Randy Orton Reveals He Lost Twenty Pounds Due To Covid

Randy Orton recently made an appearance on The Ringer Wrestling Podcast to discuss his career, longevity, and what the future holds for him in the business.

The Viper revealed that he has now quit drinking alcohol to maintain his peak physical shape. He also stated that last year he battled with Covid for a number of weeks, and lost twenty pounds because of it.

"In June I got Covid," Orton explained. "I missed seven weeks of TV because my blood inflammation levels were so high, that they were worried it was going to turn into like myocarditis or endocarditis, or something with the heart. So I had all this time, and I lost twenty pounds during Covid, I had it so bad like I was just stick skinny, stick thin.

"So it was like, OK, I have a chance to rebuild here. I'm either gonna do it this or do it that way, you know what I mean? So I cut the alcohol, cut the sugar, started training a little harder, started seeing another physical therapist for some issues with my shoulder, my back, because, you know, we are always staying up on those injuries. Now here we are six months later and I'm feeling, I think I'm feeling the best I've felt physically since I can remember, to be honest."

Randy Orton faced John Morrison on the June 21, 2021, episode of RAW in which he lost in a Money in the Bank qualifying match. Orton was scheduled to face Drew McIntyre and AJ Styles in a last chance qualifying match the following week but was ultimately pulled from the show without any explanation. He did not compete again inside the ring until August 9, 2021, when he faced and defeated AJ Styles on the red brand.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Ringer Wrestling Podcast and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription