Randy Orton speaks on his 2009 heel persona.
Randy Orton's time as a heel in 2008 leading into 2009 is revered amongst many fans, as his Royal Rumble win brought him back into the WWE Championship picture, and on a collision course with Triple H. Orton would terrorise Triple H's extended family, attacking Shane, Vince and Stephanie McMahon on seperate occasions. To this day, fans still make memes about Orton's 2009 persona.
While speaking to Billboard in a new interview, Orton was asked about the persona and why it is so revered.
"I remember in ’09, it all kinda clicked as a bad guy. I just kind of let loose and acted a little bit more crazy. Even down to the body language and stuff. But I think what it came down to was who I was facing in the ring in ’09. I was booked really strong. I think I won the Rumble that year and main-evented WrestleMania with Triple H.I did the thing where he was handcuffed and I assaulted Stephanie [McMahon] in front of him and he was an inch away. He had to sit there and watch as I messed with her. I kicked Vince in the head. I destroyed the entire McMahon family, and looked real strong doing it. I think when a company gets behind a character like that — I mean look at Roman Reigns. I think it’s been 11, 12 years since they decided he was the guy, and when the company gets behind somebody, they can make that guy a star. If that’s what they want, that’s what they’ll get. So for a chunk of ’09, that was the case with me. I think it was [a matter of] being given an opportunity in ’09 and I had a home run with it."
Elsewhere in the same interview, Orton confirmed that he pushed to face Joe Hendry at WrestleMania 41. You can read more about that here.
