When Triple H warned WWE star he was "hell-bent" on ruining his own career
Triple H is not someone who shies away from giving his honest verdict on a WWE Superstar's potential. Back in 2003, The Game certainly did not hold back when he told a young Randy Orton the truth about his off-screen behavior.
It is well known that Orton could be difficult to deal with behind the scenes at times earlier in his career. Despite his attitude issues, Triple H saw greatness in The Viper and recruited him to join the Evolution faction alongside Batista and Ric Flair.
In 2020, the Hall of Famer spoke on WWE Network show Ruthless Aggression about Evolution's successful two-year run. He recalled a serious conversation he once had with Orton about his apparent lack of desire to become a wrestling megastar:
"We talked and I said, 'Randy, you have every gift imaginable to be the biggest star this business has ever seen, and the only one that can stop you is you, and you are hell-bent on doing it and I don't know why,'" Triple H said. (H/T The Sun for the transcription)
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Batista added that Orton was not mature enough when he joined Evolution at the age of just 22:
"He was a kid, and he was told to go out there and represent us. Randy wasn't ready for that."
Thankfully, Orton overcame his initial doubters to become one of the most successful superstars of his generation. At the age of 42, the 14-time world champion could realistically break John Cena and Ric Flair's joint-record of 16 world title reigns.
Randy Orton opened up about being Triple H's final televised opponent
WWE's Chief Content Officer retired in March 2022 due to a heart problem. His last match on WWE television ended in defeat against Randy Orton at Super ShowDown 2019 in Saudi Arabia.
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In an interview on Ryan Satin's Out of Character podcast, Orton gave his thoughts on being his long-time friend's last opponent:
"I don't know how I feel about that. It's an honor, I just hate that it was the last match. I hate that we didn't know that was the last match, you know what I mean? In your head, it's always gonna go down in the manner you want it to go down; you're gonna get that last match."
After facing Orton, Triple H also competed in two untelevised matches on WWE's tour of Japan. His last official in-ring encounter took place on June 29, 2019, when he teamed up with Shinsuke Nakamura to defeat Robert Roode and Samoa Joe.
Would you like Randy Orton to break John Cena and Ric Flair's world title record one day? Let us know in the comments section below.