Randy Orton was just joking around.
Before he officially signed a new five-year deal with WWE, Randy Orton was all over social media, hinting he might be joining All Elite Wrestling. Orton had been complimentary of AEW in the past and posted pictures of himself with AEW references while also tagging Cody Rhodes and Tony Khan.
But as Orton told Corey Graves on After The Bell, he never had interest in leaving WWE.
"I was just having fun. More so now than ever, I'm aware of other guys like Will Ospreay and other guys that work with Cody. I'm watching a little more wrestling. I'm not in the WWE bubble as much as I've been for almost the last two decades. I'm learning to appreciate other styles a little more instead of quickly seeing something that isn't how I would do it or how I would sell it. This might be upsetting for some people but I never really saw myself leaving WWE. I'm definitely happy being a WWE superstar," he said.
Orton was called out by Khan for using his name as leverage in a recent Twitter spat between the two, which started with CM Punk tagging Khan ahead of Punk's official WWE Backstage debut. You can view their exchange by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit After The Bell with a h/t to Fightful for the transcription.