Following Monday night’s WWE RAW broadcast, Randy Orton was asked about Batista’s WWE Hall of Fame announcement and his friendship with him. You can check out some highlights and a video of the interview below:
On the Hall of Fame announcement: “I thought it was great news, Dave deserves it. I’ve known him for 20 years. He was the first guy that I ever ran into when I reported down to Louisville, Kentucky for developmental, back when I was 19 years old. I remember seeing this 350 pound jacked up man, and just was thinking to myself, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ And of course, after that was Evolution. And I saw Dave grow, we became friends, we’ve traveled the world together. And my hat’s off to the man. I can’t wait to hear his speech. I know it’ll be heartfelt. He’s always been good to me, and I look forward to seeing him on that special day.”
On a potential Hall of Fame induction for himself: “Sooner or later? I’d say later. I’ve still got a few more bumps to take in a WWE ring before I’m ready to step into the Hall of Fame, but s**t, I don’t even know how that works. Like, I gotta be nominated or something? I mean, people say I’m a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. But I don’t know, there’s a lot of time between now and then. So who knows what can happen? One day, if I’m fortunate enough to be in the Hall of Fame it’ll be one hell of an honor, but I’m in no hurry to be in the Hall of Fame right now.”
On if he’s the same guy now that he was in OVW: “Yeah, Dave hasn’t changed. He’s always been the big teddy bear, for lack of a better word. I’ve seen so many people grow in this business, and he’s one of the guys that I’ve gotten the pleasure of watching grow for the longest. You know, from early days in OVW to becoming a Hollywood movie star, I’ve watched all his movies, you know. And he’s got every bit of support from me that I can offer him. I’m very proud of him.”
