Randy Orton Teases Moving to AEW in Latest Instagram Post
Randy Orton sent Wrestling Twitter into a frenzy yet again on Monday morning when he jokingly [...]
Randy Orton sent Wrestling Twitter into a frenzy yet again on Monday morning when he jokingly posted an Instagram photo that teased the idea of him joining All Elite Wrestling. The 13-time former world champion uploaded a picture from Jacksonville, Florida (the home of AEW president Tony Khan) while looking at a sign reading "Elite Level." He captioned the photo "tick tock tick tock" then tagged a few wrestlers that reportedly have their WWE contracts expiring soon, including both members of The Revival and Luke Harper. He also happened to tag both Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho, which helped fans connect the dots.
Is Orton's post anything beyond poking fun? Probably not, but Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp did follow-up the post by reporting that Orton's current 10-year contract is expected to expire in the summer of 2020 and that he hasn't signed any new deals as of yet.
Jericho got in on the fun by writing back, "Send in a tape and some pix and I'll see what I Can do."
Back in February reports popped up that Orton told WWE officials that he would be willing to speak with AEW if the opportunity presented itself. He even spoke highly of it during a recent live gaming stream.
"That AEW looked f—ing cool, huh? Did you watch that show last night? Oh my god," Orton said after AEW's TNT premiere back on Oct. 2. "I'll tell you what. It's that big match feel, the big show feel. Cody [Rhodes] and Sammy Guevara, that kid can do some s— I'd love to work with that kid. They had a great match. I thought opening the show with that match was a good idea and well-received."
Meanwhile on WWE television Orton feuded with Kofi Kingston over the WWE Championship throughout the summer, leading to a double count-out finish at SummerSlam and a loss at Clash of Champions. Kingston teamed with Xavier Woods and Big E to beat Orton and The Revival in a six-man tag match on the following SmackDown, which ended the feud as Kingston turned his attention to Brock Lesnar.
Orton was recently moved back to Raw as part of the 2019 WWE Draft. He's currently booked to be on Team Flair in the upcoming 10-man tag match at Crown Jewel. He'll team with King Corbin, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Lashley and a to-be-announced final partner to take on Roman Reigns, Rusev, Ali, Ricochet and Shorty Gable.