Randy Orton Once Surprised A Young Fan With A RKO, And It's Pretty Heartwarming
Over the past two decades, RKO have become three of the deadliest letters in professional wrestling. But back in 2016, one young WWE fan thought he knew all the answers to superstar Randy Orton's finishing maneuver.
On an episode of the WWE Network's short-lived hidden camera show "Swerved," producers brought a young Randy Orton fan named Dash in for a sit-down interview with WWE commentator Todd Phillips. While Phillips asked Dash why he was a fan of Orton, Dash confidently claimed he knew how to easily counter the RKO. "I know exactly how to counter the RKO," he said. "Randy Orton? I can tell when he's about to do it and when he's not about to do it."
Little did Dash know, however, that Orton was waiting behind the curtain, coiled and waiting to hit his famous finishing move.
As the show's producers and wrestlers laughed backstage, Phillips continued to egg the young fan on about why he was so confident about being able to get out of an RKO, asking him to speak directly into the camera and send Orton a message. And that's when The Viper struck.
But when Orton appeared from behind and put Dash in position for an RKO, it wasn't a counter that stopped the former WWE Champion from hitting his move; it was a heartwarming hug and a shriek of excitement, a reaction that's since gone viral in the wake of Orton's absence from WWE.
When Will Randy Orton Return From Injury?
After Orton and partner Matt Riddle dropped the Raw Tag Team Championship in late May, it was announced that The Viper would be out of action for an extended period of time due to a back injury. Since then, updates about Orton's health and recovery have been few and far between. Some fans have become concerned about what it could mean for the WWE Grand Slam champion's career given other wrestlers' histories with back injuries.
Orton reportedly underwent surgery recently to fuse together his lower back.
"Your back controls everything. You can't do anything when your back is hurting," WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle said recently. "I'll give you an example. Randy Orton just had surgery on his back. He literally couldn't do anything, and this surgery is hopefully saving his career. But that's how much back problems can affect you as a pro wrestler."