Randy Orton Reflects On the RKO Becoming His ‘Brand,’ His Career Longevity

Randy Orton became a meme phenomenon with his RKO, and he recently reflected on how the move became his “brand” early on. The WWE star has been a star in the company for going on 25 years, and for most of that time he has been associated with his finisher. The “RKO Outta Nowhere” meme became a prevalent in the mid-2010s and has remained an enduring meme.

Orton recently appeared on the Pat McAfee Show and spoke about the RKO being his legacy, his own career longevity and more. You can see the highlights below:

On His Career Longevity:

“You know what? I had injuries early on. I blew both my shoulders out before I was 25. I had major surgeries and I had to kind of go back to ground zero and realize if I want to do this for any length of time, have any longevity — and I love this business. So that’s all I want to do, right? I got to figure out how that I can get longevity out of the sport, out of the entertainment business. And that’s what I’ve done. So I kind of honed my craft… people, they’re looking to do the fancy moves. It’s not the move. It’s me that’s doing the move that makes it fancy, baby. It’s the RKO.”

On Becoming Synonymous With the RKO:

“I’ve had that same finish for almost my whole career. When I first met Logan Paul, he was like, ‘Man.’ I was doing the Vines and I was doing the RKO’s. He said, ‘I didn’t know who you were, but I knew what the RKO was.’ And I was like, ‘Uh, thanks.’ But that’s just an example that like — it superseded everything that I was as a brand. It was like, the RKO, it was huge.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit the Pat McAfee Show with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.