Randy Orton Says He Never Considered Leaving WWE

In the weeks leading up to signing his new five-year contract with WWE, Randy Orton started [...]

In the weeks leading up to signing his new five-year contract with WWE, Randy Orton started floating out the idea on social media that he might consider looking at All Elite Wrestling as his new home. But in a new interview with Corey Graves on After the Bell, Orton came clean about the posts by saying he was simply joking around and never considered actually leaving WWE. "The Viper" found himself getting called out for the posts (among other things) by AEW president Tony Khan on Monday during a Twitter interaction that online wrestling fans into a frenzy.

"I was just having fun," Orton said. "I'm not in the WWE bubble as much as I've been for almost the last two decades. I'm learning to appreciate other styles a little more instead of just quickly seeing something that isn't how I would do it or how I would sell it. This might be upsetting for some people but I never really saw myself leaving WWE. I started here, my father was here, my grandfather wrestled for Vince's father. There's a lot of history here. Yeah I could've left and I could've come back, but man, why? I made it here this long and I really shouldn't have. Against all odds, I'm still here and Vince and I were able to come to terms.

"I'm definitely happy being a WWE Superstar," he added.

Orton also mentioned Will Ospreay over in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Cody Rhodes leading All Elite Wrestling. Both Rhodes and Brandi Rhodes were asked about Orton's teasing on social media during a recent Starrcast interview.

"I encourage it honestly, because if they're feeling any way where they're starting to tip, people who do this they are all very talented people and they have big followings and stuff like that," Brandi said. "Why not do something? Don't do nothing. Do something to showcase, 'Hey, this is how I'm feeling. There are these other options.' I don't mind that. Sometimes I know what they're doing when they do that and I'll give them that little bit back because it's okay."

"We're brothers and sisters as wrestlers," Cody said. "We really are. It doesn't matter what roof we're under. And the the wrestling industry is, if you compare to other entertainment of comparable influence like popular tv, where they're paid so much and they're unionized and they have so much to protect them and safeguards. One of the most exciting things about AEW is we've been able to raise the entire pay floor for the entire industry. So if Randy wants to take a dumb photo on an elevator and tag people he doesn't even know in it and they're dumb enough to buy it and they pay him a certain amount, good for Randy Orton."

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