WWE Royal Rumble winner Randy Orton was the guest on tonight’s ESPN “Off the Top Rope” segment hosted by Jonathan Coachman.
During the appearance, which you can watch in the videos below, Orton talked winning the Royal Rumble, the NXT roster, memorable matches in his career, main eventing WrestleMania 33, the viral RKO Outta Nowhere videos and more.
On preparing for the Royal Rumble, Orton said it’s difficult preparing for a match like that since there are so many moving parts, like finding out what number entrant you are, etc. He added this year’s Rumble match featured big names like Brock Lesnar, Goldberg and The Undertaker, and they are all competing against each other.
On the subject of NXT, Orton praised the up and coming talent on the brand and said they all push the main roster to work harder. He said knowing the NXT talents want to take your spot makes for a healthy, competitive working environment.
On memorable career matches, Orton cited his 2004 Backlash match against Mick Foley, and said he became a man that night. On working with Bray Wyatt, Orton called him one of the most creative talents in WWE, and added he is learning from Wyatt in the creativity department, as he thinks Wyatt is at an all-time creative high right now.
On his favorite RKO’s Outta Nowhere, Orton named his WrestleMania 31 RKO out of a Curb Stomp to Seth Rollins, the Shooting Star Press into a RKO with Evan Bourne and the RKO to Sami Zayn at Sunday’s Royal Rumble.
On headlining WrestleMania 33, Orton said his family will be ringside, and he is focused on making sure they and the fans are proud, as he will put the WWE Title back around his waist.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
