Guys like Jack Lanza, Pat Patterson, Bruce Pritchard, Tom Pritchard - those guys all helped me get a tryout. And I'd never been in the ring, so they went on a lot of faith and signed me and thought that they could help mold me into a WWE superstar. And now I'm glad they did, because that was a big turning point in my life.
— Randy Orton
Growing up, my dad would be gone a lot. But I knew what he was doing, and I wanted to one day enjoy that. When I saw how tired he was when he got home, that, in a direct way, prepared me and made me realize what a tough business this is.
I wasn't some stud athlete at school that was destined to be a professional wrestler. I was just an insecure little guy that didn't want to go to school because I had zits on my upper lip.
I've done so much for the WWE. Everything I've done, any movie I've done, any notoriety I have, it's because of them.
I don't take myself too seriously, as I think I used to years ago, when I was younger.
Doing these movies I've done with WWE, it's a different pace. It's a lot of hurry up and wait, a lot of sitting around and like the day of the pay-per-view, when you're thinking about what you can do, and then you get the payoff, the reward, that night. It's just a different animal.
Having a campfire and roasted marshmallows, to me that sounds like Heaven.
Jake 'The Snake,' getting the chance to talk to him all day and just picking his brain - you know, he has his demons, but he's an intelligent person, and he knows the business like no other.
I want to be like an Undertaker and be around so when your music hits, people go crazy because of that respect that you've earned over 20, 25 years of going on the ride for them.
WWE has given me everything; it really has. My kids will go to college because of them, I don't have to worry about finances because of them.
I'm not a runner.
Someone had asked me who I thought was better, John Cena or Rock. I said Rock needs a teleprompter. Rock needs a writer to write all his stuff.
I was forced, more or less, to go to anger management. I was either going to make myself and everyone around me miserable, or I was going to realize that there's more than one person on this Earth. It definitely has made me a better person.
I want to work with guys like Rey Mysterio, The Undertaker, Edge and have good feuds and do entertaining stuff, and I know I'm capable of it.
Deep down inside, when I come to the ring, whether it's a non-televised event or TV or pay per view, deep down inside, when you hear those 'R-K-O' chants or those 'Orton' chants, you know, it makes me smile on the inside.
I had a couple rough patches early in my career. I think I might have made some bad choices here and there.
I don't have a problem with dives out of the ring, but there are a lot of these guys who don't have anything to fall back on, and they're not making any money doing it. A lot of these guys go out there, and they're gonna break their necks at 23 years old doing things they shouldn't be doing.
I got a bad conduct discharge, was at home for a few months in late '99, and basically said, 'Dad, I want to give wrestling a shot. I sure as hell don't wanna go to college, and the Marine Corps wasn't for me. And I need to make some money, so let's see if I can do it.'
My schedule with WWE is all year unless there's an injury.
I had very bad acne growing up. I had braces for six years, from the fifth to the 11th grade. I didn't look in the mirror and feel like someone who should be on TV.
In the ring, you want every one of the 80,000 people in the building to know what you're feeling. On a movie set, every expression you make is going to get picked up times 10. They kept having to dial me back.
I want to go out there and try as hard as I can to be the best in that ring. And for me, that doesn't mean cutting flips and cartwheels and not selling punches.
I'm a family man. I really enjoy being with my family.
I'm used to throwing my body around. I'm used to taking a punch.
Mick Foley - the match we had at Backlash is one of my two or three favorite matches ever. Much props to him: he puts his body on the line, and what he did for me that day, I'll never forget.
At times, I'll watch a cruiserweight match, and I'm very impressed at how they limit themselves with all of the acrobatics, but every once in a while, you'll see a match where they're doing things I couldn't dream of doing, but you get lost because there's so much.
I've had some of my best matches with Christian.
I ain't gonna win no Oscars.
I've accomplished so much in the WWE.
I have a wonderful wife that wouldn't hurt a fly, and I think a lot of that has rubbed off on me.
I let some people down, like Triple H, who had a lot of faith in me and took me under his wing. Ric Flair would never say it, but he loved me like I was his kid, and he was like a dad to me on the road. I'm sure I let him down somewhere along the way. These guys really invested a lot of time, faith, and energy in me.
I had to realize that other people had an opinion that counted, and I had to realize that other people had feelings, and you've got to watch their feelings and listen to what they have to say.
I got to doing this thing with the Wyatt Family, and I don't remember having this much fun in the ring in a long time.
We have the freedom of speech. We are able to hold hands in protest and stand up for what we believe in and have people hear what you have to say.
Wrestling is my first love.
The fact that the WWE is so involved in anti-bullying, it's really an honor to be involved with them.
My father, my grandfather, the wrestling business, the WWE in particular, has really given me everything. A lot of happiness, my kids are taken care of, my wife is happy, they get to travel. A lot of pluses come with it; the Hall Of Fame would just be the cherry on top.
I can't say I'm confident in my abilities as an actor.
The old school in me knows how to get over and get other guys over. I'm going to continue to do it.
I love those trilogy movies, like 'Lord of the Rings.'
Being born into the business, I had the connections. A lot of guys aspire to be professional wrestlers, but you need to get trained the right way. And then, once you're trained, you need to get to that next level, and really, the WWE is the only place to do it.
Teaming up for Evolution, I think Batista and I credit a lot of our success to Ric Flair, but especially Triple H. He has an amazing psychology for the business. He understands how to tell a story, and you just pick his brain the best you can while riding with him. It was a great advantage for us in terms of learning our craft.
When a kid smiles because you take an extra 30 seconds, minute, minute and a half to go over and ask them what their name is, give them the shirt you just wore to the ring, you just see them light up. We've all been kids before; we've all had our heroes, been fans of somebody and needed that autograph.
I probably had the most fun ever in the ring with Christian. And it was because he could just pick stuff up out of thin air and make it something. Neither of us were these big high-fliers; none of us were power guys doing these big, crazy moves. But the finesse and the things were smooth with me and him.
Cena is awesome on the mic. When it comes to wrestling in the ring and the technical aspect, I feel as if I blow him away. I feel like I'm more of an athlete.
I definitely had a big head, and I'll be the first to admit that I made some bad decisions. But back when I was making those decisions, in my head I was doing no wrong.
When it comes to wrestling, I'm 100 percent confident in my abilities, and I see myself being in the ring as long as my body can handle it.
I had to realize that everyone has opinions, and they all have the right to feel a certain way, and you have to respect that.
I think my whole deal was I didn't think other people had a right to an opinion. I think the problem I had was, in real life, it was my way or the highway, and if people disagreed with me, then they were just wrong.
I wanna go watch a story and a fight between a good guy and a bad guy.
