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Rusev has nothing but praise for his 2017 rival Randy Orton. Three years ago, Rusev feuded with Randy Orton in what was essentially a precursor to his babyface run in 2018.
The entire 'Rusev Day' concept was originally intended as a one-off to celebrate Rusev's "victory" over Randy Orton on SmackDown (which he won after Randy Orton had already had a match). 'Rusev Day' exploded thanks to Aiden English and Rusev's overall ability - with fans perhaps tired of seeing the Bulgarian as a brute heel all the time.
Speaking on his YouTube channel ToBeMiroTV, Rusev, now going by his real name Miro, was asked who his favorite heel of all time was - and he said Randy Orton.
Rusev also named The 'Nature Boy' Ric Flair, although he admitted that he never understood a few things about him:
"It's got to be Randy Orton. Randy and Nature Boy [Ric Flair] - he always got me. I never understood why he always looked like a 50-year-old and why when he's backing off everybody is falling for his tricks. I vividly remember being a kid and thinking "come on man! just get up and fight, Hogan"
Rusev said that Randy Orton is not only the best heel of all time, but he's also one of the best workers of all time:
"Randy [Orton] is the best. Randy Orton is clearly the best heel and one of the best workers of all time" "Oh absolutely. Randy should never be a babyface"
Where does Randy Orton rank among the all time great heels?
It's been established for a while now that Randy Orton does far better as a heel than as a babyface - something that Randy Orton even admitted himself. Randy Orton's best runs in WWE, including his current one on RAW have been as a vicious heel and while he has been criticized a lot this past decade, The Legend Killer will undoubtedly be remembered more fondly once his career wraps up.
We will be seeing a lot more of Randy Orton - as he signed with WWE until 2024 and recently stated that he's willing to do it for a decade more.
How did Ric Flair spend $1500 at a pizza place? More details here
