Rikishi says former WWE Champion has "no ego" after he suffers heartbreaking loss
Rikishi has gone out of his way to praise a current WWE Superstar after he suffered a loss in a major title match recently. The wrestling legend was referring to Randy Orton, who failed to dethrone Gunther at Bash in Berlin 2024.
The Viper headlined the premium live event, where he challenged The Ring General for his World Heavyweight Championship. Despite putting in a herculean effort, Randy Orton eventually passed out after Gunther trapped him in a sleeper hold. Since then, the former WWE Champion has been absent from TV, while Gunther has moved on to a feud with his former rival Sami Zayn on RAW.
On the latest episode of his Fatu off the Top podcast, Rikishi discussed The Ring General's win over Orton, where he reserved special praise for the latter. The WWE Hall of Famer stated that The Viper had no ego and termed him a legend.
"Randy (Orton) is a pro dude, Randy is a pro. Randy is big business. No ego. Big, big business. Icon, legend. But we didn't do business. Good for Randy, man," said Rikishi. [28:13 - 28:29]
Check out the video below:
Jim Cornette feels Randy Orton should have been pinned at WWE Bash in Berlin 2024
A few days back on his The Jim Cornette Experience podcast, the wrestling veteran pointed out his biggest issue with the World Title match. Cornette believes WWE should have gone ahead with a pinfall ending rather than Gunther putting Randy Orton in a sleeper hold, saying it lessened the impact of the finish.
"Great match (but) I hate these stationary finishes. I know they were still fighting for it and everything but that's another one of these modern tropes as they say that it just, when you're in that that same place in that same general position for that long and there is some element of it being a foregone conclusion. It doesn't give people the exhilaration of an incredible one, two, three that they didn't expect or were waiting to see. Suddenly, it's right in front of them and they got three seconds to register."
It remains to be seen what Triple H and his team have in store for The Viper now that he's no longer in contention to challenge Gunther's gold. A much-anticipated match with Cody Rhodes could bring the house down if WWE went that route.
If you take any quotes from this article, please credit Rikishi Fatu off the Top and Sportskeeda Wrestling.