20-year veteran wants to break Ric Flair’s all time WWE record

A 20-year veteran in WWE recently expressed his desire to break Ric Flair's all-time record.

The name in question is Randy Orton. The 43-year-old WWE Superstar had been absent from the company since May 2022 due to a back injury. He made his much-anticipated return to the Stamford-based company at Survivor Series: WarGames 2023 and aligned himself with Cody Rhodes' team to defeat The Judgment Day and Drew McIntyre in the Men's WarGames match.

Following the premium live event in Chicago, The Viper made an appearance on RAW. During his promo, he was interrupted by members of The Judgment Day. It was a perfect way to set up a singles match for Orton later the same night. The Apex Predator beat Dominik Mysterio in the bout.

On the most recent episode of SmackDown, the former WWE Champion signed a contract to become a permanent member of the blue brand's roster. Orton got straight to business as he told Paul Heyman to call Roman Reigns and tell him that The Viper had returned to WWE. In kayfabe, The Bloodline had put Randy Orton out of action following a vicious attack after beating him and Riddle in a Winner-takes-all Tag Team Title match.

During his appearance on Logan Paul's Impaulsive Podcast, the former World Champion stated that he would love to become the superstar with the most world title reigns. Ric Flair and John Cena currently share the record with 16 reigns each. Randy Orton and Triple H are the closest to the milestone with 14 championship reigns.

With WWE's Chief Content Officer no longer taking to the ring following health issues, Orton seems to be the only likely superstar to break the record anytime soon.

Randy Orton was asked whether he would like to surpass John Cena and Ric Flair or not. This is what he had to say:

"Oh, of course, I want to do everything I can, man. Longevity is always the number one goal for me. And being able to go home, play with my kids, and not be in pain, right? That'd be the ultimate goal. But as many accomplishments I can accomplish in WWE, the more, the better."

You can watch the entire podcast below:

Randy Orton hit Nick Aldis with an RKO on WWE SmackDown

SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis invited Randy Orton to the Friday night show following a blockbuster return at Survivor Series and an impressive showing on the following edition of RAW.

During the show, Nick Aldis and RAW General Manager Adam Pierce got into an argument backstage, as both of them wanted to sign The Legend Killer to their respective rosters.

Towards the end of the show, both GMs approached Randy Orton with their contracts. The Viper chose the blue brand, sending Nick Aldis into a frenzy. The latter entered the ring and raised Orton's hand in celebration, only to receive an RKO out of nowhere.

Aldis has been an authoritative manager to this point. He also suspended Kevin Owens a couple of weeks earlier for breaking a rule. It will be interesting to see his response on the upcoming episode of SmackDown.

Will Nick Aldis punish Randy Orton on SmackDown? Sound off in the comments section below.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Impaulsive with an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.