WWE fans were stunned when Randy Orton’s mystery opponent at WrestleMania 41 was none other than TNA Wrestling world champion Joe Hendry. There has been a lot of speculation about how Hendry ended up in that role. Well, it seems “The Viper” himself was the mastermind behind that particular choice.
“So we put our heads together, and it was actually my idea [for it to be] Joe Hendry,” Orton told Billboard this week. “I kept pushing for it. And a couple of people we’re unsure. But I was able to talk everybody into it. I’m really glad that they went with him. It was perfect and was different from anything else on the card. It was a legitimate surprise, and we were able to keep it a surprise for the most part.
“We got that really cool, ‘Holy s***’ moment when his music hit, and it was great. He was great. It was actually a stress-free, fun Mania for me, because I didn’t have this crazy 30-minute balls-to-the-walls match with all this high-risk s***. I had this cool little segment with Joe, and we didn’t have to do much to have fun out there. So I was really able to enjoy the week and just soak it all up.”
There was also fan speculation that incoming stars like Rusev or Aleister Black might be options for Randy Orton’s opponent. And the future Hall of Famer seemed to confirm they were considered.
“‘Who’s it gonna be?’ And there was a very short list of guys on our roster. But we had some new guys coming in, and it was one of those things where I needed to win,” Orton said. “But considering we knew where I was going to be going, thinking about Backlash, we needed me to look good coming out of ‘Mania. It couldn’t be one of our new guys, because when we debut a new talent into the show, [we couldn’t] have him start with a loss.”
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