WWE RAW Tag Team Champion Randy Orton was a recent guest on the Out of Character with Ryan Satin podcast as he spoke about what he would like his WWE legacy to be once he retires from the ring, along with his thoughts on his Backlash 2004 match with Mick Foley that put him on the map.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
Randy Orton on his match with Mick Foley at Backlash 2004: “The one with Foley at Backlash in 2004 is a favorite. Not just because I landed in thumbtacks. It’s what he was doing for me in that match. Like he came out of retirement, allowed me to end the year spitting in his face. I think it was the last Raw at the end of the year or something like that. The new year’s chiming in and all the wrestling fans are talking about is how I disrespected Foley like that. He gave me so much. So that match, because of what he did for me, makes it mean even more than it does because I landed in thumbtacks. That was pretty badass, too.”
On what he wants his legacy to be in WWE: “My legacy, I think longevity. I think finding a way to do it in a smart way to where you stay true to things from the era of my father. The art of professional wrestling. Not just thinking that, if I clothesline this guy’s head off because I was a big bad linebacker in the NFL, that’s what’s going to get me to my next week and get people to buy my t-shirts and that’s what’s going to get me over. No, we have to do this 200 times a year. I want my legacy to be that I made sure that guys like Edge, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, and God, I miss Daniel Bryan [Bryan Danielson] and I wish he was still here. Finn Balor, these guys that are coming up like [Damian] Priest, [Austin] Theory, Street Profits, Riddle, especially. These guys that have all the potential in the world and, in some cases, Roman [Reigns] as well – these guys that can work and know the art of this business. I want my legacy to be that I was able to, with these gentlemen, take this business to the next generation that the new wave of talent knows how to do it the right way. Staying true to the art of what it is and making sure that number one priority is taking care of your opponent’s health. That needs to be number one in every case. If that’s my legacy, I’m happy with that.”
