4 Stars Randy Orton is friends with outside of WWE

Randy Orton is one of the most tenured WWE superstars of the modern era. He joined the main roster of the Sports Entertainment juggernaut all the way back in 2002. Now, almost 23 years later, he remains part of the biggest wrestling company on Earth.

Throughout his run, Orton has had a ton of success. He's a 14-time world champion who has also managed to hold mid-card and even tag team gold. The Apex Predator has also won the Royal Rumble, Money in the Bank, and beyond. He has practically done all there is to do.

While Orton had a bad reputation early on thanks to some of his actions behind the scenes, he has gone on to become highly respected. In fact, he has a lot of friends both currently with the company and former members of the roster.

This article will list four stars who are close friends with The Viper outside of the ring. This includes two names from All Elite Wrestling, the biggest star in World Wrestling Entertainment, and someone tearing it up on the independent circuit.

Below are four stars Randy Orton is friends with outside of WWE.

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#4. He is friends with former WWE star Matt Riddle

Matt Riddle is an interesting and controversial personality in wrestling. He was released from WWE in 2023, likely due to his behavior outside of the ring.

Despite his polarizing personality, however, he and Randy Orton became friends off-screen while also forming a tag team on-screen. As a duo, they were known as RK-Bro. Just like in real life, things started off tense between them but flourished later. Below is a quote from Randy Orton on WWE's official YouTube page discussing their relationship:

"Once I was around him for a little while, I got to like the guy. We have a lot more in common than I thought we would. I definitely respect him and his attributes, but the attitude initially I wasn’t a big fan of. Now it’s almost endearing.”

Randy has touched on their dynamic in other outlets not affiliated with World Wrestling Entertainment since then and often cites Riddle as a real-life friend. Despite being so different, they managed to click.

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#3. Randy Orton is friends with Adam Copeland aka Edge

Edge is a legend in pro wrestling. He held numerous world titles and found himself inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He left the company earlier this year, however, and now works as Adam Copeland in AEW.

Randy Orton and The Rated R Superstar have quite the history together on-screen. Orton has mentioned how close the two became, especially when they teamed up as Rated RKO. They also feuded together at various points.

In fact, Orton was Edge's opponent upon the star's return from retirement, which was something Orton took immense pride in. Randy being able to welcome Edge back into wrestling in 2020 where he's still competing, albeit for All Elite Wrestling, almost five years later is a great notch in The Viper's cap.

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#2. He is friends with Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes is the biggest star in pro wrestling today. He is the face of World Wrestling Entertainment as the Undisputed WWE Champion, having defeated Roman Reigns for the prized title in the main event of WrestleMania.

Rhodes owes Randy Orton a lot for his wrestling career. The two feuded upon Cody joining WWE's main roster and they later united under The Legacy stable. During that time, Randy served as a mentor to Cody and Rhodes publicly notes how important Randy was to his career.

The two are still aligned on television to this very day. Cody brought Orton back to the ring at Survivor Series WarGames 2023 and they have teamed up multiple times together. With that being said, a feud could be on the horizon eventually, but it won't change their real-life relationship.

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#1. Orton is friends with Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho is a legendary pro wrestler. While he's currently part of All Elite Wrestling, he is a future WWE Hall of Famer who has earned his spot thanks to his incredible work in wrestling for over three decades now.

Notably, Jericho is not only a friend of Randy's, but he proved it in a way very few would. When Brock Lesnar brutalized Orton in a pre-planned spot in a WWE ring, Jericho, unaware if it was planned, freaked out backstage and stood up to Lesnar. You can see Orton's explanation of the incident below:

“Basically, what happened is Jericho saw what was going on in the ring and wanted answers as to whether my best interests were in mind as far as my health and safety. I had my family there, sitting front row, and Chris knew that as well. He was just coming up to check on his boy, that’s what it boiled down to, and I think that’s awesome.”

If Chris Jericho is willing to go to bat for you even when up against a monster like Brock Lesnar, it shows what a true friend he is. Very few men would stand up to The Beast, but Jericho did it for Randy's sake.