Randy Orton reveals how he came up with the RKO, and how the memes helped his career
Randy Orton is one of the most decorated stars in WWE, but he is also one of the most recognizable people to those that don't watch wrestling, all thanks to his RKO finisher.
The finishing move has become one of the most iconic moves in WWE, with people attempting it on other people on social media due to the surprising nature of it, as well as the commentary of the "RKO out of nowhere." Orton has used it for the majority of his career, but on the "Impaulsive" podcast with United States Champion Logan Paul, the veteran revealed how he came up with the move.
Orton said he drew up the inspiration for the RKO from John Laurinaitis' ace cutter and Diamond Dallas Page's diamond cutter, and it was due to prior injuries.
"Those moves inspired me in one way or another for me to come up with was the RKO," Orton said. "Essentially what it was is I blew my shoulders out early in my career. I've had three shoulder operations."
He then went on to say the shoulder injuries were a big factor in why he rarely picks up other people in the ring, as he was afraid of hurting his shoulders again. With the RKO, there's no need for him to pick someone up, as it's all mostly bringing someone down.
"I go way overboard in protecting my shoulders because, you know, I don't want to be on the shelf with another shoulder injury. But I know that I don't need to do it," Orton added. "I needed a move that I could do to everybody, that I could do to Rey Mysterio or Omos."
Randy Orton's favorite RKO, how memes helped his career
There are several iconic RKO's Orton has delivered, from the Evan Bourne spot to just recently as the one done on JD McDonagh at Survivor Series. But if there's one that takes the cake, it's the one done on Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 31.
Paul said that RKO was one of his favorites, and Orton said it's up high in his rankings as well. But he said he can't take credit for what was one of the most viral moments of that event.
"When it comes to the timing, I'll take the credit on that. But when it comes to get him there, I got to give all that credit to Seth," he said. "If he would have been just a little off, the whole move would have not went down. Or if it went down, it wouldn't have been pretty, and it would have been on me. I would have took the criticism on that."
Despite the funny and outrageous nature of RKO memes, Orton said he is very thankful for them because they helped elevate his career.
"The memes that took on like 10 years ago, I feel like somebody out there, whoever it is, thank you so much," Orton said. "I was blessed to get born into this, get the opportunity through my father. Same with with the memes. Like just that bolstered, boosted up my character and made me more important. Made my value, my brand more important."