In an interview with Billboard, Randy Orton detailed how his fight was created at WWE Wrestlemania 41 against Joe Hendry.
Originally, Orton was scheduled to face Kevin Owens in the event, a fight that had even been officially announced by WWE, but the plans changed due to an Owens neck injury that required surgery. With that canceled confrontation, WWE opted for something completely different, and Orton defeated the world champion of TNA, Joe Hendry, in a quick fight of three minutes.
This was the twenty -wrestlemania of Orton, and He told Billboard that it was an important milestone For him. He confirmed that he advocated Hendry as his opponent once a replacement was needed. Orton mentioned that some people in WWE doubted the idea, but managed to convince them.
“It was reduced to, Ok. We need an opponent for Orton. Who will be? ' There was a short list of boys in our own roster, but we had some new ones arriving, and it was one of those things where I needed to win, but considering that we knew where I was thinking about Backlash, we needed to be well stopped from Mania, ”said Orton. “It could not be one of our new boys, because when we debuted a new talent in the show, we could not make it start with a defeat.
“So we gathered our heads and it was actually my idea that Joe Hendry was. I kept insisting, and a couple of people were not safe, but I managed to convince everyone. I am very happy that they have gone with him. It was perfect. It was different from anything else in the billboard. It was a legitimate surprise, and we managed to keep it as a surprise in the most part. We had that really great moment of 'Holy. Great.
Rusev and Aleister Black were two of the internal options WWE considered for returns. Both returned to WWE's programming after Wrestlemania.
Hendry is proud of the fight he had with Orton and believes that he came out exactly as he should. A defense of the TNA World Championship will take place at Nxt Battleground on Sunday, May 25, with Hendry putting his title at play against Trick Williams.
Orton vs. Cena en Backlash 2025
In WWE Backlash this Saturday, Orton will renew his rivalry with John Cena when he has it for WWE's undisputed championship. It will probably be the last time they face, since Cena is scheduled to retire from the ring in December 2025.
Orton told Billboard that he hopes that the crowd of his hometown, St. Louis, bring energy for this different dynamic in which he is babyface and dinner the heel.
“Now, he has the potential to be completely opposite to how it used to be, and the pressure is in me as the good,” he said. “But I think that being in my hometown (St. Louis), with him being the bad, is simply very strange. There is no way to predict it, and I think that the fight itself will be good, but I think that energy in that sand will make it possibly very good. Everything depends on the energy of the multitude of St. Louis. So I hope you are ready to give everything.”
The Orton-Hendry fight in Wrestlemania 41 was an outstanding moment, although some have opined that WWE went down to TNA level with Randy Orton's victory over Joe Hendry.
