Randy Orton Says John Cena And Batista Used WWE "As A Jumping Board" For Hollywood

As a special guest on The Kurt Angle Show, Randy Orton spoke about life after wrestling and what he expects to do once he finally decides to hang up the boots. Orton talked about the potential of becoming a movie star like John Cena and Batista, saying that the Hollywood life just isn't for him as he could never take that much time away from WWE.

"I see them branching off and doing other things or making sure they have something lined up for when they can't wrestle anymore," Orton said. "I kind of see myself being WWE for life. I don't know why I'd go anywhere else, who knows what the future holds. Although I love movies, I love sending in auditions almost monthly, I don't think acting is my passion, I'm not trying to move to Hollywood or move to New York and be a full time actor.

"The way Cena did it, the way Batista did it is they used WWE as a jumping board to go into Hollywood. I think I'm happy with my place in the WWE right now, the money's good, the talents good, the locker room is great, I have a good relationship with all the people in charge and I don't see why I'd change that. I only see all of those different variables getting better over the coming years."

The 14-time World Champion spoke about a conversation he had with his wife where she would ultimately be the one to tell him when the time is right to stop wrestling. Orton said until then, he's going to wrestle as much as possible.

"At 41, I can honestly say if I'm on a contract where I'm able to still wrestle a handful of years in my late 40s, possibly as I'm a 50 year old man, I would love to do it," Orton said. "My big thing and my wife Kim has promised me, that if she looks at me and she thinks I'm becoming a parody of myself or if I'm unable to do the things that the fans need to be able to physically see me do in order to believe that an RKO still has as much sting as it once did. If I can't do all of those things, she's promised me that she's going to let me know that it's time to hang up the boots.

"Until then, I'm putting my trust in her and I'm just going to enjoy what I do. Although being the next Marvel superhero would be really awesome, the work that would go into that and the amount of time that I would have to take away from the WWE, I don't know that there's a price tag that you could put on that that would make it worth it for me to step away from what I love so much for so long, that being first and foremost my wife and family but also WWE. I like showing up each week."

As someone who aspires to be a part of WWE for many more years, Orton said he really admires Ric Flair and how he's been able to come back and appreciate the business at his age. Orton said his goal is to one day be like Flair and look back on his career as a success and come back as someone who has made a positive impact on so many lives.

"I asked him are you doing something tonight on the show and he goes 'Oh no, oh hell Randy I love coming around and love seeing the guys and love seeing you guys put your stuff together, I love talking to some guys and the camaraderie and I love this business and I love being around it', Randy said. "If Charlotte wasn't there, he would've been there anyway. I like that attitude, I like that he looks at this industry, not even just at Vince and WWE, but at professional wrestling as a whole and he can say it's made me happy and it's given me so much and I've made so many other people happy and feel some kind of way because of what he did in the ring. I want to feel like that too.

"He's happy and content and wouldn't change a thing, made many mistakes. Also, made many positive situations and positive moments and memorable moments for fans a million times over. I'd love to be in his shoes one day where I can be happy with my body of work and just sit back and be grandpa and watch the grandkids play and have been a WWE superstar and that's all I need to be."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Kurt Angle Show with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.