Randy Orton's First Impression Of Shawn Michaels: "I Thought He Was A Pr*ck!"
The Viper was NOT a fan of the Heartbreak Kid.
Speaking during a recent appearance on the Ringer Wrestling Show (via Sportskeeda), Randy Orton has given his honest thoughts about his first impression of the legendary Shawn Michaels.
The Heartbreak Kid wasn't in and around the then-WWF when Orton signed with the organisation back in 2001, with Michaels returning a year later following an enforced retirement due to back issues. On how he viewed HBK upon first meeting him, the Viper says he thought Shawn was a "prick".
As Randal Keith detailed:
"I was lucky to have some great men in the locker room, kind of see how they went about life and how they were with their kids. I got to see Shawn Michaels, who, on all accounts was a complete a**hole. And when I met him I even thought he was a prick, but I saw the change and I heard the stories, and I feel like, it's kind of funny, the same thing kind of happened to me. Kind of. You know, it's part of the journey."
As alluded to, 14-time World Champion Orton at one point had his own reputation for being problematic backstage and for having a chip on his shoulder - something with Randy admitted to during this recent interview.
Similar to how Shawn Michaels managed to change the perception of him upon returning to full-time WWE action in 2002, Randy Orton likewise seems to have matured and dropped a lot of the more unsavoury character traits in the past several years.