Days after he put in a fantastic performance in a losing effort at Backlash France, Randy Orton was asked how long he plans to continue to wrestle for. The WWE legend gave an extremely honest and thoughtful answer that touched on not only his own health but also the state of the business and how much things have changed since Vince McMahon left. Spoiler alert: he’s much happier and it’s probably going to lengthen his career.
The quotes came from a larger conversation he had with YouTube channel Adam’s Apple while he was in an airport. The Viper was asked a number of questions, but his most interesting answer was far and away the one about his future. He said he was in a rough place before he got spinal fusion surgery a year and a half ago, but he’s now feeling “great” and hoping he can wrestle until he’s at least 50. He didn’t think that was possible under Vince McMahon, but with Triple H now in charge, he’s able to get time off when he needs it because the new regime isn’t focused on guys “running their dicks into the ground.” You can read an excerpt of his quote below…
Well, if you would have asked me two years ago, I would have thought it would have been close to the end, but I had a spinal fusion a year and a half ago and it changed the game. I’ve been in pain through my entire thirties. I was hurting. I was begging for time off when I was 35. I think Vince’s quote to me was ‘Mother nature gets us all.’ And you know, that’s hard to hear when you’re 35 and your back hurts and you’re busting your ass for this company. And there’s been some changes and now, I think instead of pushing guys and running their dicks into the ground until they fall apart, it’s a great atmosphere. It’s ‘OK, how can we make this guy last?’ And the beauty of it is, I’m not even there yet. I feel so great after my surgery, I’m a full time guy.
Let’s talk about this middle finger toward Vince McMahon. You don’t need to look far to find stories of WWE’s former owner lacking in sympathy for struggling or injured performers, but even given that reputation, it’s jarring to hear someone like Randy Orton, arguably a top ten performer in the company’s history, talk about how his dick was being run into the ground. In fact, he apparently wasn’t even comfortable asking for time off to nurse minor or nagging injuries, which has changed completely since Triple H took over.
Later in the same interview, Orton said there have already been two occasions since his return at Survivor Series in November where he was injured and asked the new head of creative if he could take a week off. Both times he got an immediate yes, which has Orton feeling like he can use that to manage his body and wrestle at a high level for another six years. Here’s some more of his quote…
I want to be on the road every week. I want to make all the TVs. I want to be on the all the PLEs. At 44, just turned 44, I would love to be able to go into my 50s. Maybe I wrestle until I’m 50 and then call it. That’s 30 years, 30 years with the same company on top. I’ve wrestled more pay per views, PLEs, whatever you want to call them, than anyone else in the history of WWE. I’ve been around a long time. Not only that, I’ve been here the whole time. I’ve been busting my ass, whether I’m injured or not, been showing up, and it just feels like now is the perfect environment for me to thrive. And if I do need to take a week off because I’m getting up there, I get it. There’s no question. There’s been twice since I’ve been back since November where I’ve been like, ‘Hey, Hunter, can I take a week to just recover so I can be 100% for the following week?’ And he’s said, ‘Oh sure, as long as you communicate that to me, no problem.’ So, having that in my back pocket, it’s a real peace of mind, knowing, because I am 44, that if I need a week, he’ll give it to me.
Like other professional athletes, wrestlers are almost always nursing injuries. I’m sure if you talked to everyone on the WWE roster, it would be hard to find anyone who is 100% healthy. But showing up and wrestling through it every week is not always the right answer. It might seem like a good short-term solution, but long-term, it can take years off people’s careers. It sounds like Orton doesn’t think those conversations were being handled correctly or even happening before, but it’s great to hear they are now.
It’s been a blast having Randy Orton back, and it’s been a blast to see him as a baby face, seemingly having the time of his life alongside Kevin Owens. I’m sure he’s going to turn to the dark side at some point because he’s Randy Orton and that’s just what he does, but whenever it happens, it’ll be that much more meaningful because of all the great times he’s had with the crowd.
Whenever he does retire, I hope he goes out on his own terms, whenever he wants, with a healthy body that allows him to hang out with his family for decades to come.