WWE Rumors: Backstage reason why Randy Orton teased joining AEW on Instagram
On the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed the possible reason behind Randy Orton's recent teaser about joining AEW.
Meltzer speculated that Orton's current WWE contract could be coming to an end and he could be using AEW as leverage to get an improved deal with Vince McMahon's company. Backstage negotiations between Orton and WWE could begin soon as WWE wouldn't want to lose one of its most established Superstars.
"Maybe his contract’s up and he’s playing the game. And he should. I mean, he’s fixing to able to get a lot and lot of money if his contract’s up. And what is he, 38 years old? 39? So this is the time. This is the time to get that last big contract. He’s probably one of those guys who will want to work a minimal schedule and WWE is giving him a minimal schedule, he’s not out there killing himself."
Alvarez countered by stating that AEW currently provides a lighter schedule when compared to WWE.
Meltzer responded by saying:
"Yeah, it’s a better schedule. I think AEW would grab him in a heartbeat. I guess because of his name value, he will probably be considered a big coup. I don’t know if that’s the right move. But It’s a hard one to turn down. It depends, I don’t know, everyone’s different. The guys who really want to do kickass matches and things like that, those guys I could see wanting to go to AEW because you get less restrictions and you are going have a lot more say-so in creative but the guys who are in it for money as their primary thing I think that their goal is to probably use AEW to make more money from WWE. Randy Orton, should be, his contract is coming up.
He should be playing both sides and see where the chips fall. Either way, he can’t lose, no matter where he goes, he is going to be pushed and will be one of the top guys. He is going to make a lot of money either way. And you know, test out the waters. And if he is really lucky, the time to make the play is probably in a couple of months, because I think my feeling, no one knows for sure, but my feeling is that the people will be a lot more gung ho, I don’t want to use the word desperate, because that’s not the right word, but they will be a lot more motivated to sign somebody special or not lose somebody in January/February than they are now.
Meltzer went on to say that everyone was trying to feel out the waters and see the current status. He also said that Orton would be extremely valuable for AEW and it would be best for WWE to not lose him.
Now everyone is trying to feel everything out and see where everything fits, by Jan/Feb we’ll kind of know everything will be kind of a status quo and kind of on the stale side, and both sides would want that new thing to juice you up. And Randy Orton can be very valuable to AEW and very valuable for WWE not to lose."
Randy Orton created quite a stir amongst the fans earlier today and he did so with one Instagram post.
The Apex Predator put up a photo standing alongside a sign that read 'Elite Level' - an obvious reference to AEW's Being The Elite. He went on to tag Cody Rhodes, Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder, Riddick Moss, Chris Jericho, Elias and Luke Harper in the post with the caption - 'tick tock tick tock'!
It was a clear teaser of a possible move to AEW, something that has come as a big surprise to staunch WWE fans.
Randy Orton is a known troll and his latest IG post could also be just another instance of him messing around with the fans. However, there can also be some truth in the multiple-time World Champion trying to get WWE and AEW's attention with his existing deal coming to an end.
Vince McMahon would not want to lose his marquee names, especially to AEW. Keeping that in mind, the upcoming few months will be very interesting behind the scenes.
Follow Sportskeeda Wrestling and Sportskeeda MMA on Twitter for all the latest news. Do not miss out!