Matt Sydal Recalls Crazy RKO Spot With Randy Orton In 2010

In an interview with Wrestling Inc, Matt Sydal spoke about the July 12, 2010 episode of WWE RAW, when he took an infamous RKO from Randy Orton while wrestling as Evan Bourne. Orton hit the move as Sydal was landing a shooting star press. Here are highlights:

On where he got the idea for the spot: “I had been on a show in Highland, IN. It IWA Mid-South, and it was M-Dogg 20 (Matt Cross) and B-Boy. M-Dogg for the shooter, and B-Boy hit him with the cutter. The place exploded. So we were on tour in the Ohio area, and M-Dogg was actually an extra at the show. And I had mentioned to Randy on Sunday because it seemed like we were a leading to a Money in the Bank match, and I had sort of mentioned that that would be something I would want to do in the Money in the Bank match. Mentioned it to Randy, that was Sunday and then on Monday, we went out there and did it. It was just beautiful, perfect timing. It was great because it was a move that I had established. It’s a move that he had established. It wasn’t just two random people just doing it for fun. It really was two people’s specialties colliding.”

On why it worked: “I don’t want to take all the credit for it. One, not my idea, and two, if you watch the way it was filmed, it was filmed perfectly. It was shot flawlessly. Randy goes down. They cut to me climbing, but the climbing shot is super super tight. You almost forget that Randy’s there. He’s out of the picture, and it’s not until I jump that they cut to the second shot. And then you can see Randy popping out of nowhere and catching me. It was art. It was masterfully shot. It was just the perfect moment, and I mean every single night, we go out there and try and create a moment like that. Every single night, you try and make that magic happen, but this one, all the stars lined up. Randy was perfect. My jump was just where it needed to be. The guys behind the scenes had it orchestrated so beautifully that all I had to do was jump and the rest wrote itself.”

On his relationship with Orton: “I loved it. He and I are both from St. Louis. Like one of my best friends was one of the guys that helped him get started at the South Broadway Athletic Club way way way back in the day. Kind of his first few bumps in the ring and his first powerbomb ever was to my friend who still uses that as his claim to fame. ‘I got powerbombed by Randy Orton,’ but in fact, his dad, Cowboy Bob, was a Missouri State Athletic Commissioner, so a couple of times, when Randy was in OVW and even maybe on the main roster, he would come to these shows. I would be wrestling Delirious in a body shop garage that had just enough room for a ring and like fans on one side. We remember him sitting up there watching the show. He’s sort of kind of been there since day one for me.”