he believed should get off the bus first, since he and Gunn were the veterans. He explained it was his ego and pride, but acknowledged Orton can be an “alpha” with ego and pride as well, as he was considered one of the highest guys on the time.
Road Dogg said they butted heads on the tour, but looking back, said it was him being egotistical and considering the younger star should bow down. He said he realized he, because the old-timer, needed to bend a bit. He said he and Orton had a much-needed conversation to resolve the warmth between them, and the 2 have developed a solid working relationship since their 2013 issues.
Tommaso Ciampa
Orton can have undergone anger management, but didn’t completely stop a few of his sassy comments, especially on social media. Back in 2020, Orton and former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa got right into a disagreement on X (then often known as Twitter) after a Takeover: In Your House event. Orton took to social media to joke about leg slaps, ceaselessly a hot topic regarding skilled wrestling on social media. It refers to when a wrestler slaps their leg to make a move sound prefer it really connects to their opponent, just like the loud “crack” when an excellent kick connects to someone’s chin.
Orton posted that he heard that Takeover: In Your Hours was great and he was “slappin’ his leg” for the “NXT” stars. He signed the post “sincerely, #legslap.” Ciampa fired back the next day at Orton and wrote that his daughter had been having trouble sleeping, but he found a treatment in Orton’s matches. “Higher than NyQuil,” Ciampa posted. “Sincerely, #AnEntireLockerRoomWhoBustedTheirAsses.” Orton wasn’t finished with Ciampa and posted about seemingly hurting the sentiments of the “self-appointed locker room leader of a wrestling school” and asked when time leg slap classes began. He even took a shot at a fan who responded and called them a “f****** mark.” Ciampa didn’t reply to the leg slap class post and selected to let things go.
Ciampa moved to the principal roster from “NXT” in April 2022. Since there, then have been no reported issues between himself and Orton over time, and the leg slap lives on in each WWE developmental and on the principal roster.
Dwayne The Rock Johnson
While Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Orton never got right into a backstage altercation or war or words publicly, Orton upset The Rock after “The Viper” shared his thoughts on “The Great One’s” return ahead of his “Once in a Lifetime” match with John Cena with ESPN. When Rock got here back to television in 2011, Orton wasn’t too keen on having to share TV time with him after Rock’s seven years away from the corporate. He buried The Rock in an interview on ESPN Radio and claimed Rock used teleprompters to chop his promos, and stood on Cena’s side within the feud, which on the time, was blurring the lines of kayfabe and reality.
Orton said he thought The Rock turned his back on WWE for Hollywood and Rock lied to the fans when he said he would never leave again. He compared Cena’s “about 2,000 matches” within the last seven years to Rock’s zero. He alluded to the very fact he believed Rock had ring rust and said he thought Cena was wittier and “10 times” the performer within the ring in comparison with Rock.
Orton’s words to ESPN upset The Rock a lot ahead of WrestleMania 28 that he went to Vince McMahon. Orton said former Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis pulled him aside backstage and told him McMahon didn’t like what Orton said. Orton explained that Rock called the corporate about Orton burying him within the interview. The pair have reportedly squashed their beef since and not have heat, but have not crossed paths within the ring or on the microphone since, even after The Rock’s recent WWE runs ahead of WrestleManias 40 and 41.
