Randy Orton Says Vince McMahon Allegations Hurt His Heart

As previously reported, Vince McMahon resigned from WWE following allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault and more. McMahon has denied all allegations and is under criminal investigation. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Randy Orton commented on the allegations and said that while Vince McMahon gave him chances, the document was hard for him to read. Here are highlights:

On the Vince McMahon allegations: “I’ve got to say this–I wouldn’t be where I am without Vince McMahon taking a chance on me a handful of times. I would not be where I am today without Vince McMahon. But, f—, I’m reading this sh–. What you’ve seen and read, I’ve seen and read. As far as commenting on that, it f—— hurts my heart. It hurts my heart.”

On CM Punk’s return at Survivor Series: “I was supposed to be a surprise in WarGames at Survivor Series. All these CM Punk rumors started a month prior, and everyone thought–since we were in Chicago for Survivor Series–that CM Punk would be the surprise. So they had Cody a week before WarGames say that he had a friend–me–that was going to come. The surprise was spoiled all because Punk was rumored to be there, and WWE didn’t want people to be pissed. The day of Survivor Series, I’m about to get my boots on,” said Orton. “I’m feeling the nerves, it had been a year-and-a-half. Triple H is like, ‘Hey Randy, I’ve got to talk to you for a second.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, what’s up, man?’ So he told me a couple things. And then he went, ‘One more thing–Punk’s returning tonight.’ I thought he was f—— with me. I said, ‘You’re joking,’ and he was like, ‘No, I’m not. This is something that just happened in the last few days, yada yada yada.”

On taking time off for his back injury: “Before I left [in May of 2022], I’d got to the point where [Matt] Riddle had done everything he could for me as a tag partner. I could barely stand for a long amount of time. Taking my kids trick-or-treating that Halloween, I would have to sit in between the houses because I just couldn’t be on my feet that long. The symptoms were just immensely painful. I got an MRI, the symptoms got worse, but I staved off any cortisone shots. I’d needed one for about five years, but I didn’t want to get one–once you go down that road, it’s a slippery slope. So I was going to get a cortisone shot, and I was hopeful that it would help. My lower spine was so far gone that no shot was going to help. No ablation procedure where they burn the nerve for another six months pain-free, none of that was going to work. I had stenosis, degeneration all over my lower spine, and a slipping disc–every time I extended my spine, it would slip and press on those nerves. I couldn’t sit and take a sh– without pain shooting down my legs or my feet going numb. I couldn’t stand. There were times when I’d move and end up on the floor. And I’m working with top-of-their-class neurosurgeons, and they’re telling me, ‘You’ve had a great career. Maybe it’s time to hang up the boots. You’ve got to think of quality of life after your career.’ That’s always been a priority for me, but hearing all this, after thinking I was going to get an epidural cortisone shot and I’d be fine, it was tough. I’ll be honest–I broke into tears.”