Randy Orton Wishes He’d Created a Less Physical Finisher Than the RKO

Randy Orton says that if he could have, he would have made a finisher than was less taxing on him than the RKO is. The WWE star’s finisher is one of the most well-known in WWE, to the point that he’s acknowledged that it’s become his brand. But it’s also a surprisingly physical maneuver due to the back bump it requires.

Orton was asked during his appearance at Culture Kings Las Vegas what finished he wishes he’d created. He singled out the choke slam as an example of a move that doesn’t require any heavy bump from the person taking it.

“Ah man, there’s so many good ones,” Orton said. “That’s a tough question. I’ll tell you what, I’ve talked to The Undertaker about this. His chokeslam, right? No matter how old we get, no matter how much our bodies might not allow us to continue to do what we love to do as professional wrestlers — doing the RKO, there’s going to be a certain point in 10 years where I’m not going to want to take that bump anymore.”

He continued, “And I remember telling Taker like, ‘Man, you just need a young athletic talent to come out, feed, and then jump.’ Give me an Austin Theory, boom! And it’s effortless. And you could be 75, 80 years old, come out there and do that same thing. But hitting a cutter, RKO, whatever you wanna call it, there’s going to be a time where you’re going to have to stop doing that. So to answer your question, I wish I had a finishing move that I would have spent over two decades like I have on the RKO, I wish there was a finishing move that I had created that wasn’t as physical on me, like the chokeslam.”

Orton battled Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Champion at WrestleMania 42 night one. While he didn’t get the win, he stood tall at the end after punting the champion.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Culture Kings Las Vegas with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.