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Rene Dupree recently recalled how Randy Orton’s attitude changed after he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.
Orton defeated Chris Benoit at SummerSlam 2004 to become the youngest World Champion in WWE history. It is well known that The Viper, aged 24 when he won the title, behaved immaturely behind the scenes early on in his career.
Dupree worked on the main roster between 2003 and 2007. Speaking on his Cafe de Rene podcast, he claimed Orton’s title reign only lasted 28 days because WWE officials knew his attitude needed some improvement.
“Yes, the day he won the World Championship from Benoit, SummerSlam, I felt it [change in Orton’s attitude],” Dupree said. “It [title reign] didn’t last. The office could see it too. That’s why it was only a month.” [24:28-25:03]
Randy Orton lost the World Heavyweight Championship to his former Evolution stablemate Triple H at Unforgiven 2004. Almost two decades later, both men are now 14-time World Champions.
Possible reason why Randy Orton became a World Champion aged 24
Brock Lesnar controversially left WWE in March 2004, two years after he became the company’s youngest World Champion at the age of 25. Though not confirmed, it has been speculated over the years that WWE booked Orton’s title victory to ensure Lesnar no longer held the record.
Rene Dupree is unsure if that rumor is accurate. However, he thinks Orton knew he was not prepared to capture a World Championship.
“That could be true, but I think they soon realized that Randy was nowhere near mature,” Dupree added. “I think I’ve seen interviews where he actually admits he was not ready for that.” [25:46-25:58]
Dupree also said on this week’s podcast that Triple H “buried” several superstars. He even joked that the WWE executive should have used a shovel instead of a sledgehammer as his signature weapon.
Please credit Cafe de Rene and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
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