"Randy Orton kept that going with the RKO" - WWE Hall of Famer on the two greatest finishers ever
WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) believes the DDT and the Diamond Cutter are the two greatest finishers in wrestling history.
Randy Orton’s RKO closely resembles the Diamond Cutter, which DDP made famous during his time in WCW in the 1990s. The DDT, created by Jake Roberts, is also used by many of today’s wrestlers.
Speaking on the It’s My House Podcast, DDP acknowledged that John Laurinaitis originally used the Diamond Cutter (f.k.a. the Ace Crusher) as his finisher. DDP then adopted the move and created his own version.
“The two greatest finishes ever are the DDT and Diamond Cutter,” DDP said. “Randy kept that going with the RKO – there isn't a better finish than that. Everybody imitates it. Johnny Ace [John Laurinaitis, WWE’s Head of Talent Relations] gave me just a run of the mill grab them by the neck and fall down. I came up with all the ways to hit it. And then Johnny went and took all those, you know.”
The connection between DDP and Jake Roberts goes a lot further than both men using two of the greatest finishers in the wrestling business. DDP has helped Roberts turn his life around over the last decade following battles with alcoholism and drug use. In 2014, DDP inducted Roberts into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Randy Orton on reinventing the Ace Crusher/Diamond Cutter in WWE
Randy Orton discussed various WWE topics on The Kurt Angle Show earlier this year, including his use of the RKO as his finisher.
He gave credit to both John Laurinaitis and DDP for allowing him to use a variation of their famous move.
“He [John Laurinaitis] used the Ace Crusher back in the day and he was like, ‘Take my finish, kid,’” Orton said. “And you know Diamond Dallas Page made the move famous as well. So credit to those guys for letting me steal their s*** and make it even better.”
This week’s WWE RAW ended with Randy Orton hitting an RKO on his RK-Bro tag team partner, Riddle. Watch the video above to hear former WWE writer Vince Russo review the episode with Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Dr. Chris Featherstone.