SUMMARY
- Randy Orton has been performing consistently well since his 2023 return to WWE.
- Recently, The Viper talked about his retirement, and it seems like he wants to follow in John Cena's footsteps.
Randy Orton made a spectacular return to WWE at Survivor Series 2023 in the War Games match, and since then, he hasn’t looked back. From being a part of the Undisputed Championship picture to fighting Logan Paul at WrestleMania 40, The Viper has been doing some exceptional work despite being in the last phase of his pro wrestling career.
As Orton is already 44, fans often ask questions about his retirement plans, and The Apex Predator shared some details about them during a recent interview. Talking about the highly-discussed topic on Adam’s Apple by journalist Adam Glyn, Randy revealed that he has changed his mind about retirement.
In fact, The Legend Killer hinted that he seemingly wants to follow in John Cena’s footsteps in terms of retiring from in-ring action. The 14-time WWE Champion said, “At 44, I would love to be able to go until my 50’s. Maybe I wrestle until I’m 50 and call it. it. That’s 30 years…30 years with the same company on top.” (Via: X)
Randy Orton says he’ll maybe wrestle till 50 and then call it a career.
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) May 8, 2024
“At 44, I would love to be able to go until my 50’s. Maybe I wrestle until I’m 50 and call it. it. That’s 30 years…30 years with the same company on top. Feels like now is the perfect environment for me to… pic.twitter.com/vANHCOsxN4
Additionally, Randy Orton shared that he feels like now is the perfect environment for him to thrive, and he wants to make the best out of the current landscape in the Stamford-based promotion. Looking at the comments, it seems that The Viper is going to be around for a while, and there can’t be any better update for fans who’ve watched him since his early days.
John Cena previously shared that he wants to retire at 50
For those wondering how Randy is probably following in The Cenation Leader’s footsteps in retirement plans, the reason behind it is some recent statements by Cena. The 16-time World Champion has previously talked openly about his WWE retirement in interviews and shared that he wants to retire at 50.
John Cena talks about retiring from WWE.
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) March 12, 2024
“50 is my absolute line in the sand. I would like to try and do it before that, but at 50, I’m just gonna tweet out, ‘Peace out, see ya.’ That’s it, I’m good.”
(The Kelly Clarkson Show) pic.twitter.com/TYLldPJgSZ
The 47-year-old talked about this topic during his appearance on the Kelly Clarkson Show, as he said, “You know what, 50 is my absolute line in the sand. I would like to try and do it before that, but at 50, I’m just gonna Tweet out: ‘Peace out, see ya.’ That’s it, I’m good.” With this, John Cena made it clear that he’s not going to compete in the ring for too long.
Randy Orton initially had a different plan for his retirement
The Viper’s recent comments have hinted that he’s going to follow the same path as Cena, but he initially had a different plan for his retirement. Talking about the same, Randy Orton shared that just two years ago he was thinking that his in-ring career was done and dusted, but things have changed for the better now after his spinal fusion surgery.
The Apex Predator said, “Well if you would’ve asked me two years ago (how much longer I have left in wrestling), I would have thought it would’ve been close to the end. But I had a spinal fusion a year-and-a-half ago and that changed the game.” Alongside this, Randy also shared some dark secrets about what he had to go through in his 30’s in the promotion.
The Legend Killer shared that at 35, he was begging for time off, but Vince’s quote to him was, ‘Mother Nature gets us all.’ Orton shared how it was hard to hear for him because he wasn’t physically that well, and after giving in all for the Stamford-based promotion for so long, getting to hear that wasn’t too pleasing.
Randy Orton on his future in wrestling:
— Wrestle Features (@WrestleFeatures) May 8, 2024
“Well if you would’ve asked me two years ago, I would have thought it would’ve been close to the end. But I had a spinal fusion a year-and-a-half ago and that changed the game. I’d been in pain through my entire 30s. I was hurting. I was… pic.twitter.com/PkYXHPis95
But the 44-year-old acknowledged how there have been some changes, and now seems like the perfect atmosphere for him to continue what he loves for some more years. Randy Orton hailing the new era shows how Triple H has been handling things, and it seems now we’ll continue witnessing The Viper giving RKO’s to his opponents in the WWE.