"He did not want to do it" - Randy Orton initially refused to spit on WWE opponent
Mick Foley says Randy Orton was initially reluctant to spit on him in a backstage segment at the start of their WWE rivalry.
Suffering from a lack of confidence, Foley walked away from his match against Orton on the December 15, 2003 episode of RAW. As part of the storyline, The Viper followed his rival backstage and spat in his face.
Foley celebrated 20 years of Orton in WWE during his recent appearance on Throwing Down w/ Renee & Miesha. Discussing their memorable RAW moment, the WWE Hall of Famer said the 14-time World Champion wanted to change the script:
“I had to talk Randy into spitting on me on camera,” stated Foley. “He did not want to do it and then he finally said, ‘Please, Mick, what if I just pretend? I won’t really spit on you.’ I said, ‘Randy, this is one of the most important moments of your career. You need to dig down as deep into your lungs as you can and people need to see that residue.’”
We love to see that @RandyOrton smile.
#WWERaw https://t.co/KcVJllAwvg
Foley clarified that while Orton spitting on him felt “awful,” he thought that moment was exactly what their long-term storyline needed.
Mick Foley’s pre-match conversation with Randy Orton
Randy Orton vs Mick Foley from Backlash 04 is a classic match. Do you agree? https://t.co/OwNkrSaylK
After several storyline developments, the rivalry led to Randy Orton defeating Mick Foley in a No Holds Barred match at Backlash 2004. Orton recently revealed that his battle with the WWE Hall of Famer is still the favorite match of his career.
Foley went on to recall how he spoke to the 14-time World Champion in a hotel room the night before the event to discuss their match:
“It [most memorable Orton moment] was getting into Edmonton the night before and have him come up to my room, which I’d never done, never done that before with anybody and never had it done to me. I just remember how wide his eyes were, how much he was absorbing everything.”
The latest episode of RAW featured a celebration of Orton’s WWE career. The RAW Tag Team Champion thanked Foley during an in-ring promo, claiming he would not be in his current position without the WWE legend.
Please credit Throwing Down w/ Renee & Miesha and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.