Dave Meltzer On Why Vince McMahon Gave WWE's Randy Orton So Many Chances

He might be one of the most beloved wrestlers in the history of WWE, but Randy Orton has a chequered past that has landed him in trouble many times. Orton was notorious for having a poor attitude during his early days on the WWE main roster. He reportedly harassed female members of the roster for a variety of reasons, shot fireworks at Maria Kanellis, Carlito, and Umaga, and had to attend anger management classes to deal with this temper. 

There were also several instances of him violating WWE's wellness policy, which saw him receive strikes in 2006 and 2012, meaning that if he earned a third strike, he would be fired from WWE.

With all of this trouble, why did Vince McMahon keep Orton on the books? According to Dave Meltzer on the most recent edition of "Wrestling Observer Radio," McMahon always thought he could make money off of Orton and didn't always need to like the man, he just needed to produce good business. This persistent need to give Orton chances was on full display in 2013 when one of his strikes for violating the wellness policy was quietly removed, just in case one of McMahon's biggest stars ever got in trouble again.

The former WWE Champion has been very honest about his relationship with McMahon in recent weeks. In a recent interview, he was asked about the recent lawsuit filed against McMahon on the grounds of sex trafficking, rape, and assault, to which Orton responded by stating that his heart hurt reading about it, while also admitting that it's hard to turn his back on the man who allowed him to be a WWE Superstar. 

However, he did say in the same interview that he is happy with the changes that have been made since Triple H has taken over the creative direction of the company.