When 11-time WWE World Champion confessed his desire to wrestle Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns ascended to WWE's main event scene in 2015 and has not looked back since. Even before donning The Tribal Chief persona, he was solid in the ring, something a lot of people may have overlooked, thanks to his bland character.
In 2020, WWE Hall of Famer Edge returned to in-ring competition. One of the things The Rated-R Superstar mandatorily, and admittedly, needed to do, was to step into the ring with The Big Dog.
On The Hall of Fame with Booker T & Brad Gilmore, 11-time World Champion Edge discussed the urge to give back to the newer generation and leave behind the art of selling in professional wrestling. He also wanted to know for himself if he could step into the ring with someone of Roman Reigns' caliber and still go:
"I can get in with [Roman] Reigns, and I can dial him in," Edge said. "He is [one of the best in the business]. But man, if I can get in there with him and do promos..."
While Booker T and Edge acknowledged each other's common interests, The Rated-R Superstar immediately brought up an old foe:
"But all that being said, I knew I needed to start with a guy like Randy [Orton], because I needed to see where I was at." [1:04:46 - 1:05:11]
While Edge kickstarted his second WWE run with a deeply personal feud with Randy Orton, he wound up headlining WrestleMania in 2021, with Roman Reigns and Bryan Danielson. The duo even faced each other at Money in the Bank.
Edge holds 14-time WWE World Champion in such high regard
Randy Orton immediately rose up the ranks, similar to Roman Reigns. The Legend Killer himself took a few years after his first world championship win to cement his main event status.
Edge further spoke about Orton, who was also his tag team partner once upon a time. The Hall of Famer revealed that The Viper is a safe worker, and he knew he would be in good hands stepping into the ring after a long while with the latter:
"Randy man, I mean you know," Edge stopped to ask Booker T. "That's the guy to start with. Not only will I know he will step up, because I just think he was bored the last few years. So I know if he gets this cherry of a story thrown in his lap, he's gonna bite in. And I know, I'm gonna get tested, but also be safe." [1:05:12 - 1:05:36]
Edge and Randy Orton fought in a Last Man Standing match in the Performance Center at WrestleMania 36. The bout disappointed fans owing to the timing and lack of a crowd. However, their next contest at Backlash was well-received.
The feud itself was a remarkable affair, immediately hitting a high gear on the January 27 episode of WWE RAW after Royal Rumble, where Randy Orton turned on Edge.
If you use the quotes, please credit The Hall of Fame with Booker T & Brad Gilmore and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.