Randy Orton On Vince McMahon: "It's Nice Having Him Out Of" WWE

The Viper is enjoying the environment of a Vince McMahon-less WWE.

by Andrew Pollard
Randy Orton
WWE.com

With WWE very much in the post-Vince McMahon era when it comes to the day-to-day running of the company, one person enjoying this new environment is Randy Orton.

The legendary Bill Apter recently caught up with Randy - and 'Cowboy' Bob, for that matter - for Sportskeeda WrestleBinge (as picked up on by f4wonline), where the topic of McMahon came up. While Orton was thankful for the opportunities given to him by the disgraced former WWE Chairman, the 14-time World Champion explained why it's "nice having him out of there".

As the Viper explained:

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"Listen, I love Vince, he gave me so many opportunities, but I think it was kind of time for him to move on. It's unfortunate that it happened in the way that it happened, but it's nice having people in charge of me that understand how important it is for you to be home for birthdays and home for Thanksgiving and home for Christmas."

Orton continued:

"Vince McMahon, he had Raw on Monday night live; he doesn't care if you had kids. I came to him when I was 35 and my back really started going, and I pleaded with him, like, 'Man, I got to, like, not do as many shows, maybe do half the tour and be able to recover.' And he just looked at me and was, like, 'Oh, I need you on these shows, Randy. Mother Nature gets us all''. And to hear that and go, 'OK, well I guess there's no other thing I can do other than just wear myself out down to the nub until I can't walk anymore for this man'. And all of the opportunities he gave me, it's nice having him out of there, and it's nice having his son-in-law, Triple H, running the game. Nick Khan's great, everybody at TKO that's come in, stepped in, they seem to get it, and it's just a different era."

Of course, Vince McMahon was forced to resign in disgrace for a second time when former WWE employee Janel Grant brought a lawsuit against him earlier in the year alleging sexual, physical, and emotional abuse by McMahon. John Laurinaitis and WWE are also defendants in Ms. Grant's lawsuit, although that lawsuit has now been put on hold for six months at the request of the US Attorney's Office as it carries out its own investigation into McMahon.

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Senior Writer
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.