10 Wrestling Moments You Thought Were Kayfabe (That Were Actually Real)
5. "Stupid" Kofi Kingston Angers Randy Orton
Though it's since gone on to become one of the more infamous occurrences of a wrestler genuinely lashing out whilst seemingly staying within the confines of their already unhinged character, back in 2009, fans weren't under the impression that anything out of the ordinary had gone down between two now-seasoned stars.
Coming during a triple-threat to decide the next challenger for WWE Champion Sheamus on a January 2010 edition of Raw, Kofi Kingston was on the receiving end of a verbal lashing from Randy Orton. And though this looked like nothing more than some OTT taunting from a vexed Viper at the time, it turned out that the future New Day man had actually botched a spot in the contest.
Not finding himself in the correct position to take Orton's signature punt kick for the match's finish, The Apex Predator unleashed a hellacious RKO on Kingston before screaming out "Stupid!" a few times for good measure. WWE would later rely on this development for a storyline between the two in 2019, but it's safe to say that fans were generally none the wiser back in 2010, with Orton still coming away with the win in the end.